A drilling URL is a PS Query expression type that can be used to ‘drill down’ to other objects, specifically in this case, another query. Why would you want to drill down to another query rather than simply including the other query’s information in this query? Perhaps not every unique value, be it a student, staff member, or customer, may have values that exist in the other query; or perhaps they have multiple.
There are ways to include multiple values of a field in one field in your query, but another way to accomplish this is to drill down to that other query for the specific student, staff member, or customer of interest.
Add an expression of the type ‘Drilling URL’. Once this type is selected, the drilling URL options appear below the expression text box.
Select Query URL, then enter the necessary information.
After entering the portal, node, query name, and selecting the format, select the URL key(s). This field or fields should exist in your query and is the unique identifier that will be used to run the other query. The other query (drilled-down-to query) should be prompted by the URL key or keys selected here.
The final step in setting up the query drilling URL is mapping the URL to a field in this query. A URL can be mapped to more than one field, but each field can only have one URL mapped to it.
Stay tuned for a longer blog article on this and other Drilling URL types, coming next week!