Safe Link

Function

a!safeLink( label, uri, showWhen, openLinkIn )

Defines a link to an external web page. Links can be used in charts, grids, hierarchy browsers, images, link fields, milestones, pickers, and rich text.

See also:

• Link
• Read-Only Grid
• Images
• Buttons and link design guidance

Parameters

Usage considerations

Displaying links

• To display a single link or array of links, put safe links inside of the link component.
• To display a link in a grid, put the safe link inside of a grid text column.
• To add a link to an image, put the safe link inside a document image or web image.
• To add a link to a chart series, put the safe link inside a chart series component.

Specifying URI schemes

It's recommended that the URI use a specific scheme. When no scheme is specified, the component generates a hyperlink using the system's scheme and domain.

Opening links in new tabs & windows

• A link created by a!safeLink() opens in a new tab by default. Opening a link in the same tab can be configured using the openLinkIn parameter.
• Note that a user's browser may still be configured so that new tabs are instead opened as new windows.

Telephone and text message link considerations

If you use the telephone URI scheme (tel:) or the text message URI scheme (sms:), the link attempts to open in the device's default phone dialer or text messaging application. These links may work in a browser and in the Appian for Windows app, but behavior depends on the operating system and whether an appropriate application is installed.

Because this behavior is inconsistent across platforms, telephone and text message links work best on mobile devices. Consider adding logic to only display telephone and text message links when the user is in the Appian Mobile app using a!isNativeMobile().

Examples

To experiment with examples, copy and paste the expression into an interface object.

To an external website

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a!safeLink(
  label: "Company web site",
  uri: "http://www.appian.com"
)

Returns a hyperlink to http://www.appian.com

To a telephone number

Returns a telephone link that opens the device's default calling application. For this example, we used a!isNativeMobile() to only show the link when the user is in the Appian Mobile app, where calling apps are reliably available.

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a!richTextDisplayField(
  value: if( 
    a!isNativeMobile(),
  a!richTextItem(
    text: (
      "(555)-555-5555"
    ),
    link: a!safeLink(
      label: "(555)-555-5555",
      uri: "tel: (555)-555-5555"
    ),

  ),
  "(555)-555-5555"
 )
)

Feature compatibility

Related recipes

The following recipes include usage of the Safe Link.

• Action Banner Pattern (Formatting, Buttons, Rich Text, Cards):

  Use the action banner pattern to display prominent messages that include interactive elements like links or buttons.

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