Dynamic Links Page

On this page:

Use this page to create dynamic links and dynamic link folders for display on the eSchoolPlus menu.

You can add dynamic links as follows:

• To any existing folder on an eSchoolPlus menu. For example, you can add a dynamic link to the Scheduling >Courses > District Courses folder.
• To a new folder on an eSchoolPlus menu. For example, you can create a folder on the Registration > Utility menu titled District Maps, then add dynamic links to this folder.
• To a new folder on a new menu within an eSchoolPlus package. For example, you can create a Resources folder for the Medical package, which adds a new menu to the package. You then can add a folder titled Hospitals to the Resources menu and add dynamic links for local hospital websites to this folder.

You also can add dynamic links to pages in Home Access Center and Teacher Access Center, using their building configurations. For information on creating these links, refer to Setting Up Dynamic Links for HAC and TAC.

View an existing dynamic link or folder

1. Select Administration > General Setup > System > Dynamic Links.
2. On the Dynamic Links Search page, click the Title link for the dynamic link or folder you want to view. The Dynamic Links page displays.

Add a dynamic link

1. Select Administration > General Setup > System > Dynamic Links.
2. On the Dynamic Links Search page, click Add, then select Add Link.

3. On the Dynamic Links page's Details panel, complete the fields as follows:

   Title	Enter a brief title to identify the link.
   Menu Path	Click Pick Menu Location, then select the location where the link will be located.
   Page URL	Enter the full address. To ensure accuracy, we recommend copying and pasting the URL from the web or server location into this field.
   Pop-up	Select the checkbox to open the link in a new window. Otherwise, the link will open in the eSchoolPlus window.

4. Complete the fields on the Security panel as needed.
5. Click Save.

Add a dynamic links folder

Besides being able to add a folder to an existing menu, you can create a folder that adds a menu to a package. In this case, you must create a folder within the initial folder, then add your links to the second folder.

For example, Registration has two options, Entry & Reports and Utilities, each of which has its own menu. You can create a third option with its own menu by adding a folder to Registration and then adding a folder to the original folder.

1. Select Administration > General Setup > System > Dynamic Links.
2. Click Add, then select Add Folder.

3. On the Dynamic Links page's Details panel, complete the fields as follows:

   Title	Enter a brief title to identify the folder.
   Menu Path	Click Pick Menu Location, then select where the folder will be located.

4. Complete the fields on the Security panel as needed.
5. Click Save.

Note

In order for a folder to display on a menu, you must add a link to the folder. This also applies when you create folder within a folder. Neither folder can display unless the final folder contains a link.

Add a dynamic link to open a Cognos report

Users will need the appropriate security to run Cognos reports in order to run the reports from a dynamic link.

1. Launch Cognos by selecting My eSchoolPlus > All > Reporting > Cognos.
2. Locate the report that you want to add to the menu.
3. Right-click on the report, and then select Properties.
4. Copy the Address (URL).
5. In eSchoolPlus, select Administration > General Setup > System > Dynamic Links.
6. On the Dynamic Links Search page, click Add, then select Add Link.

7. On the Dynamic Links page's Details panel, complete the fields as follows:

   Title	Enter a brief title to identify the link.
   Menu Path	Click Pick Menu Location, then select the location where the link will be located.
   Page URL	Enter the following: Paste the URL copied from the report properties. Append the following text to the end of the URL: &CAMNamespace=esp&dsn= Append the Cognos Datasource name referencing the eSchoolPlus database that the report will access.
   Pop-up	Select the checkbox to open the link in a new window.

8. Click Save.

Change a dynamic link or folder

1. Select Administration > General Setup > System > Dynamic Links.
2. On the Dynamic Links Search page, click the title link for the dynamic link or folder you want to change.
3. On the Dynamic Links page, change the desired values.
4. Click Save.

Delete a dynamic link or folder

1. Select Administration > General Setup > System > Dynamic Links.
2. On the Dynamic Links Search page, click the title link for the dynamic link or folder you want to delete.
3. On the Dynamic Links page, click 

   

    (Delete) on the upper right.
4. In the Delete Confirmation window, click Yes to delete the link or folder.

Caution

Deleting a folder also deletes its contents, including links and other folders.

Fields

Details Panel

The panel's fields depend on the Menu Type you select when you click.Add.

Select:

Add Folder - to create a dynamic folder for storing dynamic links.
Add Link - to create a dynamic link

Add Folder Fields

The following fields are used to create a folder on the eSchoolPlus menu.

When you initially create and save a folder, a warning indicates that the folder cannot display in the selected location until you add at least one dynamic link to it. This also applies to when you are adding a folder to a folder. In this case, the final folder must contain a link or neither folder will display.

Field	Description
Menu Type	Displays Folder as the menu type if you selected Add Folder from the (Additional options) menu.
Description	Enter a name to identify the folder you are creating.
Menu Path	Click Pick Menu Location, then select a location on the eSchoolPlus menu where you want to add the new folder. If you select a package, rather a folder within a package, the new folder will add a menu to the package. For example, Scheduling has three main options, Courses, Student Schedules, and Utilities, each of which has its own menu. Adding a folder to Scheduling will add a fourth menu for displaying other folders. If you select a menu within a package, the new folder will be added to the menu. For example, selecting Scheduling > Courses, adds a folder to the Courses menu.
Menu Column	Enter a number indicating the column of the menu for displaying the folder. eSchoolPlus menus can display four or more columns, but options display more comfortably in a three-column format. Integer/1 This field does not display when you select a package by itself, as opposed to a folder within a package. For example, if you select Attendance > All, the Menu Column field displays for specifying a column on the All menu. However, the field does not display if you select Attendance by itself.

Add Link Fields

The following fields are used to add a dynamic link to a folder on an eSchoolPlus menu.

Field	Description
Menu Type	Displays Link as the menu type if you selected Add Link from the (Additional options) menu.
Title	Enter a name to identify the link you are creating.
Menu Path	Select a location on the eSchoolPlus menu for displaying the new link. Click Pick Menu Location, then select the folder where you want to display the link.
Page URL	Specify the URL address of the site you want to link to. You can include macros in the URL to pass context-sensitive information to the site. For example, the following URL passes the district, server name, server port and eSP login: http://google.com?district=${District}&ServerName=${ServerName}&ServerPort=${ServerPort}&espLogin=${eSPLogin} Note that the first parameter following the URL (http://google.com in the example) must be the character ? and that subsequent parameters must be separated by the & character. Following are the pre-defined macros you can use to pass information to the external resource or site being linked to: ${District} - to pass the district number. ${ServerName} - to pass the server name. ${ServerPort} - to pass the server port. ${StudentID} - to pass the student ID. ${Building} - to pass the building number. ${eSPLogin} - to pass the user’s login for eSchoolPlus.
Pop-up	Checked if you want the link to open in a new window. Unchecked if you want the link to open in the eSchoolPlus window.

Security Panel