First, consider what type of collector you have created to administer the survey:

• Are you copying and pasting a Web Link into your own email client or into a Word document?
• Or are you using the Email Invitation to send it through our mail server?

Second, make sure the links have been added correctly into the outgoing message.

NOTE: Email Settings - The client settings on the receiving end may determine if a link is clickable. With today's increased security standards, many email clients can be configured to be as strict as possible.

 

Option A: Email Invitation Collector

When using our mail server to deliver a message and if you have included HTML in the body, please review the following for making the URLs active:

  Using HTML

 

Option B: Web Link Collector

When sending the survey invitation through your own email, make sure that it is activated as an active URL in the body. It is also best to have it on a line by itself.

• Place a hard return after the link. By hard return, this means to hit the return carriage key on your keyboard after the URL is entered.
• This highlights and underlines it as indicated in the image below.

 

Example 1: Outlook Options for creating hyperlinks

When using Outlook 2007 to distribute a survey:

A. Highlight the text that will mask the link in the message and then choose the Insert tab in the Outlook header.

B. The Hyperlink option will be visible. Click this to open the Insert Hyperlink prompt (as per the image below).

• Type in the Text to Display.
• Then type in the link URL into the Address section.
• Click OK when you are finished.

NOTE: For older versions of Outlook or Word files: Click the "Tools" option in your email client (or "Insert" in your document file).

Select [Insert] and then choose the [Hyperlink]. Follow the prompts to create it.

 

Example 2: Lotus-Notes Options

When viewing a message in Lotus Notes, the hyperlink(s) are not shown but they will be available for the recipients of the email.

1. Enter the text you want to appear as the hyperlink in the mail message (e.g. Google).
2. Select the text and click on Create –> Hotspot –> Link hotspot.
3. Enter the desired URL in the Value text box. (e.g. www.google.com) and close it.
4. It will add the hotspot and select ‘Show border around hotspot’ to display a background highlighting around the link. Otherwise apply underline (press Ctl + U).
5. Send the mail to the recipients.

NOTE: The link will not be active until you send the mail. If you click on the hotspot before sending, it may not work.

 

Troubleshooting: Strip the Incorrect Code

When opening the invitation and if nothing happens when clicking on the link, try to copy and paste it into a new browser’s web address bar.

If clicking on it takes you to a different URL, check how it has actually been hyperlinked. If it has been done incorrectly, strip the incorrect code the following way:

• Paste the link into Notepad or any plain text editor program to strip the HTML and then copy and paste the link into the email message.
• Or recopy the original from the collector's [Get Survey Link] section. This way it will be a fresh and new again when pasting it into a new message.

 

Additional Information:

 

These scenarios can happen with any email program: Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, Eudora, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc. These can all be affected.

If adjusting your email client settings do not work or marking messages as safe, then it could be something else affecting the connection between your email client and your web browser. 

• The hyperlinks to your browser in the email client may be broken or distorted in some way and you may need to do some additional troubleshooting to fix this.

Fortunately, there are some things you can do to restore this connection: 

First, try changing your default browser and then restore your old favorite. This may be all that is needed. However, if this does not fix the issue, a more thorough approach involves the following considerations.

To make web pages open again when you click links in the body of received email message:

1. Make sure neither Outlook Express (or your email client is open) nor Internet Explorer (or your web browser) is open.
2. Select Control Panel from the Start menu.
3. Click Internet Options.

If you do not see Internet Options right away, click Network and Internet Connections before.

• Go to the Programs tab.
• Make sure Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is the default browser is checked.
• Click OK.
• Close Internet Explorer.
• Re-open Internet Explorer.

Click Yes when asked Internet Explorer asks "Internet Explorer is not currently your default browser. Would you like to make it your default browser?"

If Internet Explorer does not ask:

• Close Internet Explorer
• Select My Computer from the Start menu.
• Choose Tools | Folder Options... from the menu.
• Go to the File Types tab.
• Highlight (NONE) URL:HyperText Protocol.
• Click Advanced.
• Highlight open.
• Click Remove.
• Click Yes.
• Click OK.
• Now click Close.
• Start Internet Explorer.

If you use a browser other than Internet Explorer, start it and make sure it is the new default. 

If the above scenario does not work, try this:

• Now select Run... from the Start menu.
• Type "iexplore /rereg".
• Click OK.

Or, if that still fails, then try with:

• Select Run... from the Start menu.
• Type "regsvr32 urlmon.dll".
• Click OK.
• Click OK again.

Repeat the Start | Run... procedure with the following commands in this order, maybe checking after each for returning function:

• "regsvr32 shdocvw.dlll"
• "regsvr32 mshtml.dll"
• "regsvr32 browseui.dll"