Dynamic hyperlinks
Dynamic hyperlinks is a feature that allows plugin users to add hyperlinks to tables and views. A dynamic hyperlink is generated on the fly. Column variables can be added to a hyperlink and are substituted on generation.
Example
To add a dynamic hyperlink to a table or view:
- Start the Data Explorer
- Click on the Manage link of the table or view to which you want to add the hyperlink
- Click on Dynamic Hyperlinks
- Add your hyperlink(s)
- Save your hyperlink(s)
See example below (click to enlarge)
- The plugin allows to add multiple hyperlinks to a table
- The links are added to the end of the table or view in the Data Explorer
- The links are added to the end of the table or view in a Data Project (this will be changed later)
- The Data Publisher allows you to put hyperlinks on any position
Hyperlink Settings
Hyperlink Label
Column label in a list or on a form.
+List?
Enable if hyperlink should be shown in lists.
+Form?
Enable if hyperlink should be shown in forms.
+Window?
Enable if hyperlink should be opened in a new tab or window.
HTML
Add a URL(like https://your-domain/) or add your own HTML including one or more hyperlinks. If you just add a URL, the plugin will use the Hyperlink Label and +Windows? settings. Otherwise the plugin uses your HTML code.
Add your own HTML if you want to:
- add multiple hyperlinks in one column
- use icons in your hyperlinks instead of the label text
- your own HTML to this column
Column Value Substitution
To use column values in a hyperlink simply add the column name between $$ to your URL or HTML. In the example below the variable $$id$$ is substituted with the value for column id. Column id must be a column of the table for which the hyperlink is created.
https://your-domain/service.php?id=$$id$$
Data Publisher Example
To add a hyperlink to a publication:
- Edit the publication
- Click on button “Select”
- Add your columns and hyperlinks to the list on the right side
- Save your publication
The example below (click to enlarge) uses HTML to show multiple hyperlinks in one column as icons.
Hi Peter,
so my suggestion is: If I use a Dynamic Hyperlink and use a link like: http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/test-page/ and I want to add the column information from “my_id” then my link is: “http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/test-page?my_id=$$my_id$$” correct?
Next I want to use the my_id information in a shortcode from a datapublisher-page to filter the table entries there. Is that even possible?
If not, how can I use the Dynamic-Link-Information to get data from a table and display that on a custom wordpress page or post?
Thank you so much! I have the impression that I’m missing some connections in how these value substitutions work..
Have a nice day,
Chiara
Hi Chiara,
Your suggestion is correct! That’s is exactly how dynamic hyperlinks (value substitutions) are meant to be use. 😉
It should be possible to use argument my_id in your publication as well, but I haven’t tested it. Please check out this options to define an initial search on a specific column:
https://datatables.net/reference/option/searchCols
Within the plugin you can use filter wpda_wpdataaccess_prepare to read the url argument and write its value to a javascript variables, which can then be used in your initial search. Here is some information about filter wpda_wpdataaccess_prepare:
https://wpdataaccess.com/2020/03/25/filter-wpda-wpdataaccess-prepare-to-add-custom-options-to-a-publication/
In your use case you might also want to disable a global search. You can use the dom option to do this:
https://datatables.net/reference/option/dom
Looks like you’re building a complete application with a flow from data entry until data publication? Great! 🙂 Let me know if you help…
Best wishes,
Peter
Good Morning Peter,
yesterday I’ve tried to understand, how this could work out, but I didn’t made much progress.
First question: where do I have to edit the filter wpdata_wpdataaccess? Is the filter integrated in the plugin-files somewhere or can I use it directly in the plugin-frontend on wordpress somehow?
Second question: when I did the dynamic hyperlink with “http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/test-page?my_id=$$my_id$$” and then click on this in a row of my published table the link I get is: “http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/test-page/?my_id=$$my_id$$”. There is no value substitution happening. Do I have to add more information to the dynamic link or what is going wrong here? Is there a problem because my “test-page” is a wordpress page and has no extension “.php”?
Thrid question: how can I then connect the filter wpdata_wpdataaccess_prepare with my publication?
I would be so glad, if you could do a short tutorial or something to this issue. Something like “how can I add a dynamic link to a publicated table, which links to a page, where I filter data from a table and show only a picture or the price of the product and not all detail-information?”
If you don’t have the time to do a tutorial, i totally understand that.
Thank you sooo much for your support! Don’t know, what I would do without your constant, helpful support!
Chiara
Hi Chiara,
Let’s start with the dynamic hyperlink. Does your table have a column my_id? The plugin will only substitute values for existing column names. If your table has no column my_id, nothing happens. Make sure your are writing an existing column name between the $$ characters. For example: use $$student_id$$ to add the student_id to your hyperlink.
When your hyperlink points to:
http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/test-page/?my_id=123
you need to make sure this page exists and is able to handle argument my_id. Your hyperlink can be on the same domain or another domain. So:
http://www.some-domain.com/index.php?my_id=123
works as well. Your hyperlink URL does not need to have an extension .php as long as the URL is able to handle the querystring (in this case my_id=123) you are sending.
Be carefull with the filter! The name of the filter is:
wpda_wpdataaccess_prepare (not: wpdata_wpdataaccess_prepare)
To add a filter, you need to put your PHP code “somewhere”. There are severals ways to do this. One of the most common ways I think is to add your code to the theme function.php file. The disadvantage is that a theme update overwrites your changes.
I created a plugin add-on – the Code Manager – to add your own hooks and filters in such a way that it survives all types of updates (WordPress, themes and plugins). The add-on is ready, but I do not yet have a sales channel (working on it). I will need to create an instruction video for this add-on anyway, so I’ll try to create a video this week. I hope the video will help you to write your own hooks and filters.
Best regards,
Peter