Maintaining Hypermedia Links


Overview

Tasks

Included with

Tivoli Problem Management

Overview

Overview of hypermedia links

Hypermedia links enable help desk analysts to access other types of information such as spreadsheets, sound clips, and diagrams when working with Diagnostic Aids.

Hypermedia links appear in reverse color when you view a Diagnostic Aids record or HyperTree node.

In Edit mode, hypermedia links appear as commands you can modify or delete.

Advantages of using hypermedia links

Hypermedia links enable you to:
  • Provide more detailed information for novice help desk analysts. Hypermedia links enable novice help desk analysts to access background information that experienced help desk analysts can bypass.
  • Store more information than can be stored in a HyperTree or other Diagnostic Aid. Hypermedia links can open files, providing more information than can be stored solely in a HyperTree or other Diagnostic Aids record.
  • Launch other applications or programs from within Tivoli Problem Management. If a help desk analyst wants to look up a particular engineering drawing, he or she can do so using a hypermedia link. For instance, the link can launch a Computer Aided Design (CAD) application and open the file that contains the desired drawing.

Types of hypermedia links

In Tivoli Problem Management, you can add the following types of hypermedia links to Diagnostic Aids:
Link Type Purpose
Search Scrolls to the line of text where the next instance of a particular word or phrase occurs
View file Opens any flat file in read-only mode using Tivoli Service Desk's Hypermedia Viewer, which is automatically installed with Tivoli Problem Management
Open URL Opens a URL with your browser.
Display image Opens a graphics file in read-only mode using Tivoli Problem Management's Hypermedia Viewer
Play sound Opens a sound file and plays the recording
Run program Calls an executable file to launch another application or program

Add Hypermedia Link dialog box

This dialog box enables users to add hypermedia links.

To access the Add Hypermedia Link dialog box:

Find File dialog box

This dialog box enables users to view files with the assistance of a Find tool in order to learn the name of a file.

To access the Find File dialog box:


Tasks

Adding hypermedia links

You can add hypermedia links in the following dialog boxes:
In the... Can add hypermedia links in the...
Add Common Problem dialog box
  • Description text box
  • Solution text box
Add Solution dialog box
  • Description text box
  • Solution text box
Edit Common Problem dialog box
  • Description text box
  • Solution text box
Add Hot News dialog box
  • Description text box
  • Solution text box
Edit Hot News dialog box
  • Description text box
  • Solution text box
Add Error Message dialog box
  • Description text box
  • Solution text box
Edit Error Message dialog box
  • Description text box
  • Solution text box
HyperTree Editor dialog box
  • Actions text box
  • Questions text box

To add a hypermedia link:

  1. Open any of the above dialog boxes.
  2. Place the insertion point in the text box where you want to add the hypermedia link.
  3. Press Alt+B.
  4. In the Add Hypermedia Link dialog box, in the Link text box, type the text that acts as the link.
  5. Select a Link type.
    For a list of link types, see Types of hypermedia links.
    Note: The label for the Search For box changes, depending on which option you select.
  6. Do one of the following:
    • If you selected Search in step 5, type the text you want to search for in the Search for box. Continue to step 8.
    • If you selected a different link type, type the path and file name of the link file. If you do not know the file name, choose the Browse button. The Find File dialog box appears.

      Select the file, then choose Open. The Add Hypermedia Link dialog box reappears, with the path and file name displayed in the File box.
      Tip: If you add a link to run a program, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can specify a file to be opened in the application by typing the path and file name after the application file name. For example:

      [[View Description in User Guide| RUN 
      C: \SAI\ACROREAD.EXE C:\GUIDE\USER.PDF]]
                
  7. Do one of the following:
    • If you selected Search, Play sound, URL, or Run program, go to step 8.
    • If you selected View File and you want the file to appear in the Hypermedia Viewer without wrapping words, select No word wrap.
    • If you selected Display Image, image flags are enabled. Select an option:
      • To clip the image to the size of the Hypermedia Viewer, select Clip.
      • To display the image in the Hypermedia Viewer with scroll bars, select Scroll.
      • To scale the image to the size of the Hypermedia Viewer, select Scale.
  8. Choose OK.
    Result: The dialog box you opened in step 1 reappears, with the new hypermedia link.

Editing hypermedia links

You edit a hypermedia link from its point of origin in Edit mode. The following is an example of a hypermedia link command in Edit mode.
[[Computer VIRUS!| FILE PCDGS020.TX2 NEW ]]

To edit a hypermedia link:

  1. From a Work with dialog box, select the record you want to edit.
  2. Choose Edit.
  3. In the appropriate Edit dialog box, locate the hypermedia link command in the appropriate text box, then modify the command by typing over the information you want to change.
  4. Choose OK.

To edit a hypermedia link in a HyperTree node:

  1. From the HyperTrees Mode menu, choose Sequential Response.
  2. Display the node in Sequential Response mode.
  3. Choose Edit.
    Result: The HyperTree Editor dialog box for the current node appears.
  4. If necessary, choose the appropriate tab to display the hypermedia link.
  5. Modify the command by typing over the existing information.
  6. Choose OK.

Deleting hypermedia links

You delete a hypermedia link as you would delete any word or series of words in a Diagnostic Aids record or HyperTree node.

To delete a hypermedia link:

  1. From a Work with dialog box, select the record you want to edit.
  2. Choose Edit.
  3. In the appropriate Edit dialog box, select the hypermedia link.
  4. Press Delete to remove the hypermedia link.
  5. Choose OK.

To delete a hypermedia link in a HyperTree node:

  1. From the HyperTrees Mode menu, choose Sequential response.
  2. Display the node in Sequential Response mode.
  3. Choose Edit.
  4. In the HyperTree Editor dialog box, if necessary, choose the appropriate tab to display the hypermedia link.
  5. Select the hypermedia link.
  6. Press Delete.
  7. Choose OK.