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Add shortcut links in Designer

Owned by Helen Gosper
Last updated: Jun 07, 2023 by Denise McGettigan
4 min read

You can add shortcut internal links that allow users to move from the grid directly to a dashboard, favorite or different database. For example, click on a Sales Rep and open that particular Rep Scorecard dashboard.

You can also add links to an external application. For example, click on a customer to open that customer's account in your ERP system.  

Learn about how links are used in Phocas

In the example below, the Code property displays on the user's screen as a hyperlink in blue text. If the dimension has a single link, clicking the code value will open the link. If the dimension has two or more links, as in this example, clicking the code shows a dropdown menu with all of the available links.

Add a link to a dimension

  1. In Designer, click the Link button next to the relevant dimension.  

  2. In the Links window, click the green plus button to add one or more new links, then enter the following details:

    • Name - The name that displays in the grid.

    • URL - The link code. See below for more information. Note there is no validation of the link at this stage. 

  3. Click Save. The link button (icon) turns blue to indicate a link was added.

  4. Rebuild the database to make the link available.

 

Internal links can be set up using a syntax starting with 'database', 'favourite' (spelt with a 'u) or 'dashboard', as outlined below, followed by name (or ID) and the required query.

 

Syntax

Example

 

Syntax

Example

Link to another database

database:Name|query

database:GL|Dimension=Customer&Mode=Variance&Customer=%%

Link to a dashboard

dashboard:Name|query

dashboard:Customer Score Card|Customer=%%

Link to a favorite

favourite:Name|query

favourite:Declining Products|Customer=%%

Notes: 

  • If using ID instead of Name:  The ID is an identifier displayed as the last part of the URL.

  • Query is typically the name of the dimension you wish to filter on follow by '=%%'.  And, if required, the property relating to the dimension. 

  • The syntax you enter must use the UK English spelling, which is favourite with a 'u', even if Phocas displays the word spelt in the usual way everywhere else in the product.

  • On the 'database' link, the mode defaults to 'Period' so it doesn't need to be specified.

  • The names of the databases, favorites and dashboards are case sensitive.  If a link doesn't become active, check the spelling.

Link to Rebates

If you have Phocas Rebates, you can link to an individual rebate, so users can open the rebate directly from Phocas.

Use the URL /Rebates/Rebate/Index/%% 

Add a link to a transaction property

You can add links to transaction properties so that in Transaction mode, users can click on a property (such as Customer Website, Invoice or even Invoice line) to open an external application at a specific place. For example, clicking on an Invoice line transaction property would open that particular line in your accounting system. These links are only visible to the user when in Transaction mode.

 

  1. In Designer, click the Link button next to the relevant property.  

  2. In the Links window, click the green plus button to add one or more new links, then enter the following details:

    • Name - The name that displays in the grid.

    • URL - The link code. Enter the following syntax (placeholders):

      • To reference a property, use %%property_name%%. For example, Value=%%invoice_number%%&AnotherValue=%%duedate%%

      • To reference other dimension properties within a transaction property link, use %%dimension|dimension_name|property_name%% (where the word ‘dimension’ is static). For example, %%dimension|Ship To|Name%%

  3. Click Save. The link button (icon) turns blue to indicate a link was added.

  4. Rebuild the database to make the link available. On the grid, users will see a link similar to those below, which, in this example, would take them to their accounting system.

Add an external link

As well as linking to other Phocas databases, this feature can be used to open external applications and webpages, using the same parameter passing method. This is particularly useful when the partner ERP system can be opened using URLs.

The syntax is the same, except for the domain part: https://mywebsite.com/CustomerInquiry?CustomerID=%%

Replace the %% placeholder with the customer code of the selected customer. To pass a property instead of the code, use the syntax %%PropertyName%%

Administrators with permissions to view system settings can enter a system setting, for example to reference a setting that is actually a URL.

To do this:

Enter the following syntax in the link dialog.

%%setting|setting_name%%

 E.g.

%%setting|DynamicsURL%%

If the setting doesn’t exist then blank is returned. You can also chain many together, e.g.: %%setting|DynamicsURL%%%%setting|DynamicsSiteName%%