Create a URL/Web Link Field

Documentation Configuration & Installation
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To Create a URL/Web Link Field:

Understanding Web Links in Specify 6

A URL/Web Link field can be used to link a record to any file on a computer, server, or the internet as long as the computer has privileges to that location. Any string field can be changed into a URL/Web Link field. There are two steps for making a field into a URL/Web Link field; editing the XML code to make the field into a link field and setting up the link in the Specify schema.

To Edit the XML Code:

In the code for the field that will be used as a URL/Web Link field. To do this, replace ‘uitype=”text”’ with ‘uitype="plugin" initialize="name=WebLinkButton"’.

The resulting line should look similar to this:

To change the field format:

Next, you need to change the field format in the Specify schema and add in the core address. The core address is the portion of the file address that will be shared by all records using this field.

  1. In Specify, go to System in the menu at the top and select Schema Configuration… from the drop down menu.

The Schema & Localization Tools window will appear.

  1. Select English in the Available Locales box and click Edit a Schema.

  1. In the Tables box, select the table containing the field caption to be edited. The fields available for the table will appear in a box in the lower portion of the window. Select the field you want to edit from the list provided.

Note: The field names in the fields list will the database names, not the caption names.

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  1. In the Field Format field in the Fields section of the window, select Web Link from the drop down menu.

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  1. Another drop down menu will appear with a list of Web links that have been created already. If you have already created a web link, select the appropriate one from the list and click OK. If you have not created a web link already, you will need to create one.

  2. To create a new web link, click the ellipses in the Field Format line.

  1. In the Available Web Links window, click the green plus at the bottom of the window.

  1. In the web link editor, enter a link name. The name can be anything that helps you identify the link you will be choosing. It does not affect the address at all.

  2. In the Base URL field, enter the core portion of the address where the files will be located. This is the portion of the address that will not change from record to record.

  3. At the end of the address, add . The resulting line will look similar to this:

  1. When you are finished, click OK to save the changes.

  2. In the Schema Configuration window, make sure the address you just created is selected from the drop down menu. Once it is, click OK.

  1. In the form, the only portion of the file address that should be entered in the URL/Web link field is the portion not entered in the core address, usually just the file name. Specify will automatically concatenate the core address and the file name to open the file. When you hover over the URL button, it will give you the full file address.