linking to external files

[jedd]

Hi all,

I'm running an academic journal and need a slightly souped up contact list application. My main tasks are organizing mailing lists of our subscribers, invoices, payments, correspondence, etc.

I already have a spreadsheet that is our contact list. This imports great into Base... no issue there. But I would like to be able to create links to external pdf files. As I send invoices and receive payments, in addition to notating such in a table, I want to be able to link to pdfs of invoice and checks for verification purposes. Ideally in a form I would be able to navigate the data in the Base tables as well as clicking on links to pdfs via push button or hyperlink, or something. I've been reading the help files. I've found information on hyperlinks, but the directions are rather vague and unhelpful. The directions refer to inserting a link into a document (is this a table or form?). I assume that such links would be made in the table which gets referenced from a form, rather than inserting a link in a form. Could some one explain conceptually where I should be trying to insert links. Each record (row of the table) will have a couple of external files I want to navigate to through links of some sort. I am envisioning that clicking a link automatically opens a pdf in Adobe Reader.

Another question I have is how to do a more "forgiving" search. As my db currently stands, filtering for "Stanford" comes up empty, but "Stanford University" brings up the record I want. How do I set the filter for a conceptual "must contain" rather than "contains only?"

Thanks for any thoughts

[RPG]

Hello

for your first question this can help.

[jedd]

Hi RPG

Thanks for the reply. The logic makes sense to me, but I'm still having trouble with the execution.

Here's what I did

1. I cut and pasted your code into my OO macros

In Edit Form mode
2. created push button on my form labeled "Lackeys Log"
3. ceated text box with the name Text Box
4. Right Click on push button > Control
5. In the tab labeled Events, in first action window (labeled Approve Action), assigned the macro
6. Save Form and exit

Then I open the form

My initial thought was that I could put the cursor in the text box and insert hyperlink, but in that mode the hyperlink tool isn't available and there are no hyperlinks listed in Navigator. In Edit mode I also right clicked the text box > control looking for some place to add a path, but I didn't find anything. How am I supposed to insert the path?

I fiddled a little further...

Back in Edit mode, the insert hyperlink tool is available. I thought I could highlight the text box, and insert hyperlink. When I did this a dialogue box appeared and I made the link. I thought the link would show up in the text box, but a hyperlink was created at the top of my form. But that link also showed up in Navigator.

So then I went back to Open form mode and dragged the hyperlink from Navigator into the text box. It worked!! The location of my file showed up in the textbox. The hyperlink also shows up as text at the top of my form.

Then I tried pressing the push button which should make the hyperlink work. That produced an error message

Basic Runtime error
an Exception occurred
Type: com.sun.star.container.NoSuchElementException
Message: .

Jedd

[dacm]

quick note:
openur=true
is probably:
openurl=true

[RPG]

Hello

Here is the same code. And dacm was right there was an little error in the code.

I change the typo later but not complete.

I did assume you have a list with url and need only to execute it.

Now I have made a little sub for moving a value from a file select control to a text box.

I have test it and it is working for me on this moment

Romke

This means all
a) one textbox control
b) One Button for executing the url
c) One control for selecting a file
d) One control button for moving the file name.

I think this are a lot of controls but on this moment I don't have a better solution

Romke