Aware Newbie Question about Email hyperlinks

tazzmaxx

I get emails all the time from systems that include a hyperlink to take me back to something that explicitly relates to ME. Like the email you get from Craigslist to go back to their site to edit your post. I would like to be able to add hyperlinks in a notification to give a user an easy way to get to where I want them to be.

I thought about storing the url in an attribute field and display this on the notification but I couldn't think of a way to automate this process (or if that would even work).

Is this something that can be done in Aware? Has anyone experienced this before? I searched the forum and I didn't see anything specific to this type of question.

Thanks for your help.

tford

Tazz,

There was a thread about this -- I think in the last 30-60 days.

If you find it, please cross reference it here.

Tom

tazzmaxx

Hi Tom,

I have checked but cannot find the post related to hyperlinks in emails. Do you have a link that you can direct me to?

Thanks

tford

Sorry I don't have a link, but I remember a thread. The subject of the thread may not necessary give a clue to the content.

Tom

tazzmaxx

The search on phpBB forums is so clunky. I wish that it was easier to find information.

I'll keep looking. Thanks Tom

tford

Tazz,

I think this is the one I was thinking of

https://forum.awareim.com/d/2417>

Tom

uche_ofurum

Hi,

It was previously possible to just include a hyperlink in the initial value section of the message attribute of a notification as plain text type (this worked for me).

However, since upgrading to version 4.7 (build 1229), I have noticed that hyperlinks I had in my notification emails no longer work (they are no longer presented as links in the emails sent).

Can anyone shed any light on this? :?

rocketman

Only to say I have the same problem in 1229 REceived emails dont have a clickable link in them

Over to you support .... >

aware_support

We have just tested this and it seems to work fine. Maybe your e-mail client doesn't support HTML?

rocketman

Hi Guys - since first posting, I've since sent emails with hyperlinks that have worked. Not done much testing as to why, the only differenece as far as I can see was when I sent the original I included the http:// at the start of the url - and it DIDN'T work.

when I left it out and just sent www.etcetera etcetera It worked.

Most peculiar - Maybe the first email was just a glitch. Anybody else had similar results?

rocketman

Just remembered something ... With the email that DIDN't work, when people replied to it, the link in the reply ('cos nobody ever deletes the original message) worked

curiouser and curiouser

tford

Are you using the notification's Message attribute or HTMLMessage atribute?

aware_support

The difference in the latest build is that the Message attribute can have HTML text - you don't need to have an HTML document in the HTMLMessage attribute in order to send messages in the HTML format. If you format your Message attribute as HTML, the message will be sent in this format.

So if you want to have links in your messages you must construct them as HTML links, for example:

Dear friend,

please click on this <a href=http://www.myurl.com>link</a>

The word "link" will be hyperlinked.

rocketman

Further testing.

My scenario:

email notification uses the plain text message atribute set as HTML format. The initial text is set as:
Dear <<Members.FirstName>>

<<BulkMail.Message>>

<<LoggedInMembers.FirstName>> <<LoggedInMembers.Surname>>

General email to all or selected members of the Derbyshire and Lancashire Gliding Club

Bulkmail is a BO which allows members to compose and store their emails
BulkMail.Message is a plain text attribute set as HTML format.

a member first selects the email they wish to send - then selects either a pre defines distribution list (which can be all members) and the process then performs SEND BULKTEXT TO Members

To date I have tried a) your suggested embedding of the href= tag (both with and without speech marks) typing the url without the href tag. and also - lastly, forming the email using Microsoft word and pasting the text (including a url) into the bulkmail mesage attribute

This latter test is the ONLY one that has worked. I used Micorosoft Word to compose the message, ensuring the url was correcly formed and underlined, then pasted the whole lot into my BulkMail form.

I did also try OpenOffice (V3.1) but for some strange reason the text would not paste into the BulkMail form.

I am left wondering whether the text processing module you use when a plain text attribute is set to HTML format seems too restricted. It may be this restiction has been imposed by the Aware development team but I have seen and used others which have a much better set of functions including creating url links, inserting images with text wrap and a host of others facilities. Certainly, a button which would allow the creation of a url link would simplify the process for end users.

Next post will be name of another package for providing word processing facilities in text fields - I just can't remember the name or get at it from this machine

rocketman

It's called fckeditor

http://www.fckeditor.net/whosusing

tford

I believe AwareIM uses fckeditor. Look at:
C:\AwareIM\Tomcat\webapps\AwareIM\fckeditor

aware_support

Aware IM uses EXT editor, not fckeditor (the latter is used in the old version only). There are no restrictions imposed by Aware IM.

The HTML format of the hyperlink works and we have tested it several times. The only reason it will not work is if you make a mistake in your HTML tags or if the e-mail client doesn't support HTML. The fact, that Word works and yours doesn't suggest that you do make some mistake in trying to format the link yourself.

tford

1) Do you need to change the Notification's Message attribute from Standard Format to HTML Format?

2) If you construct your HTML message in another BO, should that attribute also be changed to HTML format?

tford

Answered my own questions:

1) Yes -- change the Notification's Message attribute from Standard Format to HTML Format

2) Yes

I was able to contruct a link in an HTML Format attribute as follows:

Enter text into HTML editor: http://www.cnn.com
Highlight: http://www.cnn.com
Click on the link icon in the toolbar
Enter into the prompt: http://www.cnn.com

When you set the notification = to this attribute, the message will be sent as HTML with http://www.cnn.com highlighted.

rocketman

Hi Tom,

Now this is strange - I don't have a link icon on my html toolbar. There is obviously a problem somewhere. this is exactly what I was asking for a couple of posts ago.

Is there a way that some of the tools can disappear? does the attrib size need to be a minimum lenght before all the tools appear.

With regards to Aware's comments re not formatting the tag correctly, below is the received email pasted directly into this post. I can't see anything wrong with it. One of them at least should work

<a href=http://www.dlgc.org.uk> this is a link </a>
<a href="http://www.dlgc.org.uk">this is another link</a>

Mail Package is outlook 2003 and html emails come through ok at the rate of about 30 per day

Below is tyhe code (using "View Source") ffrom the email I created by pasting fom a wod doc. As you can see, the tag is identically formed

video tutorial is now ready at <A href="http://www.dlgc.org.uk/members/tutorials.asp">www.dlgc.org.uk/members/tutorials.asp</A>