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Administering Oracle CRM On Demand > Application Customization > Record Type Application Customization Page > Setting Up Web Links

Setting Up Web Links

A Web link is a custom field that allows you to place a hyperlink to an external Web site or Web-based application in a record in Oracle CRM On Demand. You can use a Web link custom field to provide a convenient way for users to navigate to another Web page, including another page in Oracle CRM On Demand. You can create Web link custom fields for any record type. For example, you might define a Web link field for the account record type that updates the account details with values from another application. As with other custom fields, you must add Web Link fields to your record page layouts to make them visible to your users.

You can configure a Web link to simply open another Web site. You can also configure the Web link to pass specific information from the Oracle CRM On Demand record as a parameter in the URL. For example, you might create a Web link field to pass address information from an account record to a Web site that provides address-specific maps. Then, when the user clicks the Web link on the account record, a map for your account location is opened.

You can also configure a Web link to open a report or a dashboard.

NOTE: For information about where reports and dashboards can be embedded in Oracle CRM On Demand, see About Embedding Reports and Dashboards in Oracle CRM On Demand.

You can configure the Web link to appear only in certain circumstances. For example, you can specify the conditions that must be met before the Web link is displayed, and you can configure the link to appear only on the Detail pages to prevent users from clicking the link from the Edit pages.

NOTE: The contents of the Web link fields cannot be carried over to the new records when a lead is converted.

Before you begin. To configure Web Link fields, you must be familiar with the syntax of the target URL. To configure a Web link to open a report or dashboard, the report or dashboard must be stored under Shared Folders, in a folder to which you have access.

To set up the Web link

1. In the upper-right corner of any page, click the Admin global link.
2. In the Application Customization section, click the Application Customization link.
3. In the Record Types Setup section, click the link for the required record type.
4. In the Field Management section, click record type Field Setup.
5. If the Web link field does not already exist, create a custom Web link field as described in Creating and Editing Fields.
6. On the Fields page, click the Edit Web Link link for the custom field.
7. On the Edit Web Link page, complete the following properties where applicable:
   1. Field Display Name. This field is read-only.
   2. Type. Select one of the following:
      • URL. Select this value if you want to create a Web link to another Web page, including another page in Oracle CRM On Demand.
      • Report. Select this value if you want to create a Web link to a report.
      • Dashboard. Select this value if you want to create a Web link to a dashboard.
   3. User and System Fields. When you create the Web link, this field automatically displays information pertaining to the user and company.

      For more information, see User and System Fields.

   4. Record Type Fields. When you create the Web link, this field automatically displays information pertaining to the record type.

      NOTE: Record Type refers to the record type for which you are setting up the Web link. For example, if you are editing a Web link for a contact record, this field appears as the Contacts Fields list.

   5. Functions. (URL Web link type only) Select EncodeURL from the picklist if your Oracle CRM On Demand URL requires further encoding to display it correctly.
   6. Mark for Translation. Select this check box if you want this Web link to appear in other activated languages.
8. In the Windows Properties section, enter the following properties:
   1. For Display Text, enter the label (display name) for the hyperlink, which the user sees in the layout.

      Example: Click Here for Stock Ticker (underlined).

      You can also include context-sensitive parameters in the Display Text field by placing the cursor in the Display Text field, and then selecting the User and System Fields or (Record Type) Fields list. A field parameter is placed in the Display Text field (designated by %%%fieldname%%%), which is replaced by the field value based on the current record.

      NOTE: If your display text is too long to fit in the layout, it is truncated. Also, the information for any variables is added at run time.

   2. Select how you want Oracle CRM On Demand to behave when a user clicks the hyperlink:
      • Open in Current window. Opens the hyperlinked page in the current window, replacing the current Oracle CRM On Demand session.
      • Open in Custom Web Tab. Opens the hyperlinked page in a custom Web tab. Select the required Web tab from the Target Custom Web Tab list.
      • Open in New window. Opens the hyperlinked page in a new window, leaving the current Oracle CRM On Demand window unchanged. Select the Parent Window Refresh check box if you want to refresh the parent window after the user closes the new window.
   3. For Display Options, select Detail Page, Edit Page, or Both, depending on whether you want the Web link to appear on Detail pages only, Edit pages only, or both Detail and Edit pages. You can add Web links to a List page and to a related information section. For more information, see Managing List Access and List Order and Customizing Related Item Layouts.
9. Fill in the Link Properties:
   1. For Active Link Condition, enter an expression for a condition that controls whether the Web link is active on the Detail and Edit pages. You can click the fx icon next to the Active Link Condition field to open the Expression Builder window in which you can enter an expression. For information about the syntax that you can use for expressions, see Expression Builder.

      For example, if you enter an expression like [Revenue] > 10000, the Web link is active only if the condition, Revenue value greater than 10000, is met.

      If you do not enter an expression, the Web link is always active. If you enter an expression, and the condition is not met, the Web link is still displayed, but it is not active.

   2. For Display Link Condition, enter an expression for a condition that controls whether the Web link is visible on the Detail and Edit pages.

      For example, if you enter an expression like [Revenue] > 10000, the Web link is displayed only if the condition, Revenue value greater than 10000, is met.

      If you do not enter an expression, the Web link is always displayed.

      The following applies to the expressions in the Display Link Condition, and Active Link Condition fields.

      • New page. The visible and active expressions are not evaluated for new pages. They are set to TRUE by default. The only way to disable the link is to make the expression explicitly FALSE.
      • Edit page. The visible and active expressions are set to TRUE by default. However, you can use the Expression Builder to add a new expression.
   3. (Report and Dashboard Web link types only) In the Path field, click the Lookup icon (magnifying glass), then navigate to the report or dashboard you require in Shared Folders, and then click OK. The Path field is automatically populated after you select the report or dashboard.
   4. (Report and Dashboard Web link types only) If you want to specify filters that will be applied to the report at run time, then specify the filters in the Parameters field. For detailed information about specifying the filters, see About Specifying Filters for Embedded Reports and Dashboards.
   5. (URL Web link type only) For Url, enter the URL that is invoked when the user clicks the hyperlink, such as www.oracle.com.

      NOTE: You can also include context-sensitive parameters by placing the cursor in the URL field, and then selecting the User and System Fields or (Record Type) Fields list. A field parameter is placed in the URL (designated by %%%fieldname%%%), which is replaced by the field value based on the current record when the user clicks the value.

      If you do not specify any URL, the user is directed to a void URL when clicking the link.

      Each browser has a maximum URL length. If you specify a URL that exceeds this length, then users might see indeterminate behavior on the browser when they click the Web link. Make sure that the URL that you specify is a valid uniform resource identifier (URI). If it is not valid, then an error message is displayed instead of the link.

      NOTE: Although it is possible to use a URL to embed a report or dashboard in a custom Web applet, Web tab, or Web link of the URL type, this functionality is not fully supported, and the URL might not work after an upgrade.

   6. (URL Web link type only) For Request Method, select the method with which you want to send your Web link request:
      • GET. A GET request sends query string parameters (name and value pairs) in the request URL. This is the default value for existing Web links.
      • POST. A POST request sends query string parameters (name and value pairs) in the HTTP message body. This is the default value for new Web links.
10. For user and system fields, select an option from the User and System Fields list to add parameter fields to the URL, Display Text, or Parameters field at the current position of the cursor.

    For example, if you choose User id from the list, %%%User id%%% is inserted into the URL field, or the Display Text field, or the Parameters field, depending on where your cursor is positioned. At run time, %%%User id%%% is replaced with the user ID of the user who is logged in. As another example, if you choose Host Name from the list, %%%Hostname%%% is inserted at the cursor position. At run-time, this parameter is replaced with the host name of the server where Oracle CRM On Demand is running. This is useful in configurations containing a URL to Oracle CRM On Demand as it is no longer necessary to manually modify the Oracle CRM On Demand host name when migrating from one environment to another.

11. For record type fields, place your cursor in the URL, Display Text, or Parameters field where you want to add a parameter, and then select the field that you want to include from the list.

    For example, if you select the field Row id, %%%Row id%%% is inserted into the URL field, or the Display Text field, or the Parameters field, depending on where your cursor is positioned. At run time, this parameter is replaced with the row ID of the current record.

    NOTE: A placeholder for the name of a record type is indicated by the words, record type, in italics. For example, record type refers to the record type where you add the Web link custom field. For example, if you are editing a Web link for a contact record, this field appears as the Contacts Fields list.

12. Click Save.
13. Add the Web link field to the record type page layout, as described in Customizing Static Page Layouts.