Linking documents to other documents and to reports (drilling)

You can link from:

A text field
An image
An attribute, metric, hierarchy, or object prompt on a Grid/Graph displayed as a grid
An attribute on a widget

On a document to:

Another document
A report
A web page

The link connects an object in one document (the source) to another document or a report (the target). The only difference between linking to a document or report and to a web page is that you can answer prompts when you link to a document/report. Answering prompts allows the link to pass information from the source document to the target.

For more information on creating and using links to a web page, see Linking to a web page from a document. For examples of links created for widgets, see Linking in widgets.

Links can provide drilling in documents, when you define the links to navigate from data at one level to different levels of aggregation. For example, if a user is viewing a document containing regional revenue, he can click a particular region to execute another document that displays sales for the call centers in that region. Essentially, the user has drilled down from Region to Call Center.

The drilling is accomplished by linking to a prompted document and passing prompt answers in the link. For details on passing prompt information, see Specifying how prompts are answered in the target.

A second link on region in the source (that is, the first document) can take the user from the regional sales document to another document that displays sales by country. The user has then drilled up from Region to Country. For samples of these examples, see the Document Creation Help.

Links do not have to simulate drilling; they can also connect to reports and documents that are not different levels. The same regional document could contain another link to the underlying dataset report, which displays profit and cost values as well sales, all at the regional level. Another link can execute a document with additional information about the selected region, such as employees, market saturation, and so on.

While you can create links in MicroStrategy Developer and in MicroStrategy Web, they are functional only in MicroStrategy Web, in all modes except Design Mode.

In previous versions, linking or drilling to reports and documents was accomplished with drill links.

Components of a link

When you create a link, you specify the following components:

The name of the link. By default, the first link is named Link1, the second Link2, and so on, but you can change the names. Since the name appears in the link, it should be descriptive and informative to help users identify the target of the link.
The target of the link. The target is the report or document that is executed when a user clicks the link.
The prompt to be answered and how to apply prompt answers to it, if the target contains prompts. A list of the prompts in the target is provided. For each prompt, select a prompt answer method. For example, a prompt can use the existing prompt answers from the source, can be run so that the user must answer it, or can be answered with the object selected in the source. Other prompt answer methods exist; see Specifying how prompts are answered in the target for a full listing, with descriptions.

The list of prompts contains an option named Any other prompt, which controls any prompts that are not in the target when the link is created. These can be either:
Prompts added to the target after the link is created
Prompts that are created as the result of an answer to one of the original prompts in the target, such as a prompt-in-prompt answer

If you create multiple links for the same object, you specify the default link, which is used when a user clicks the object. To choose any of the other links, the user must right-click the object. In Flash mode, the default link is the only link that is available. See Specifying the default link when multiple links are available for more details on how the other links are displayed. For an example of multiple links, see the Document Creation Help.

You can allow users to view the list of links for Grid/Graphs in Flash Mode by enabling data manipulations. For instructions, see Enabling filtering, drilling, grouping and moving objects for Grid/Graphs in Flash Mode.

For all the links on an object, you can specify whether the target opens in the same window as the source (replacing the source) or in a new window. By default, the target opens in the same window as the source, effectively replacing it. You can instead choose to open the target in a new window, which allows both the source and the target to be visible simultaneously.

Prerequisites

Before creating links, you should:

Create the source and target documents and reports.
Know what types of prompts the targets require and how they will be answered. The following table describes prerequisites for different prompt answer methods.

Prompt Answer Method	Prerequisites
Answer with the same prompt	The same prompt is used in the target and source.
Default answer	The target prompt contains a default answer.
Dynamically	The target prompt is an attribute element prompt or value prompt. The object that the user selects to execute the target answers the target prompt. You must use MicroStrategy Web to select Dynamically for value prompts. For instructions, see the MicroStrategy Web Help.
Empty answer	The prompt should not be required.
Static element list	The target prompt is an attribute element prompt.
Current unit	The target prompt is a hierarchy prompt. The object that the user selects to execute the target answers the target prompt.
All valid units	The target prompt is a hierarchy prompt. The object(s) that the user selects to execute the target answers the target prompt.

To create a link

Open the document in the Document Editor. How?
Open the Link Editor:
- To create a link from a text field or image, right-click the object and select Edit Links.
- To create a link from an object on a Grid/Graph or widget (which is displayed as a Grid/Graph in Design View), right-click a Grid/Graph displayed as a grid, and select Edit Grid. Right-click an object in the Grid/Graph and select Edit Links.
  
  You can create links from the following objects on a Grid/Graph:
  - Attributes
  - Hierarchies
  - Metrics
  - Object prompts
    
    For a widget (which is displayed as a Grid/Graph in Design View), you can create links from attributes only.
If this is not the first link created for the object, click New. If it is, continue with the next step.
Select Run this report or document.
Click ... (the browse button) next to Run this report or document to find and select the target report or document.
Select a prompt in the Target prompts list.
Select a Prompt Answer Method from the following list (unless otherwise indicated, each method is available for all prompt types):
- Answer with the same prompt. The same prompt answers that were used to execute the source are used in the target. To use this method, the target and the source must use the same prompt.
- Prompt user. The user is prompted to provide answers manually when the target is executed.
- Default answer. The prompt is answered by the default prompt answer for the prompt in the target report.
- Empty answer. 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.
  
  If the prompt is required, the prompt is still executed when a user clicks this link, since a prompt answer must be provided.
- Dynamically. The prompt is answered using the object selected in the source.
  
  Available for attribute element prompts only, in MicroStrategy Developer.
  
  If you create the link in MicroStrategy Web, you can select Dynamically for value prompts. For instructions, see the MicroStrategy Web Help.
- Static element list. This method overrides the prompt answers from the source with a list of elements. Once you select this method when you are creating the link, the Element List area becomes available, allowing you to select the elements that will be passed as answers to the element list prompt in the target.
  
  Available for attribute element prompts only.
- Current unit. Similar to the Dynamic prompt answer method, where the prompt is answered using the object selected in the source.
  
  Available for hierarchy prompts only.
- All valid units. Any object to the left of or above the user selection in the source is used as the prompt answer for the target. In other words, this method passes all the selections made on the source, rather than just the selection made for the link.
  
  Available for hierarchy prompts only.
For examples of each of the prompt answer methods, see Specifying how prompts are answered in the target. For a list of prompt types, see the Building Query Objects and Queries chapter in the Basic Reporting Help.
Repeat the above steps, starting with Apply prompt answers, for each prompt in the target.

Any other prompts are those prompts that are not in the target when you are creating the link, such as prompts added to the target later. By default, the Prompt user method is selected for these prompts, but you can change the method. For more information on how these prompts occur, including examples, see Specifying how prompts are answered in the target.
Select Any other prompt in the Target prompts list.
Select a Prompt Answer Method from the following list; only these methods are available for the Any other prompt option:
- Answer with the same prompt
- Prompt user
- Default answer
- Empty answer
See the previous list of prompt answer methods for brief descriptions of each.
By default, links are named Link1, Link2, and so on. To rename it, click Rename, and replace the name with new text.

You can help identify the link for analysts by using the name of the target report and/or describe how its prompts are answered.

To create additional links from the same object, continue with the steps below. Otherwise, continue with Specify whether a new window is used. For an example of multiple links, see the Document Creation Help.
Click New, and define the link as described above, starting with Define the link.
By default, the first link that is created is set as the default link, which is used when a user clicks the object in MicroStrategy Web or double-clicks it in MicroStrategy Developer. To set a different link as the default, select it in the list at the top of the dialog box, and click Set as default. For details on default links, see Specifying the default link when multiple links are available.
You can set the order that the links are displayed in the right-click menu. Select a link in the list at the top of the dialog box, and click Move Up or Move Down to re-order the links.

For all the links on an object, you can specify whether the target opens in the same window as the source (replacing the source) or in a new window when a user clicks the link.
By default, the target report or document opens in the same window as the source. To have the target open in a new window, which allows both the source and the target to be visible simultaneously, select the Open in a new window check box.
Click OK to return to the source document.