Text Area field using HTML and a Link

[Jberry]

Hello all. I use a text area field to allow staff to include a link to a file(s) on our Google drive. Is there any way to have it open in a separate tab when someone clicks on it? Right now search for a record. One record is on the screen. They click the link and it opens the document but when they close it it closes the record they were on and displays all the records again. I'd like the link to open in a separate window, they review the document, close that window or tab and they are back on the same record they were just on. Ideas?

Thanks

-John

[christappan]

Is the link the only information in the field? If so, I think you could add a button next to the field with Javascript like this:

var url = {dialog.object}.getValue('TEXTAREAFIELD');
window.open(url, '_blank').focus();

[Jberry]

Hi, thanks for responding. Nope, the field also allows files to be uploaded so all of these are in that one text area (HTML) field. I think I'm going to have to change the way I'm doing this :(

[christappan]

The key is that it should have a target of "_blank".

If you switch to the source and look at the anchor tag, it will show something like:
<a href="https://mydocumentongoogle.pdf">https://mydocumentongoogle.pdf</a>.

It will work f you can change that to:
<a href="https://mydocumentongoogle.pdf" target="_blank">https://mydocumentongoogle.pdf</a>

You could do something in the code when the record is saved to replace "<a " with "<a target="_blank" " and it might work. Grid or UX?

[Jberry]

This is on a grid. That sounds like it might work. The staff who enter this stuff enter a bunch of things at once into that Text Area field, so they'd add one file, then another, then another, then another, then a link to a document on Google Drive and then hit save. I realize this may be trivial if I used a UX but I've never had luck with UX's, panels, list boxes etc. It always seems to take me days to do something simple using a UX when I can do it in a few minutes with a grid. It's also a matter of bosses and time. Now, having said that, if you know a way of how much easier it'd be using a UX then as long as I don't have a boss on my back and I can carve out some time then I'll gladly give it a shot and learn something in the process.

-John

[christappan]

I had the same experience with the switch from Grids to UXs myself.

Try putting this in the Text Area > Javascript > onBlur event

var textAreaFieldValue = {dialog.object}.getValue('TEXTAREAFIELD');
var newTextAreaFieldValue = textAreaFieldValue.replace(/<a /g, '<a target="_blank" ');
{dialog.object}.setValue('TEXTAREAFIELD',newTextAreaFieldValue);

Also, you can correct your existing records on this as well. If SQL, just something like:

UPDATE tableWithTextArea
SET textAreaField = REPLACE(textAreaField,'<a ','<a target="_blank" ');

[Jberry]

Hi Chris, thanks for this but interestingly enough the link has no "target =" whereas if it's an attachment it does.

The attachment:
<a href="Annex D- Axxxxxx COVID-19 on xxxxxx.docx" target="_blank">Annex D- Axxxxxx COVID-19 on xxxxxx.docx</a>

The link:
<a href="https://docs.google.com/xxx/x/xxxxxxxxx/edit?usp=sharing&amp;oxxxxxxx=true">https://docs.google.com/xxxxt/x/xxxx/edit?</a>

[christappan]

Unless I'm misunderstanding, the link for the google doc is still an anchor tag, though ("<a>"). If you add
target="_blank"
within the <a .... > section, it will work.

[Jberry]

Thanks Chris, I'll give it a shot