logging hyperlink clicks

[Vik Shah]

Try MagLit:  https://github.com/NayamAmarshe/MagLit <https://github.com/NayamAmarshe/MagLit>

It’ll shorten the URLs as well as provide other features.

Regards,

Vik Shah
Keys2Solutions 
m: +61 411 493 495

> On 10 Nov 2022, at 20:57, Rob Mostyn <mostyn at platformis.net> wrote:
> 
> Thank you Caroline, thank you Doug and thank you Technical Support,
> 
> We will start working on this next week.  Thank you for the heads up on TinyUrl Doug.  I knew it provided smaller links but I didn’t know they get a count of them for you.  This would be the easiest way to implement a version of this but I have my own page reference tracking system and I would prefer to get these counts integrated with that.
> 
> The first task will be get the call made to Omnis to log the clicked link and issue a redirect for the user to see the desired page.
> 
> The next stage will be to have the option of doing this to/from a new tab or window.
> 
> I will let you all know how it goes when complete.
> 
> Cheers,
> Rob
> 
>> On 3 Nov 2022, at 16:25, Doug Easterbrook via omnisdev-en <omnisdev-en at lists.omnis-dev.com> wrote:
>> 
>> hey Rob.
>> 
>> you are describing basically what tinyurl will do for you for a fee.  https://tinyurl.com/app/howit <https://tinyurl.com/app/howit>
>> 
>> effectively, you’ve be making something like tinyulr there the URL to the outside document is NOT actually the link to the outside document.    it is a link back to your web site that:
>> 1) records the click
>> 2) does a redirect to the page you want them to.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> eg,  suppose you want. the URL to go to omnis.net <http://omnis.net/>
>> 
>> you make a URL to.  robmostyn.com/wyfwhlywe <http://robmostyn.com/wyfwhlywe>
>> or robmostyn.com <http://robmostyn.com/>?doc=wyfwhlywe <http://robmostyn.com/wyfwhlywe>
>> 
>> 
>> where wyfwhlywe <http://robmostyn.com/wyfwhlywe> is a path call on your server.
>> or, in the second example, ‘doc' is a path that your server will respond to.
>> 
>> in either case (depending which you implement)
>> 
>> you now have the ability to track somebody clicked the link because the traffic first went through your server
>> 
>> and
>> 
>> you can issue a redirect to the right URL after you look it up.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> you’d make a web page that has the redirect in it and issue a web response code of 301 or 302 instead of a response code of 200
>> 
>> 
>> heres a web page that talks about a ‘redirect’ in a web page
>> https://blog.hubspot.com/website/html-redirect <https://blog.hubspot.com/website/html-redirect>
>> 
>> 
>> there are likely a number of more efficient ways to do it, but the gist of this is
>> 
>> 1) use a URL that goes back to your web site with a tag on it to tell you which web site you really want the user to go to
>> 
>> 2) when you get that hit, count the access to it
>> 
>> 3) make a web page that your return to the user that has a redirect in it to where you want it to really go to.
>> 
>> 4) and you may need to change the return code from a 200 to a 302
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Doug Easterbrook
>> Arts Management Systems Ltd.
>> mailto:doug at artsman.com
>> http://www.artsman.com
>> Phone (403) 650-1978
>> 
>>> On Nov 3, 2022, at 4:39 AM, Rob Mostyn <mostyn at platformis.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Dear $Listers,
>>> 
>>> This is a problem I’ve thought about before but never actually implemented.  Now I really want to implement it but I’m not sure how to do it.
>>> 
>>> It is an ultra thin application.
>>> Omnis returns HTML to a browser to render.
>>> On this page I want to present a number of links to external resources (other websites, documents on the web etc).
>>> Ok… that is easy by providing hyperlinks on the web page to these other resources.
>>> But I want to log what links gave been clicked.  Google does this on its search results.
>>> 
>>> LOGIC
>>> Clicking on the link calls Omnis.
>>> A parameter to the call denotes which link.
>>> Omnis is invoked and the link can be logged.
>>> But how do I return to the browser with “execute this hyperlink on a new tab/window”, leaving the previously despatched HTML as is?
>>> Or I could return the previously generated HTML but how do I invoke the browser to follow the link?
>>> 
>>> Has anyone else tried to do this?  I know there is a way to tell  a browser to redirect but I don’t know how this works.
>>> 
>>> Help!
>>> Rob Mostyn
>>> 
>>> +44 (0)20 3233 0044
>>> 
>>> As Carl Sagan once said:
>>> One of the great commandments of science is, "Mistrust arguments from authority." ... Too many such arguments have proved too painfully wrong. Authorities must prove their contentions like everybody else.
>>> 
>>> _____________________________________________________________
>>> Manage your list subscriptions at https://lists.omnis-dev.com
>>> Start a new message -> mailto:omnisdev-en at lists.omnis-dev.com
>> 
>> _____________________________________________________________
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> 
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