Using Hyperlinks in Looker Studio

Looker Studio (formerly known as Google Data Studio) is packed with features, and it can take a while to get accustomed to the number of tools at your disposal. There are many features that you might not be aware of when you first start using Looker Studio, among all the excitement of creating dynamic charts, tables, and diagrams. One of these features is the ability to add Hyperlinks to the dashboard, attributing these URL links to specific strings of text, and more recently, images.

Adding Hyperlinks To Text

Thankfully, adding hyperlinks to text in Looker Studio is quick and simple, and certainly an intuitive process that doesn’t stray from what you’d expect. When in Edit Mode, highlight a string of text from a Textbox Widget, and you’ll see the Text Properties menu appear on the right of your window. This is where you can change the font style, alignment, and formatting of your text, as well as the design of your textbox. The option we’re looking for is “Insert Link” which can be found in the Font and Paragraph section at the top of the menu.

The Text Properties Menu in Edit Mode

When you click on the Insert Link icon, a new menu should pop up. This is essentially our Hyperlink Menu. You can change the Display Text, the URL the text links to, and whether the link will open a new tab. Simply add your link, and click Apply. Your text should now be hyperlinked! But there is one other brilliant feature hidden here: Dynamic Page Links.

Dynamic Page Links

You might have noticed a drop-down menu appear when you click on the field to enter your URL link, the “Paste a link, or select a page” field. This brings down a list of both Dynamic Page Links and Pages In The Report. This is a really handy feature that allows you to quickly link internal pages in the report, without the need to find the correct URLs and paste them in each time. Linking to other internal pages can be a great boost to the user experience of a dashboard.

The options for Dynamic Page Links provide even more opportunities to create an intuitive and user-friendly report: First, Previous, Next, and Last. This allows you to link text that will allow the user to navigate the corresponding page, and will dynamically update depending on the page you’re currently on. So, if you want to add Next and Previous buttons to your dashboard, you can paste these across multiple pages without needing to worry about updating the URL each time. A small feature that can save you a lot of time!

How To Hyperlink Images

Thankfully, if you’d like to know how to hyperlink images in Looker Studio rather than text, then good news: It’s even easier! There used to be quite a workaround to make images clickable, but thankfully this has been significantly streamlined. Click on your Image widget, and you’ll see the Image Properties menu on the right side of your window. Add your link to the Image Link URL field, and hit enter. It is as simple as that.

Image Properties Menu in Edit Mode

Using Hyperlinks in your Looker Studio reports and dashboards is a small addition that goes a long way towards improving the overall utility and interactivity of your report, whether these link to external resources or internal sections, and whether you’re using text or images to do so.

Want to Learn More About Looker Studio?

For more on Looker Studio, check out our Guide To Using Filters and Using Comparison Metrics. If you have any questions or there’s anything else we can help with on Looker Studio, please leave a comment below, or contact us at [email protected].

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