Creating Hyperlinks

The Hyperlink tool is in the Dims/Notes tool set.

The Hyperlink tool inserts a hyperlink in the drawing, for navigating to saved views or sheet layers in the file, opening other files or folders, or launching applications or web sites. Use hyperlinks to create quick shortcuts between sheet layers and design layers, or add links to manufacturer websites to your worksheets, for example.

When you publish a file to PDF, all hyperlinks to websites are functional. If you publish the sheet layers to a single PDF file, sheet layer hyperlinks are also functional (Vectorworks Design Series required).

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Inserting a Hyperlink

To insert a hyperlink:

1. Click the Hyperlink tool from the Dims/Notes tool set.

2. Click Preferences from the Tool bar to specify the hyperlink parameters.

Alternatively, double-click the Hyperlink tool.

The Hyperlink Settings dialog box opens. The parameters in the Details area depend on the selected Function.

►    Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Layout	Select the desired appearance of the hyperlink
Symbol	Select a symbol from a library or the active file. A selected symbol is automatically imported into the active file and displays in the Resource Manager. Symbols can be page based or world based; default hyperlink symbols are page based. #Hyperlinktext# indicates the area of the symbol that displays the Label text.
Edit Symbol	The selected symbol can be edited for use in this file. Clicking Edit Symbol exits the Hyperlink Settings dialog box, and the Edit window displays for editing the symbol’s 2D component (a colored border around the drawing window indicates the editing mode is active). Reshape the geometry, change attributes, add text, paste images, and perform other editing operations, and then click Exit Symbol to return to the drawing. The hyperlink symbols in the drawing can also be edited from the Resource Manager; see Editing Symbol Definitions. Edited symbols are available for selection from the Symbol list.
New Symbol	Opens the New Symbol dialog box; provide a name for the new hyperlink symbol and click OK to return to the Hyperlink Settings dialog box. A new text-only hyperlink symbol is automatically created and added to the resources in the file. This new custom hyperlink symbol can then be selected from the Symbol list and edited by clicking Edit Symbol.
Details
Label	Enter the text to display for the hyperlink
Function	Select the hyperlink function
Open Webpage	Launches the specified website in the default browser; enter the URL in Webpage
Launch Application	Launches the specified application; click Browse to select the application. Choose whether the path to the application should be saved as absolute or relative. To set a relative path, the Vectorworks file must exist on the same volume as the application.
Open Document	Opens a file, such as a movie or image; click Browse to select the file. Choose whether the path to the file should be saved as absolute or relative. To set a relative path, the Vectorworks file must exist on the same volume as the file to open.
Open Folder	Opens the specified folder; click Browse to select the folder. Choose whether the path to the folder should be saved as absolute or relative. To set a relative path, the Vectorworks file must exist on the same volume as the folder to open.
Activate Saved View	Displays the specified saved view; select the view from the Saved View list
Activate Sheet Layer	Activates the specified sheet layer; select the sheet layer from the Sheet Layer list

3. Select the hyperlink symbol and function, and then click OK.

On the Tool bar, the current hyperlink function and target displays.

4. Click in the drawing to insert the hyperlink object.

5. To execute the hyperlink, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Cmd-click (Mac) on the hyperlink, or click Open Link from the Object Info palette or context menu of a selected hyperlink object.

Editing Hyperlinks

●    To edit the hyperlink settings, select the hyperlink, and click Edit from the Object Info palette. The Hyperlink Settings dialog box opens. Edit the parameters as described in Inserting a Hyperlink.

Alternatively, double-click the hyperlink, or right-click the hyperlink and select Edit from the context menu.

●    If a link is invalid or broken, the Object Info palette displays a message in red text, and an alert displays when the hyperlink is executed. Edit the hyperlink settings to specify a valid target.

●    Edit the hyperlink symbol definition from the Resource Manager (see Editing Symbol Definitions); this affects all instances of the symbol.

●    It can be tedious to edit multiple hyperlinks in large projects. To create an editable report of all hyperlink objects, select Tools > Reports > Create Report. See Creating Reports. In the Create Report dialog box, list all objects with a hyperlink record. Add one or more of the “Editable” items from the Possible Columns to the Worksheet Columns, and click OK to create the worksheet. When you edit an item from the worksheet, the hyperlink is automatically updated.

Exporting Hyperlinks to PDF

Only hyperlinks that open a web page or navigate to a sheet layer are functional when exported to a PDF file.

Select File > Publish. The Publish dialog box opens. Select all sheet layers that contain hyperlinks, as well as all target sheet layers. Deselect Export PDFs as separate files, to create a single PDF file. Click Publish to create the PDF file.

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Editing Symbol Definitions

Exporting PDF Files

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