How to create Hyperlink in XML publisher report

XLink (the XML Linking language) defines methods for creating links within XML documents.

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What is XLink?

XLink is used to create hyperlinks within XML documents Any element in an XML document can behave as a link XLink supports simple links (like HTML) and extended links (for linking multiple resources together) With XLink, the links can be defined outside the linked files XLink is a W3C Recommendation

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XLink Syntax

In HTML, the <a> element defines a hyperlink. However, this is not how it works in XML. In XML documents, you can use whatever element names you want - therefore it is impossible for browsers to predict what link elements will be called in XML documents.

Below is a simple example of how to use XLink to create links in an XML document:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<homepages xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">
  <homepage xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="http://www.w3schools.com">Visit W3Schools</homepage>
  <homepage xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="http://www.w3.org">Visit W3C</homepage>
</homepages>

To get access to the XLink features we must declare the XLink namespace. The XLink namespace is: "http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink".

The xlink:type and the xlink:href attributes in the <homepage> elements come from the XLink namespace.

The xlink:type="simple" creates a simple "HTML-like" link (means "click here to go there").

The xlink:href attribute specifies the URL to link to.

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XLink Browser Support

There is no browser support for XLink in XML documents. However, all major browsers support simple XLinks in SVG.

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XLink Example

The following XML document contains XLink features:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<bookstore xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">

<book title="Harry Potter">
  <description
  xlink:type="simple"
  xlink:href="/images/HPotter.gif"
  xlink:show="new">
  As his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
  Wizardry approaches, 15-year-old Harry Potter is.......
  </description>
</book>

<book title="XQuery Kick Start">
  <description
  xlink:type="simple"
  xlink:href="/images/XQuery.gif"
  xlink:show="new">
  XQuery Kick Start delivers a concise introduction
  to the XQuery standard.......
  </description>
</book>

</bookstore>

Example explained:

• The XLink namespace is declared at the top of the document (xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink")
• The xlink:type="simple" creates a simple "HTML-like" link
• The xlink:href attribute specifies the URL to link to (in this case - an image)
• The xlink:show="new" specifies that the link should open in a new window

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XLink - Going Further

In the example above we have demonstrated simple XLinks. XLink is getting more interesting when accessing remote locations as resources, instead of standalone pages.

If we set the value of the xlink:show attribute to "embed", the linked resource should be processed inline within the page. When you consider that this could be another XML document you could, for example, build a hierarchy of XML documents.

You can also specify WHEN the resource should appear, with the xlink:actuate attribute.

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XLink Attribute Reference

Attribute	Value	Description
xlink:actuate	onLoad onRequest other none	Defines when the linked resource is read and shown: onLoad - the resource should be loaded and shown when the document loads onRequest - the resource is not read or shown before the link is clicked
xlink:href	URL	Specifies the URL to link to
xlink:show	embed new replace other none	Specifies where to open the link. Default is "replace"
xlink:type	simple extended locator arc resource title none	Specifies the type of link