Link Editor

A link is a connection in one report or document to another report or document. A link lets an analyst execute another document or report (the target) from a document or report (the source), and to pass parameters to answer any prompts that are in the target. For example, if a user is viewing a document containing regional sales, the user can click a particular region to execute another document that displays sales for the stores in that region. The source document could also link to the underlying dataset report, to display profit and cost values as well.

Layout of the Link Editor

The Link Editor contains a list of links defined for the selected object. The buttons to the right of the list include the following:

New: create a new link.
Remove: delete the selected link.
Move Up and Move Down: set the order that the links are displayed in the right-click menu.
Rename: rename the selected link.

By default, the first link is named Link1, the second Link2, and so on, but you can change the names. Since the name of the link appears in both MicroStrategy Developer and MicroStrategy Web, it should be descriptive and informative to help users identify the target of the link.
Clear Default is displayed when the selected link is the default link; Set as Default is displayed when the selected link is not the default.

The default link is used when a user clicks the object in MicroStrategy Web or double-clicks it in MicroStrategy Developer. By default, the first link that is created is set as the default link.

The remaining options on the Link Editor define the link and how to apply prompt answers:

Run this report or document: the target that is executed when the link is clicked. Click ... (the browse button) to find and select the target report or document.
Target prompts and Select prompt answer method: specify how to apply prompt answers. For details, see Prompt answer methods below.
Open in a new window: determines whether the target report or document opens in the same window as the source, replacing the source (the default). To have the target open in a new window, which allows both the source and the target to be visible simultaneously, select this check box. This setting applies to all the links on the object.

This setting applies to MicroStrategy Web. Links open in a new window in MicroStrategy Developer regardless of this setting.
Copy Links copies links to a different report object, using the Copy Links dialog box.

Prompt answer methods

Each prompt on the target is listed in Target prompts. Choose a prompt from the list, and then Select a prompt answer method from the drop-down list. Unless otherwise indicated, each method is available for all prompt types. The methods are:

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.)

Dynamically is available for value prompts when you use MicroStrategy Web to create a link. For instructions, see the Document Creation 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.)

The list of prompts contains an option labeled 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

The Element List area becomes available only when the Prompt answer method is defined as Static element list.

To add elements to the list, click Add. The Select Elements dialog box opens. Select the element(s) from the list of Available objects and click > to move them to the list of Selected objects. Click OK to return to the Link Editor.
To remove elements from the list, select the element and click Remove.
To remove all the elements from the list, click Clear.
To re-order the elements in the list, use the arrow buttons. (Available only when the list contains multiple elements.)

To access the Link Editor

Edit the report or document in MicroStrategy Developer by right-clicking on the report or document, and selecting Edit. The Report Editor or Document Editor opens.
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 a report or a Grid/Graph:
- Attributes
- Hierarchies
- Metrics
- Object prompts

Link Editor

Layout of the Link Editor

Prompt answer methods

To access the Link Editor

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