Creating Hypertext Links

Hypertext links allow you to link objects in your report to a different HTML document, to another area in the same HTML document, or to an email address. You can create a hypertext link on any object in the report layout.

To create a hypertext link:

Select an object in the report layout and create the link in the Property Explorer.
Create the link on the HTML property page for the selected object.
To access the HTML property page, double-click an object in the report layout, or right-click the object and select Object Properties.

Table 19. Hypertext Link Information

Field	Description
URL	The URL address to which you want to link. You can enter any valid URL in this field. For example, http://www.example.com If you are on the HTML property page, you can: Display a list of common URL prefixes (http://, mailto:, ftp://) by clicking the arrow to the right of the URL field. To enter a prefix into the URL, click the desired URL prefix. Add other column values to your URL by clicking the button to the right of the URL field and select the desired columns in the Insert Column Values dialog box. (See Graphically Adding Column Values to URLs and Anchors.)
Target	Directs the URL to a particular window when the browser displays multiple top-level windows. Specify a window name as a target or enter one of the following target names in the Target field. -blank—Loads the link in a new, unnamed window. -self—Loads the link in the same window. This is the default HTML behavior. -parent—Loads the link in the immediate frameset parent. If the document has no parent, the link loads in the same window. -top—Loads the link in the full window when frames are in use. If frames are not in use, the link loads in the same window. Targets are most useful when used with frames. Even if you do not use frames, it is a good idea to use _top as the target. This is because someone else might incorporate your HTML document into a frame.

Field

Description

URL

The URL address to which you want to link.

You can enter any valid URL in this field. For example,

http://www.example.com

If you are on the HTML property page, you can:

Display a list of common URL prefixes (http://, mailto:, ftp://) by clicking the arrow to the right of the URL field. To enter a prefix into the URL, click the desired URL prefix.
Add other column values to your URL by clicking the button to the right of the URL field and select the desired columns in the Insert Column Values dialog box. (See Graphically Adding Column Values to URLs and Anchors.)

Target

Directs the URL to a particular window when the browser displays multiple top-level windows. Specify a window name as a target or enter one of the following target names in the Target field.

-blank—Loads the link in a new, unnamed window.
-self—Loads the link in the same window. This is the default HTML behavior.
-parent—Loads the link in the immediate frameset parent. If the document has no parent, the link loads in the same window.
-top—Loads the link in the full window when frames are in use. If frames are not in use, the link loads in the same window.

Targets are most useful when used with frames. Even if you do not use frames, it is a good idea to use _top as the target. This is because someone else might incorporate your HTML document into a frame.

Note:

When you preview the HTML report, the object with the link appears in a different color. Click the linked object to go to the specified URL.

Tip:

You can create a URL from a path on a Windows machine. For example, assume you have the following path:

d:\monthly\closing\station1.htm

To create URL from this path, you would enter the path in the URL field as:

file://d:/monthly/closing/station1.htm