You can add links to a report or document using the Links Editor. A link is a connection in a report or document (the source) to another report, document, or web page (the target).
The link can automatically pass parameters to answer any prompts that are in the target. For example, if a user is viewing a document containing regional sales, he can click a particular region to execute another document that displays sales for the stores in that region.
The link can automatically pass values chosen in a selector in the source to a selector in the target. A selector allows each user to interact with a dashboard to display only the subset of data he is interested in or only specific attribute elements or metrics. For example, the regional sales document also contains a selector for year. The user chooses a specific year in the selector, and then clicks a link to execute another document that displays sales for the months in that year.
The source document can also link to its underlying dataset, to display profit and cost values as well.
You can create links in a report:
On attributes, hierarchies, metrics, and object prompts. The links can target reports and documents.
On attributes in the Page-by panel. The links can target reports and documents.
You can create links in a document:
On attributes, hierarchies, metrics, and object prompts in a Grid/Graph. The links can target reports and documents.
From a Grid/Graph to its underlying dataset.
On attributes in a widget. The links can target reports and documents.
From a text field or image. The links can target reports, documents, and web pages.
Steps are below to create links using the Links Editor.
The source report or document must be created, along with any target reports, documents, or web pages.
If the target report or document contains prompts, you must know what types of prompts the targets contain and how they will be answered by the link (or by the user).
If you want to pass selector values from the source document to the target document, both the source and the target must contain the same selector. This means that either both documents must contain a selector with the same name (such as Region Selector), or both documents must contain a selector that uses the same source object (such as Region).
If you are linking from an object on a Grid/Graph in a document, the Grid/Graph must be displayed as a grid.
To add a link to a report or document:
Note: These steps also apply to VI dashboards, which are a type of document.
Open the document in Design Mode or click the name of the report to run it.
Right-click the object on which
you want to create the link, then select Edit
Links. The Links Editor opens.
To create a link from an object on a Grid/Graph or widget, right-click
the attribute or metric header in the Grid/Graph and select Edit Links.
If other links are already displayed in the Links Editor, click New to create a new link.
Type a name for the link in the URL display text field. Since the name appears in the link, it should be descriptive and informative to help users identify the target of the link.
To define the link:
Perform the appropriate steps below, depending on whether you are linking to a web page or to a report or document:
To link
to a web page:
Select Navigate to this URL. This option is available only if you are creating a link from a text field or image in a document.
Type the target URL in the field below Navigate to this URL. Continue this procedure at To define additional links and determine link behavior below.
To link to a screen on a mobile device:
Select Perform this.
From the Perform this drop-down list, select the screen to link to.
Continue this procedure at To define additional links and determine link behavior below.
To link to a report or document:
Select Run this report or document.
Click ... (the browse button) below Run this report or document to find and select the target report or document.
To apply prompt answers to target reports or documents that contain prompts:
The box below Run this report or document contains a list of any prompts included in the target report or document. Select a target prompt from the box.
Select a prompt answer method from the drop-down list.
To use the same prompt answers for both the source report and the target report or document, select the Answer with the same prompt from the source option. This option requires that both the source and target documents use the same prompt.
To have the user type prompt answers after he clicks the link to run the target report or document, select the Prompt user option.
To ignore
the prompt in the target report or document, select the Answer with an empty answer
option. The prompt in the target is ignored, which means that
the prompt is not answered. No prompt answer is provided from
the source and the user is not prompted to provide answers.
Note: If the prompt is
required, the prompt is still executed when a user clicks this
link, since a prompt answer must be provided.
To have the prompt in the target use the default answer defined by the prompt’s designer, select the Use default answer option. This option requires that a default answer is defined for the prompt in the target. For steps to save a report with default answers, see Determining whether a report uses default prompt answers when the report is run.
To answer the prompt using the object selected in the source, select the Answer dynamically option. This option is only available for attribute element prompts and value prompts.
To answer the prompt using the object selected in the source, select the Answer using current unit option. This option is only available for hierarchy prompts.
To answer the prompt in the target with any object to the left of or above the object that the user selects in the source document, select the Answer using all valid units option. This method passes all pertinent selections in the source, rather than just the selection made for the link. This option is available only for hierarchy prompts.
For each prompt in the target report or document, repeat the step above.
You can specify how to answer prompts that are not yet included in the target report or document (for example, prompts that will be added to the target after you finish creating the link).
To specify the prompt answer method for prompts not in the list:
Select Any other prompts,
Select a prompt answer method. The following prompt answer methods are available:
Answer with the same prompt from the source
Prompt user (default)
Answer with an empty answer
Use default answer
To apply selector values to a target document that contains selectors:
Choose a selector value method from the Pass all selector values drop-down list.
To match selector values by the selector’s source attribute (that is, the object displayed in the selector), select Match Selectors by Source Attribute.
To match selector values by the name of the selector, select Match Selectors by Control Name.
To define additional links and determine link behavior:
Repeat the appropriate steps above if you want to create additional links. You can create multiple links on the same object.
Select the Open in new window check box to have the target report or document open in a new window. This allows the target and the source documents to be visible simultaneously. If this check box is cleared, the target report or document or web page opens and replaces the source document. This option applies to all links in the report or document.
If the object has more than one link, you can determine which link is opened by default when the user clicks the object. The user can access the other links by right-clicking the object and choosing a link from a list. Click the link that you want to make the default link, and click Set as Default.
Click OK to return to the source document and to save your changes.
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