Introduction

Every Insights dataset from PeopleSoft has a Drilling URL. If properly constructed, they link the user back to a component page with that data.

However, the URLs are not immediately usable in Insights.

With a little configuration, your users can click through to target PeopleSoft transaction from the Insights dashboard.

The Data Source

When we send data to Insights from PeopleSoft, we are required to include a “Drilling URL” for each line of data. Properly crafted, these transfer the user directly to that data element’s component page with that data item populated.

Using the link in Insights

We can add that link to a visualization in Insights. For an easy demonstration, let’s use a data grid.

Add a new bucket to the grid as a Split Row

The Sub Aggregation is “Terms”
The field is the URL field from the Index Pattern

Refreshing the visualization, we get something that looks like this:

Our URL is displaying in the data grid. But it’s not clickable. It’s just the actual HTML link, but not a live link.

Enabling a URL in Insights

The way to make a URL live on your dashboard is through the Index Pattern, not the visualization.

Edit your index pattern for this visualization

Menu > Stack Management > Index Patterns

Open your Index pattern and look for your URL field.

Click the pencil icon to edit the field

Change the format to “Url”

Save Field and view the Dashboard again.

The links in the dashboard are now live and do jump directly to the PeopleSoft page for that data element.

But they’re long, complicated and ugly.

Changing the link to a Label

To convert that long verbose HTML link into a friendlier label, go back to the Index pattern and edit the URL field again.

Change the “Label Template” field to something to represent the link in the data. I’ve chosen “Transaction Link” for my label.

Save and refresh your dashboard. The URL is now a much smaller, neater column with the live link labeled “Transaction Link”

Conclusion

Enabling the user to click through the dashboard analytics directly to a PeopleSoft transaction page empowers your users making an Insights Dashboard an even more powerful tool.

The information is already there. We just need to add it to the visualization and enable it.