About shortcut objects

Shortcut objects are standalone objects in MicroStrategy that represent links to other objects such as reports, filters, metrics, and so forth. Shortcut objects are easy pointers for navigation. Creating shortcuts to original objects in different locations facilitates access to these objects without duplicating them.

These shortcut objects link to objects and are saved in folders. In contrast, the shortcuts in the Shortcut Bar represent folders only. While shortcut objects can link to folders, they can also link to reports, filters, metrics, and so on. For a description of the Shortcut Bar, and how to work with it, see Shortcut Bar.

Shortcuts allow easy maintenance of objects by eliminating the need to change numerous duplicate copies in addition to the original object. When you create shortcuts to an object, to change any parameters of the object, you modify only the original object itself, and these changes are reflected in all locations where the shortcuts for this object exist. To access the object's editor, right-click the original object or any one of its shortcuts. Right-clicking the shortcut links you to the original object.

You can create shortcut objects in either of the following ways:

• Create a shortcut object from the original object. You must select the destination folder. For instructions, see Creating a shortcut object from the original object.

• Create a shortcut object in a specific folder. You must select the original object. This is referred to as using the shortcut editor. For instructions, see Creating a shortcut object using the shortcut editor.

You can also create, edit, or delete multiple shortcut objects at the same time by using a Command Manager script. Command Manager is a MicroStrategy tool designed to automate certain tasks and processes. For more information about Command Manager, including instructions, see theCommand Managerchapter of the System Administration Help.

Searching shortcuts

By default, shortcuts are resolved to their target objects, that is, search criteria is applied to the target of a shortcut, rather than to the shortcut directly. You can instead treat shortcuts as independent objects, and apply the search criteria to the shortcut directly. For instructions, and examples of how searching shortcuts works, see Searching shortcuts.