Hyperlink in email

[Louis Nickerson]

RE: Hyperlink in email

Ok already...I give!

I don't think I did a very good job of explaining what it is that I want to accomplish...so here's a new explaination.

First and foremost...I have a working example of exactly what I want to accomplish. It was created in a database that is commercially available. The front end of this database was developed in Delphi and the backend is Cybase.

Here is exactly what I want to accomplish...

The client who is running the database is named XYZ Service Company.

User #1 (an employee of XYZ Sevice Company) is looking at a customer screen for the client named ACME Software Security. ACME Software Security's customer screen has a field which holds the name of the employee (User # 2 for example) of XYZ Service Company who has been assigned as the primary sales rep for this particular customer.

While talking on the phone with ACME Software Security's Sexy Secretary, she askes User #1 to have her assigned primary sales representative (that would be USER #2) give her a call to discuss some sensitive situations.

Here's the fun part...User #1 (while viewing the customer screen for ACME Software Security) clicks on a button labeled "Email Primary Rep".

This in-turn launches the email client, addresses to email to USER #2, inserts the customer's name (ACME Software Security) into the subject field and then...

Places an attachment in the email (Lets call this attachment "Link") for future reference.

User #1 clicks send and we're off and running.

Meanwhile back at the farm, User # 2 receives a new email message from User #1. The subject of the email is "ACME Software Security" and there is an attachment included with the message.

User #2 Clicks or maybe double clicks on the attachment which in-turn...

Maximizes Alpha5 and if nothing else, sends the necessary keystrokes to the database to open the Customer form and navigate to ACME Software Security's customer record.

Questions...

1. Could a script (Alpha5 or Otherwise) be written that when attached to an email message and ultimately run, produce the desired result?

2. Where is the security issue?

Thanks Again,

Louis

[Louis Nickerson]

RE: Hyperlink in email

One more thing...

If anyone out there is interested in seeing this in action, drop me an email and I will invite you through GoToMyPC to my computer and demonstrate how it works in this other program that we use.

Louis

[G Gabriel]

RE: Hyperlink in email

Louis:
You're going off on a differnt orbit now !!
Initially you were saying you want a button or a link to open the record. That has already been answered: you need a5v6 and WAS.
Now you are saying, you want thean attachment to open a record in an alpha application: no problem: this is even easier:
in your template: attach the form or browse as an attachment. When user #2 gets the attachment from the sexy secretary, he could wear it, or:
1-he could pre-set his emial to open such attachemnt with alpha (as the defult program) or
2-right click on the attachment, when it says open using? choose alpha.
Now you have it.
P.S. Do you have that secretary's phone number?
Gabe

[Louis Nickerson]

RE: Hyperlink in email

Gabe,

Thanks for the idea, it sounds promising!

One question...

How do I make the "Form Attachment" open up to ACME Software Securit's account?

Thanks

Louis

[Lenny Forziati]

RE: Hyperlink in email

Gabe, Louis said all along that he wanted tht link to open Alpha Five and have it navigate to a specific record.

Louis, as Aaron stated, this is not possible. The securty issue is that if your email client just arbitrarily executed anything attached to it, I could email you an attachment that was a script that formatted your whole hard drive, collected sensitive information, or did anything else I wanted to your computer.

-Lenny

[G Gabriel]

RE: Hyperlink in email

Louis:
When you design your outgoing email: click on attachment icon, it will ask you what file: choose whichever file you wish.
The next question I guess would be: how do I get it to open to that specific record?
Put an OnInIt event that filters to that record or better off xdlg(or a form) asking for a password or any other parameter (user's name or ID) that will evaluate against a variable that will open that will oopen a specific record matching this user.
Gabe

[G Gabriel]

RE: Hyperlink in email

Lenny:
I understand what Louis is saying, except he is saying in broad terms. When he says open alpha, that could mean open the application itself or access records in it throuh WAS.
We all agree for security reasons, you can not "run" the program remotely. But what about an attachment? If it is not possible to open an attachment sent from alpha with an email, then what is the purpose of sending an attachment ??
Gabe

[Cheryl Lemire]

RE: Hyperlink in email

Louis,

When you send a 'form' via email, what is actually being sent is a PDF file. This is not going to open Alpha or maximize it or anything else along that line.

Now, if the screen that the secretary is looking at for the client is all the information that the user #2 needs, then this option will work for your purposes ... it will allow the acct rep to see the necessary customer information.

Open any of your forms in view mode, click on file, print current record and see what happens.

Again, this is a pdf snapshot of the current record, it is not doing anything to maximize/open or navigate within the Alpha db itself. As stated multiple times, opening the Alpha database via a link in an email cannot be done. And I for one am glad that this is the case. If other software programs allow this functionality, that is there choice, but I prefer the added security.

Good luck
Cheryl

PS If a pdf file is not good enough then my only other thought is that you create a query form for your acct reps so that when they open Alpha they can simply type in the customer they are looking for and access the record they need. I do not think there is a whole lot of difference between double clicking on a link or having to copy and paste the account name from the subject of my email. It may be an extra click or two, but for more security I prefer the extra clicks.

[Cheryl Lemire]

RE: Hyperlink in email

Gabe,

If you are attaching a form or browse or report, etc, these are PDF files. Yes you can also send a table. But double clicking on that table is not going to open Alpha. The user receiving the file has to open Alpha through normal means and add that table to the db they want and then they can view the data.

Cheryl

Louis is trying to maximize the Alpha DB Software on the email receivers computer via the link. And you can run Alpha remotely. If I have direct remote access to your computer I can run any program or open any file there. I use remote access to my clients all the time to run their Alpha program and show them how to do things. Remote access is completely different than trying to open a program via an email link.

[Louis Nickerson]

RE: Hyperlink in email

Cheryl,

I really don't think you are seeing the "Big Picture" here.

This has nothing to do with remote access.

Imagine being able to run the following script from outside of alpha5, but on a machine that is running Alpha5 at the time you run this script.


'Open a Form or Browse layout, displaying all, or selected records in the layout.
query.filter = "Customer_id = \"0000000000000006\""
query.order = "recno()"


'Open the layout_type showing just the records that satisfy the filter
DIM Shared varP_form_customers as P
DIM layout_name as c
layout_name = "form_customers"


dim tempP as p
'Get pointer to existing window. In case layout_name is qualified with a dictionary name, extract up to first @. In case formname has spaces, normalize it
tempP=obj(":"+object_name_normalize(word(layout_name,1,"@")))
'Test if pointer is valid
if is_object(tempP) then
'Test if pointer refers to a form or browse
if tempP.class() = "form" .or. tempP.class() = "browse" then
'Apply the query to the form or browse as the Base query. (this means that
'the user cannot turn the query off, only add to the query)
tempP.BaseQueryRun(query.filter,query.order)
'then activate the already open window
tempP.activate()
else
'Window is not already open, so open it
varP_form_customers = :Form.viewqueried(layout_name,query.filter, query.order )

end if
else
varP_form_customers = :Form.viewqueried(layout_name,query.filter, query.order )

end if


Louis

[G Gabriel]

RE: Hyperlink in email

Cheryl:
I just sent an email to myself and attached alphasport to it: right clicked on the attachment and opened it with alpha5. Guess what? it opens just fine !! Would you like to try it??
Gabe

[Cheryl Lemire]

RE: Hyperlink in email

Gabe,

Sounds to me like you sent yourself the entire db?

Cheryl

[Cheryl Lemire]

RE: Hyperlink in email

Louis,

I completely understand what you are trying to do. It cannot be done with Alpha. I am just trying to give you other options to work around the issue and perhaps give you the end results with the least amount of work on your end and the least amount of work for your user. I do not think you are trying to gain 'remote' access via email.

Aaron and Lenny have both said that you cannot do what you want via the means you are trying to do it. You can put the application on WAS and easily send links via email that will in fact open the specific record you are looking for via the web application server. If you do not want to do that, then you need to find other ways to accomplish your task and the only ways I know to do that are find ways to make it easier for your account rep to locate the record he needs when he gets the email.

Cheryl

[bowenjohn]

RE: Hyperlink in email

Louis:
If you use Alpha 5 as your email client you could use the email actions functionality to open a record or form.

http://support.alphasoftware.com/alphafivehelp/User_Manual/Receiving_an_E-mail.htm

Scroll down to the middle of the page to E-mail Actions.

I haven't tried this myself..but it looks like it would work.

John Bowen
www.alpha5host.com
alpha 5 hosting

[Doug Page]

RE: Hyperlink in email

Louis,

As a different approach, you say that you already have something working in Delphi and Sybase. How is this currently working? What kind of attachment was sent via email? What was the attachments extension? Has the extension been associated with a small Delphi program that is just calling the database? Was a scripting language being used?

Knowing how your current situation works could shed some light on how to get this going in Alpha.

Doug