What is a document link?
A VISION data object can be linked to a document—or any file—that resides on your computer, or on your local network. This offers a way to associate the VISION object—say, a task—with an external document. That document might be, for example, a Word document that details the procedure for performing the task.
Here are the types of VISION data objects that can be linked to documents:
•Analysis items
•Objectives
•Programs
•Questions
•Cross-reference table items
Why link a document?
Linking a document gives you an alternative to actually embedding the contents of that document directly in the VISION database. In many cases, there is no appropriate place in the VISION data object for entering the contents of a document, so linking the document may represent your only alternative.
No Limit
You can link as many documents as you wish to a data object. The window on the Document Links tab shows a list of whatever documents and files have been linked. For each document link, you can enter information about the document—title, notes, and so forth. Also, you can display a linked document by double-clicking on its entry in the list.
Editing a Linked Document
If the document on disk changes after it has been linked, VISION will indicate that information via the list entry's status and color. This way, you can see when you may need to review the VISION data in order to make sure that it is still consistent with the information contained in the linked document—and update the VISION data accordingly, if necessary.
Getting Help
To get help on specific parts of the document links workscreens, just click the ? button, and then drag and drop the floating question mark onto a part of the workscreen.
Changing Document Links Won't Change the Node's Status
Changes to document links no longer change the parent node. Accordingly the Document Links page now has its own Save Changes button. So, for instance, the document links can be added, changed, and deleted even on an Approved exam. Document links are still constrained by the node's expiration date, so a past version of a node sees only the document links as of its expiration date.
Using Linked Documents in the Learning Station
Two of the columns in the grid pertain specially to the VISION Learning Station: the "LS" and "LS Sequence" (abbreviated to "Seq.") columns.
You can display linked documents in the VISION Learning Station as part of lesson content. The document will be included in the lesson with the objective it is linked to, or at the beginning if it is linked to the Training Unit.
"LS" Column
A linked document might not be appropriate for presentation in the Learning Station. To hide a linked document from the Learning Station, uncheck the checkbox in the "LS" column.
If there are multiple document links, you can toggle multiple checkboxes in one click by selecting multiple rows beforehand.
"LS Sequence" Column
The "Seq." column shows the order in which a data object's multiple document links are listed or presented in the Learning Station. It is important to note that learners will only be able to view these documents in order. To change the sequence to match the currently displayed top-to-bottom order of the documents, choose "Set LS Sequence" from the Actions or popup menu.
Note that in order to use linked documents in the VISION Learning Station, it is best to save them in a Web-enabled server location. This could be on the VLS server or some other Web server, as long as the folder is accessible through the Web. We recommend using the Graphics folder in the root VISION folder. If you have questions about this please email us at support@focuslearning.com.
See Also
Actions
For a menu of operations, click the Actions button or click the right mouse button in the main panel.
Note that the Chrome Browser will not display linked files because they can be a security risk. If you wish to link files for use in the VLS, save them as a URL instead of a file. Otherwise, use Internet Explorer, which will display files.
