Managing Links

Overview

InVision often ties together information from many places, and as such there is a need to provide Links to external content for users viewing a record in an application. The Link feature allows users to view related links to external content, add new links as needed, and manage special link templates which can serve as lightweight integration patterns to external systems.

There are two primary types of links which users will experience in InVision:

1. Entity Template Links - These Links are created by InVision Administrators, and will show up every time you view a certain Entity type in Details View. As an example, if an Administrator creates an Entity Link Template for Spaces to launch an external scheduling system, every time a user views spaces they will see that link present.
2. Entity Links - These Links are specific to the individual data record a user is currently viewing in Details View. Users with permissions can add these record level links, and they will only show up when another user looks at that exact record. As an example, if a user creates an Entity Link for Building 27, that link will only show up when any other user views Building 27.

Viewing Links

Links are a very common way of communicating related external information, and can be quickly accessed through the Link sub-panel in Details View. To follow the link, simply click on the label and that link will be launched in a new browser tab/window.

Overview of Viewing Links in Details view

Managing Links

Users with permissions are able to manage entity links in Space Manager, which includes Adding, Editing, and Deleting link records. A user begins by accessing the Links sub-panel, expanding it if it's not already expanded, and then choosing to perform an action outlined below. If InVision permissions are set, users whom are members of the Department Space Admin group will only be able to Edit their own link records, though members of the Org Space Manager group are able to Edit any link.

Overview of Link Management capabilities

 Actions:

1. Adding a new Entity Link - A new link can be added by clicking the ADD LINK button in the Links sub-panel
2. Editing an Entity Link - To EDIT a link, click the overflow menu to the right of that link record and the menu will appear. From the menu select Edit. Note, if you do not see an overflow menu, you either do not have permissions to edit that link, or it is an Entity Template Link which has been set up by a System Administrator.
3. Deleting an Entity Link - To DELETE a link, click the overflow menu to the right of that link record and the menu will appear. From the menu select DELETE. Note, if you do not see an overflow menu, you either do not have permissions to edit that link, or it is an Entity Template Link which has been set up by a System Administrator.

Tips for simple integration using Links

InVision is able to pass attribute variables from records as URL parameters, which can be referenced with the following pattern:

http://sampleurl.com/?parameter=${NameOfAttributeYouWantToPass}

For more information on this approach, please refer to the InVision Integration Guide.