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Managing links with the URL Library (PRO)
Managing links with the URL Library (PRO)

Control all the URL links to document management systems and apps centrally

Ksawery Lisinski avatar
Written by Ksawery Lisinski
Updated over a week ago

URL Library is a feature (available on PRO/Enterprise licence type) that allows you to define a link once in your Space and reuse that link in multiple places. Also, if a URL changes, or you want to update a title, tags, or other information, you can do so in one place. All links and references to the URL across the Space are instantly updated.

Article outline

  • Prerequisites

  • Using the URL library

  • Adding links to the URL library

  • Loading URL library from CSV file

  • Syncing local URL links with the URL Library

  • Reporting on URL Links

  • You might be also interested in

Prerequisites

TIP A URL could be an app screen, e.g. Salesforce new Opportunity, an item in a cloud document management app, internal webpages or wikis, or an external webpage.

Using the URL library

By using URL library, you can utilize those actions:

  • If the URL link changes, change it just once in the URL Library.

  • Bulk load the URL Library from a CSV file.

  • Sync local URL attachments with the URL Library to update links.

  • Report on how many times a link is used and where.

Whenever you right-click "Add documentation -> Add link" for Requirements, Stories, Process activities or Org/Ref Model nodes you will see the following screen that will allow you to choose one of the already existing links.

Adding links to the URL library

Navigate using the left menu to the URL Library and then click on NEW URL on the top bar (URL Library Manager permission needed). 

Each URL has a name, URL and description

TIP You can also tag URL items (so that they can be filtered).

Alternatively, you can just select the Documentation tab and Links section (for Requirements, Stories, Process activities, Ref and Org Model nodes) to add a new URL link straight away. When adding a URL link straight to the item, the user with URL Library Manager permission will be able to save that URL in the library.

Loading URL library from CSV file

Click on the Import/Export icon and select "Import from CSV".

The CSV file format is below:
(No header row – row one is imported, columns have to be in order presented below)

Columns:
A: Name
B: Description
C: URL
D: System
E: External ID (only imported if D has a value)
F: Tags (space separated list, if a tag does not exist, it will be added)

TIP If you want to Import from CSV file, you can first Export as described below and then re-use the CSV template

Syncing local URL links with the URL Library 

Your URL Library may not always be up-to-date. The editors might use numerous URL links that are not part of the library. To make sure that your library is up-to-date, and URLs used by various editors are correct and approved, you might want to use the sync functionality. 

You can sync URLs attached to a Requirement, Reference model, and Diagram.
First export local URLs, i.e. URLs that are not in the Library, as a CSV file from a process, requirement or reference model. You can do this by clicking on the three-dot dropdown menu for an item, as seen in the image below. 

Check the file, update as required, and import the file into your URL Library. Once your Library is up-to-date, return to the item (requirement, reference model or a diagram in diagram editor) and select "Sync URLs" option. The system will then check all URL links, and if the matching link is found in the library, then the local URL will be exchanged for the URL Library record. 

Reporting on URL Links

There are two reports available. Click on the report icon in the upper-right menu and select "Add new report"

There are two report types:

  • URL List: this is the contents of the URL Library

  • URL Usage List: this is where each URL link is used - requirements, stories, process activities and model nodes.

All reports are run in background mode and a notification will appear when the report is available. Click on the report icon when a notification appears and select the newly generated report to open it in a new tab where it can be filtered, sorted, exported and printed.

You might be also interested in

  • Links & attachments - You can link different types of additional information to requirements, stories and process activities, you can even link requirements and stories to process activities themselves

  • Reporting - reporting is a very useful feature which can be used creatively to access knowledge quickly

  • User stories - to be able to get the right solution, you really have to start from defining the problem by getting into the shoes of who is going to face the issue

  • Sharing requirements and stories - in order to share a requirement or a user story with other users and collaborate on it, you need to copy a unique URL from the Share tab

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