Comparison of Link Editor and manually creating link URLs

A link is a connection in a document to another document, a report, or a web page. A link lets an analyst execute another document or report (the target) from a document (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, he can click a particular region to execute another document that displays sales for the stores in that region. This is a form of drilling, where the user has drilled from region to store. The source document could also link to the underlying dataset report, to display profit and cost values as well. The source could link to a web page that contains economic information about the region. A link can also email or export a document or report, or subscribe to a document or report.

You can use the Link Editor to create links, or you can manually define the link URLs. Each method provides advantages and disadvantages.

The Link Editor is more user-friendly and provides easy access to the most common drill functionality. Another benefit is that you do not need to find the object ID of the target. Use the Link Editor to:

• Create multiple links for the same object

• Run a report or document

• Access a web site

• Open the target in a new window

• Answer prompts

For more information, including examples and instructions, see Linking documents to other documents and to reports (drilling).

You can manually create a link URL that performs any of the actions available in the Link Editor. This method also allows the following additional functionality:

• Execute a report by supplying a template and a filter

• Subscribe to the target

• Email the target

• Export the target

However, you need to know and understand the link syntax and find the object ID.

For instructions and examples of manual link URLs, see Creating link URLs manually.