[PDF] Creating hyperlinks on a network.
Chris Martin
Hi everybody. Please bear with me while I struggle to explain a puzzling situation! I've checked the archives, but can't seem to anything that seems to quite apply. First the technical info:
- Acrobat 6.0
- PDFs created from FrameMaker 6.0 .ps files, distilled with Distiller 6
- Windows XP
Situation:
Our group produces a number of PDFs that, when complete, are posted to a staging area on our network. From that location we generate an index and burn our documentation CD. Reader 6.0 is installed on the CD and an autorun file starts it when the CD is placed in a CD drive.
Most of the hyperlinks between PDFs are added in FrameMaker, but we usually need to add a handful or two of links to the PDFs after they're plopped on the network. No problem, they're easy to add in Acrobat. So far, so good.
Burn the CD and take it to a computer that is NOT connected to our network and bad things begin to happen. Specifically, click one of these added-in-Acrobat links and the target can't be found. Acrobat is looking back to the staging area folder on the network. The network file paths seem to be sticking.
What's really puzzling is that if you take all those PDFs off the network and put them on your local hard drive, add the same links again, then copy them back to the network, the links seem to work.
Can anyone offer any insight into this? Two weeks ago we were not having problems like this. The only new thing introduced into the mix was that we all got new laptops running XP.
Thanks!
[chris martin]
principal technical writer
document sciences corporation
414.353.4305
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Miller, James
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I guess I missed this one Wednesday. It's been my experience that when you create links within a PDF that point to other files, you need to make sure that you don't browse through other folders or the network to the folder where the file resides that you want to link to. This creates an 'absolute path' that can't be followed once the Acrobat file is moved or placed onto a CD. To avoid this I take an extra step to make sure my links go exactly where I want them to no matter where the Acrobat and linked files are moved to (all together to the same place of course), and that's to create the link, save the file, then go back and delete the link and recreate it. This is only necessary if you find that the first time you create the link you have to browse through your folders or network to get to the file you want to link to. If you're working within the same folder and the files you are linking to are all in the same folder even if it's separate from the Acrobat file folder !
and as long as the link dialogue box opens to exactly the folder where the file is you are linking to, you'll never have "file not found" problems. Also, with FrameMaker, if you change the original location of the files that are linked to the PDF output file, then you break the links because links created in FrameMaker are also 'absolute links'. I hope this makes sense. If I'm a little off feel free to correct me as this has just been my experience.
~James
Opinions esspressoed are mine and I like mine Grande with half & half and raw sugar.
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From: Chris Martin
Hi everybody. Please bear with me while I struggle to explain a puzzling situation! I've checked the archives, but can't seem to anything that seems to quite apply. First the technical info:
- Acrobat 6.0
- PDFs created from FrameMaker 6.0 .ps files, distilled with Distiller 6
- Windows XP
Situation:
Our group produces a number of PDFs that, when complete, are posted to a staging area on our network. From that location we generate an index and burn our documentation CD. Reader 6.0 is installed on the CD and an autorun file starts it when the CD is placed in a CD drive.
Most of the hyperlinks between PDFs are added in FrameMaker, but we usually need to add a handful or two of links to the PDFs after they're plopped on the network. No problem, they're easy to add in Acrobat. So far, so good.
Burn the CD and take it to a computer that is NOT connected to our network and bad things begin to happen. Specifically, click one of these added-in-Acrobat links and the target can't be found. Acrobat is looking back to the staging area folder on the network. The network file paths seem to be sticking.
What's really puzzling is that if you take all those PDFs off the network and put them on your local hard drive, add the same links again, then copy them back to the network, the links seem to work.
Can anyone offer any insight into this? Two weeks ago we were not having problems like this. The only new thing introduced into the mix was that we all got new laptops running XP.
Thanks!
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I think James is right, the problem is probably due to absolute links
instead of relative ones.
I don't know how FrameMaker works, but PDFMaker5 changes Word hyperlinks
into absolute links only, it could be the same problem with FrameMaker.
This problem has already been mentioned one or two years ago in this list.
We have written a plugin which changes automatically absolute links
within a pdf file into relative links.
I don't know if PDFMaker6 has solved this problem, as my customers are
not yet much interested with Acrobat 6.
Michel Lausseur
Aalto Conseil
Miller, James wrote:
>...
>and as long as the link dialogue box opens to exactly the folder where the file is you are linking to, you'll never have "file not found" problems. Also, with FrameMaker, if you change the original location of the files that are linked to the PDF output file, then you break the links because links created in FrameMaker are also 'absolute links'. I hope this makes sense. If I'm a little off feel free to correct me as this has just been my experience.
>
>~James
>
>
>From: Chris Martin
>
>Hi everybody. Please bear with me while I struggle to explain a puzzling situation! I've checked the archives, but can't seem to anything that seems to quite apply. First the technical info:
>
>- Acrobat 6.0
>- PDFs created from FrameMaker 6.0 .ps files, distilled with Distiller 6
>- Windows XP
>
>Situation:
>
>Our group produces a number of PDFs that, when complete, are posted to a staging area on our network. From that location we generate an index and burn our documentation CD. Reader 6.0 is installed on the CD and an autorun file starts it when the CD is placed in a CD drive.
>Most of the hyperlinks between PDFs are added in FrameMaker, but we usually need to add a handful or two of links to the PDFs after they're plopped on the network. No problem, they're easy to add in Acrobat. So far, so good.
>Burn the CD and take it to a computer that is NOT connected to our network and bad things begin to happen. Specifically, click one of these added-in-Acrobat links and the target can't be found. Acrobat is looking back to the staging area folder on the network. The network file paths seem to be sticking.
>What's really puzzling is that if you take all those PDFs off the network and put them on your local hard drive, add the same links again, then copy them back to the network, the links seem to work.
>Can anyone offer any insight into this? Two weeks ago we were not having problems like this. The only new thing introduced into the mix was that we all got new laptops running XP.
>
>
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