FollowHyperlink Method

The FollowHyperlink method opens the document or Web page specified by a hyperlink address.

expression   Required. An expression that returns one of the objects in the Applies To list.

Address  Required String. A string expression that evaluates to a valid hyperlink address.

SubAddress  Optional String. A string expression that evaluates to a named location in the document specified by the address argument. The default is a zero-length string (" ").

NewWindow  Optional Boolean. A Boolean value where True (–1) opens the document in a new window and False (0) opens the document in the current window. The default is False.

AddHistory  Optional Boolean. A Boolean value where True adds the hyperlink to the History folder and False doesn't add the hyperlink to the History folder. The default is True.

ExtraInfo  Optional Variant. A string or an array of Byte data that specifies additional information for navigating to a hyperlink. For example, this argument may be used to specify a search parameter for an .asp or .idc file. In your Web browser, the extrainfo argument may appear after the hyperlink address, separated from the address by a question mark (?). You don't need to include the question mark when you specify the extrainfo argument.

Method  Optional MsoExtraInfoMethod. An Integer value that specifies how the extrainfo argument is attached. The method argument may be one of the following intrinsic constants.

HeaderInfo  Optional String. A string that specifies header information. By default the headerinfo argument is a zero-length string.

Remarks

By using the FollowHyperlink method, you can follow a hyperlink that doesn't exist in a control. This hyperlink may be supplied by you or by the user. For example, you can prompt a user to enter a hyperlink address in a dialog box, then use the FollowHyperlink method to follow that hyperlink.

You can use the extrainfo and method arguments to supply additional information when navigating to a hyperlink. For example, you can supply parameters to a search engine.

You can use the Follow method to follow a hyperlink associated with a control.

Example

The following function prompts a user for a hyperlink address and then follows the hyperlink:

Function GetUserAddress() As Boolean
    Dim strInput As String

    On Error GoTo Error_GetUserAddress
    strInput = InputBox("Enter a valid address")
    Application.FollowHyperlink strInput, , True
    GetUserAddress = True

Exit_GetUserAddress:
    Exit Function

Error_GetUserAddress:
    MsgBox Err & ": " & Err.Description
    GetUserAddress = False
    Resume Exit_GetUserAddress
End Function

You could call this function with a procedure such as the following:

Sub CallGetUserAddress()
    If GetUserAddress = True Then
        MsgBox "Successfully followed hyperlink."
    Else
        MsgBox "Could not follow hyperlink."
    End If
End Sub