Creating links

Prerequisites

Before creating links, you should:

Understand the terminology used in links, such as prompt answer method, source, and target. For background information, see Components of a link.
Create the source and target documents and reports. For instructions on creating reports, see Designing a report. For instructions on creating documents, see Creating documents.
Know what types of prompts the targets require and how they will be answered. The following table describes prerequisites for different prompt answer methods. For information on the different prompt types and instructions to create them, see Prompts.

Prompt Answer Method	Prerequisite
Answer with the same prompt	The same prompt is used in the target and the source.
Default answer	The target prompt contains a default answer.
Dynamically	The target prompt is an attribute element prompt. The object that the user selects to execute the target answers the target prompt.
Static element list	The target prompt is an attribute element prompt.
Empty answer	The prompt should not be required.
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

Edit the report or document in MicroStrategy Developer.

To do this, right-click the report or document, and select Edit. The Report Editor or Document Editor opens.
Links are created using the Link Editor. To access the Link Editor, do one of the following:
- In a report, right-click an object and select Edit Links.
- In a document, 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 in either reports or Grid/Graphs:
  - Attributes
  - Hierarchies
  - Metrics
  - Object prompts
If this is not the first link created for the object, click New. If it is, continue with the next step.
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 is not answered. No prompt answer is provided from the source and the user is not prompted to provide an answer.
  
  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. This method is available for attribute element prompts only.
- 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. This method is available for attribute element prompts only.
- Current unit. Similar to the Dynamicprompt answer method, where the prompt is answered using the object selected in the source. This method is 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 a more detailed description, including an example, of each of the prompt answer methods, see Specifying how prompts are answered in the target. For a description of prompt types, see Prompts.
Repeat the above steps, starting with Apply prompt answers, for each prompt in the target.

Specify the prompt answer method for any other prompts

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 prompt answers for any other prompts not listed.

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
For brief descriptions of each method, see the previous list of prompt answer methods.
By default, links are named Link1, Link2, and so on. To rename the link, 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 describing how its prompts are answered.

Create another link on the same object

To create additional links from the same object, continue with the steps below. Otherwise, continue with Specify whether a new window is used in MicroStrategy Web. For examples of multiple links and how they work, see the Linking Reports and Documents chapter in the Advanced Reporting 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 that link 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.

Specify whether a new window is used in MicroStrategy Web

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 in MicroStrategy Web.