Hyperlinking to a specific DTPO entry from outside DT?

This has probably been discussed hundreds of times, but I haven’t been able to find information here in the forum_

Is there a way to create hyperlinks for specific items / entries / groups in DTPO that I could then use as URLs outside DTPO (in Word, Endnote, etc.)? I would like to create links from within Endnote and Word to notes that are in DTPO.

Thanks for help!

Both of my ideas are not ideal, but might work for you depending on your requirements …

1) Using Spotlight

In Word select “Insert|Hyperlink…” (Cmd-K), switch to the “Document” tab and click the “Select” button. This opens the usual Finder “Open” window. In the Spotlight field at the upper right corner, type the name of the DTP entry you want to link (of course Spotlight indexing must be enabled for the particular database). Choose the correct result and click "Open”. Back in the Hyperlink window give a good display name (title of the entry), since the default is the path to the spotlight cache file. Click “OK”. Done!

Warning:

  • This link will only work on the machine it was created.
  • If you reset Spotlight I do not know if DTP will generate the exact same filename, thus the link might break.

2) Using DTPO’s built-in web server

Enable the built-in web server, search for the document and copy the link. It will look close to this:

bladerunner.local:49883/I’ve%20Got%20The%20Monkey%20Now.aspx.html?id=346067&action=view

Pro:

  • This will work on every machine in the same network as yours.
  • The link is more stable

Contra:

  • The corresponding database must be opened in DTPO with the built-in web server running.

/Sven

Thanks, Sven, for these :bulb: ideas.

The first option doesn’t really work for me, since I need stable paths that will work when I get a new machine or when I reset spotlight.

The second is more promising, but since the server name contains the name of my computer, I am also wondering if it will work on other machines. Besides, while I admire your ingenuity at having found this workaround, it still seems to me quite cumbersome, having to launch the server, the browser, find the entry, just so that I can have a stable hyperlink. Is that such a difficult thing to do? Shouldn’t this belong to the basic DT toolkit? :unamused:

Well, the web server solution is quite flexible as it will also work with machines that do not run DTPO or even Mac OS X.

Well, that highly depends on your work environment.

LAN

If your machine is registered in a LAN and known by the DNS/Directory, it will always have the same name (e.g. “dialektik.organization.com”).

Bonjour

Your machine also has a Bonjour name (e.g. “dialektik.local”). That one will work out of the box with all Macs and theoretically (I haven’t checked myself) with all Windows machines that have installed Bonjour (free Apple download).

static IP

If the above options are not working, you have to use the IP address. In that case however it would be necessary to have a static IP address (ask the admin of you network).

If you are not in a LAN, or need it to work for more people …

DynDNS

You can get a DynDNS for you machine and configure the router to let through the port. Then pray that the password protection and the general server implementation of DTPO is strong enough for the internet.

General

In general I agree with you, there should be an easier way. Do you store the database on a shared network folder or how are those other people supposed to access it?

The existence of the Spotlight cache files containing only the indexable text and linking to the real thing in the database provokes the thought that DTPO probably has the functionality already. It simply is not exposed to the user.

I think this is, since the web server is a much better solution (platform independent) to share a database. However, maybe you get lucky in the next release? :wink:

/Sven

Good point. My computer is not currently networked, but I am considering setting up a small home-office network. In any case, I’d like it to be flexible enough that if I do decide to set up a network (or when I get a new machine) that the links still work. Otherwise, there’s not much point in putting in all the work.

Thanks for your help!

Is there any chance the new version of DTPO will include hyperlink functionality?

Yes in V2

Great! Can’t wait…

Presumably, the second method would cease working if you moved the document to a different group within DT?