How to convert plain URLs into HREF hyperlinks

If your table data contain URLs and you need to convert them into links that visitors can click, you can use either a replacement rule or a modification function similar to the one discussed in this article.

The url2href modification function

It's really easy to use this function. Just create a new table rule with the following settings:

Element: table
Range: all
Function Name:
(Table/Modify)		 url2href
Function Args:
(Table/Modify)		 _parent

That's it! It will turn all URLs into clickable links. The optional argument specifies the desired link target (same window, new window, etc) and it defaults to _blank.

Important notes:
  • This will work only with plain URLs. Do not use it with text input that contain already hyperlinks.
  • It will detect only "complete" URLs, i.e. URLs that contain the protocol prefixes http://, https://, ftp:// and ftps://
To get a copy of this modification function, along with a sample ruleset download and import the demo archive from the link below:
rs_url2href.zip