Link assets, folders, and Experiences with Asset Links

Note: This article is no longer maintained. For updated information, please refer to the corresponding Admin App article. We recommend updating your links if you’ve linked to this article.

Asset/app links are URLs to a piece of content, a folder, or an Experience in Showpad. You can use them in any type of document, as long as you make sure you export the document as a PDF file or as an HTML web app. These links are convenient for linking content from an asset or an HTML app to another asset. You can also add optional parameters to the link to access a particular page in an asset. 
When users click the link in the document, they will be redirected to the Showpad file. To display the file, the user must have access to the Experience the file is located in.

Note: Asset links can be opened by your Showpad users. Prospects that receive a shared document cannot open asset links.

See how it works

Key features

• Link content, folders, and Experiences
• Use links in an exported PDF and HTML apps
• Link assets to an HTML app
• Link to a specific page in your documents
• User needs to have access to the Experience where the asset is located

The quick way to awesomeness

In the example below, we will create an asset link to another asset in Showpad and add it to a:

1. Copy the asset URL from the asset properties
2. Use the Asset Link in a PDF file
3. Use the Asset Link in a Microsoft Office file
4. Add the Asset Link to your Content Library

Do this step by step

First, we will copy the asset URL from the asset we want to link to. We can also add (optional) parameters from the Showpad URL scheme.

1. Click Library in the top menu. If your organization uses Divisions, choose the relevant division. 
   
2. Select the asset you want to get the asset URL from.
   
3. Click the Info tab in the asset information panel.
   
4. Copy the URL in the App link to this file field.
   (Right click and select Copy, or use CTRL+C on Windows or CMD+C on a Mac.)
   
5. If necessary, Anonymizing analytics to protect user privacy with the Showpad URL scheme and copy the entire URL to your clipboard.
   Example of parameters: showpad://file/2301534669417573d1e5e11152c53c97?modal=1&page=5 will open page 5 of our PDF document. It will be displayed in a modal way, meaning it will slide over the currently active asset as a pop-up. Closing the page will take you back to the active asset.
   
   

Links to Experiences are created in a similar way.
You can create the Experience or folder links in the Experience builder:

Insert the (asset) URL into a PDF file

We will use the asset URL in a PDF file and upload it to Showpad. Note that you can add a link to an external website as well, using the same procedure.
In our example, When someone opens the link in the uploaded PDF file, page 5 of the other linked PDF will open in modal mode. 

1. Open the PDF file in Acrobat Pro.
2. Copy the asset link you created.
3. In Acrobat Pro, select Tools and click Edit PDF.
   
4. Select Link and Add/Edit Web or Document Link.
   
5. Select the region in the document you want to link. This will open the Link Properties.
   
6. As a Link Action, select Custom link and click Next.
   
7. Select the Actions tab and click Open a web link.
   
8. Click Add and paste the asset URL for this link. In this example, we're linking to page 5 in modal mode. You can add ?modal=1&page=5 to add these properties. If you just want to link the document, you don't need to use the page or modal parameters. Click OK twice to exit.
   
9. Save the PDF document.
   
10. Upload the PDF to Showpad. Make sure the user has access to the Experience that contains these files. When the user taps the link in the PDF file, the other PDF document opens on page 5.

Insert Asset links in a Microsoft Office document

If you want to use asset links or any other links in a Microsoft Office document, be aware that any type of link will be removed if you upload that document to Showpad. .docx, .xlsx, .pptx documents are flattened to a PDF so it can be displayed in the Showpad app. Find out more about how Showpad handles Microsoft Office files.
After exporting the file as a PDF, you'll need to edit the file in Acrobat Pro.

1. Open your Powerpoint (.pptx) file.
   
2. Save the .pptx file as a PDF file. This is very important, as uploading a .pptx file directly to Showpad will remove any links, macros or animations.
   
3. Open the file in Acrobat Pro and follow the same instructions as the PDF example.

Add the Asset Link to your Content Library

You can add URLs, such as a Course, to your Experiences, Pages, Announcements, etc. This allows for the same tracking ability as all other compatible asset types. 

Follow the instructions from this article to learn how to add your Asset Links as URLs to your Content Library.