Creating Multiple HotLinks in a Map - MapInfo_Pro - 2023

Many users have asked us to allow more than one HotLink definition per map object. When a user clicks a map object with multiple HotLinks, a list of options are displayed, which allows your user to access different types of content for a single map object.

For example:

• Your Web site
• Product or Service Documents
• Applications
• Flash Demonstrations
• Anything you can open with a mouse click or double-click

For example, you could offer your customers access to your web site, product information, and a tutorial all from the same map object.

Adding More than One Hotlink

To create more than one hotlink for a layer:

1. Make the Map window active.
2. On the HOME tab, in the Windows group, click Tool Windows, and click Layers from the list, to open the Layers window.
3. Click the layer you want to add the hotlink to and on the MAP tab, in the Options group, click HotLink Options to open the HotLink Options dialog box.

   The first time you open this dialog box, there may be no column entries to display.

   Note: The check box beside the Filename Expression indicates that the HotLink is active. To disable the HotLink, clear the check box beside the Filename Expression.
4. To edit a HotLink definition, select the definition in the list and use the fields and buttons in the Properties of selected hotlink definition section to set the values.
   Note: To edit a HotLink option, make another selection in this dialog box and click OK.

   Filename Expression: Use this drop-down list to select a field in the selected layer's table. You can also select the Expression option to create an expression. We have created an example expression in the first column. This option defaults to the first field in the table.

   Alias Expression:Use this drop-down list to select a field in the selected layer's table. You can also select the Expression option to create an expression. This option defaults to the first field in the table. If no alias expression is defined, then the file name or URL is used.

   Note: The alias only shows in the dialog that displays after clicking on the map with the HotLink command, from this dialog you can select the HotLink command to launch.

   File locations are relative to table location: Use this check box to indicate whether the HotLink data you are specifying is in the relative path of the open .TAB file. This check box is cleared by default.

   Activate HotLink on: Use these buttons to indicate which map feature the user can click to activate a HotLink. Options include Labels, Objects, or Labels & Objects. The Labels option is selected by default.

   Note: When you select the same activation option for two different Filename Expressions, a list of options displays for the user.

   Save options to table metadata: Use this option to save the HotLink options you select in this dialog box to the metadata of the .TAB file. This option is cleared by default.

Accessing Multiple HotLinks

To access these multiple HotLinks:

1. Open the map.
2. On the MAP tab, in the Options group, click Map Tools, and click Hotlink.
3. Click an area on the map with multiple HotLinks to see the list.

Removing a HotLink from a Map

There are two ways to remove a HotLink from a map. The Map window that contains the HotLinks you want to remove must be open to remove the HotLinks.

To remove a HotLink from a map permanently:

1. On the HOME tab, in the Windows group, click Tool Windows, and click Layers from the list, to open the Layers window.
2. Select the layer that contains the HotLink you want to remove permanently.
3. On the MAP tab, in the Options group, click HotLink Options to open the HotLink Options dialog box.
4. Highlight the HotLink you want to remove.
5. Click Remove. There is no confirmation prompt for this action.
6. Click OK to save this change.

To disable a HotLink temporarily:

1. Follow step 1 through step 3 in the previous instructions to display the HotLink Options dialog box.
2. Clear the check box beside the Filename Expression column of the HotLink you want to disable.
3. Click OK to save this change.

Changing the Display Order of HotLinks in a List

If you have multiple HotLinks for a particular map feature, you may want to prioritize the order in which the HotLinks display.

To reorder the list of HotLink entries for a particular layer:

1. On the HOME tab, in the Windows group, click Tool Windows, and click Layers from the list, to open the Layers window.
2. Select the layer that contains the HotLink you want to remove permanently.
3. On the MAP tab, in the Options group, click HotLink Options to open the HotLink Options dialog box.
4. Highlight the HotLink you want to move and use the Up and Down buttons to position the HotLink in the proper order.
5. Click OK to save this change.

Multiple HotLink Notes

The following multiple HotLink behavior may not be obvious:

• If a HotLink definition has a Filename Expression value of none (that is, it is an empty string) the Hotlink Options dialog box displays the Filename Expression as <undefined>.
• When you hover the cursor over a map feature that contains a HotLink, MapInfo Pro displays a message in the Status bar describing the content of the HotLink. When there is more than one HotLink for that map feature or the activation attributes overlap, the phrase, Multiple active objects under cursor is displayed in the Status bar.