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LornaFitzroy
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Linked PSD files not found when opening .ai files via shared folder

Mar 17, 2013 6:33 PM

Tags: #illustrator #photoshop #mac #folder_sharing

My main user folder on the iMac is set to be shared (read/write, including all enclosed files) with my MacBook Pro so that I can get someone to help me on a big job. The job is a series of one-page InDesign files (they are newspaper advertisements). The IDD files contain a series of Illustrator files with linked PSD files.

 

The idea is that we can both work on the .idd and .ai files in the same folder at the same time.

 

It's all working fine EXCEPT that whenever an .ai file is opened on the MacBook, Illustrator doesn't know where the linked PSD files are. We can update the link, but when the .ai file is then opened on the iMac and saved, the same thing happens the next time it is opened on the Macbook.

 

I don't want to embed the PSD files into the .ai files as sometimes I have to modify them and they can be linked to up to 20 .ai files. Any ideas?

 

G5 iMac OSX 10.7.5 / Macbook Pro OSX 10.8.2 / networked via FireWire cable / file sharing on, laptop user has Administrator status, all files are read/write, permissions include all enclosed files / CS6

532 Views   7 Replies   Latest reply: Willi Adelberger, Mar 18, 2013 10:18 PM
 
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  • Mylenium
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    1. Mylenium,
    Mar 18, 2013 12:10 AM   in reply to LornaFitzroy
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    Unless the linked files are all relative to the main document in the same folder or a sub-folder, this is to be expected. Storing files outside the folder would cause absolute paths to be stored and those naturally are different when accessed from different network locations. Similarly, when this folder is inside a user's folder and not the root of a volume, the user's file path will force the path info to become absolute again because there will always be one user under a different name. sounds all perfectly normal and unless you restructure your folders, this will always be this way.

     

    Mylenium

     
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  • LornaFitzroy
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    2. LornaFitzroy,
    Mar 18, 2013 12:43 AM   in reply to Mylenium
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    That's what I was kind of expecting to hear (but hoping I was wrong!). Weird that InDesign doesn't seem at all bothered by the different file paths on the iMac/MacBook.

     

    Thanks!

     
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  • Willi Adelberger
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    3. Willi Adelberger,
    Mar 18, 2013 3:46 AM   in reply to LornaFitzroy
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    But why do you need the linked files when you place the ai file in InDesign. Place the ai file and this file contains in its pdf part all needed information to print and export from InDesign.

    Only when you open the ai file in Illustrator the links (and fonts) are necessary. But for the use in InDesign it is not.

     
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  • Mike Gondek
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    4. Mike Gondek,
    Mar 18, 2013 7:43 AM   in reply to LornaFitzroy
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    If you are rebooting the computer holding down T to share via firewire, that is your problem. that mounts the other computer as a hardrive and probably messes up the filepath.

     

    Turn on sharing via Ethernet or wireless

     

    Connecting two computers using Ethernet

    You can use an Ethernet cable to connect two Mac computers and share files or play network games.

     

    To connect two computers using Ethernet:

     

    Connect a standard Ethernet cable from the Ethernet port on one computer to the Ethernet port on the other. You don’t need to use an Ethernet crossover cable.

     

    If your computer doesn’t have an Ethernet port, try using a USB-to-Ethernet adapter.

     

    On each computer, choose Apple menu > System Preferences and click Sharing. Note the computer name for each computer.

     

    In the Finder on one of the computers, choose Go > “Connect to Server,” and then click Browse.

     

    Double-click the other computer in the window and enter your password, if necessary.

     

    If you manually configured the TCP/IP settings for the Ethernet service on the computer you are connecting to, you may need to enter that computer’s TCP/IP address in the “Connect to Server” dialog.

     

    To see or set the TCP/IP address, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Network, and select Ethernet in the list.

     
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  • LornaFitzroy
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    5. LornaFitzroy,
    Mar 18, 2013 5:38 PM   in reply to Willi Adelberger
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    But why do you need the linked files when you place the ai file in InDesign. Place the ai file and this file contains in its pdf part all needed information to print and export from InDesign.

    Only when you open the ai file in Illustrator the links (and fonts) are necessary. But for the use in InDesign it is not.

     

    Because for each advertisement there are up to 20 .ai files that need to be created and amended and then placed into the final single InDesign page. So the .ai files are being opened and changed all the time, until the artwork is approved. In retrospect, I should have probably done all the individual bits of each ad in InDesign so I wouldn't have this problem. Usually I work alone, this is the first time I've shared the job. I'll know for next year.Screen Shot 2013-03-19 at 11.34.59 AM.png

     
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  • LornaFitzroy
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    6. LornaFitzroy,
    Mar 18, 2013 5:40 PM   in reply to Mike Gondek
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    Mike Gondek wrote:

     

    If you are rebooting the computer holding down T to share via firewire, that is your problem. that mounts the other computer as a hardrive and probably messes up the filepath.

     

     

    No, I'm not. Two computers, two people working. I'm using Firewire to network the iMac and the MacBook. That's not the problem. I thought I was being very clear!

     
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  • Willi Adelberger
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    7. Willi Adelberger,
    Mar 18, 2013 10:18 PM   in reply to LornaFitzroy
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    If you have an Illustraor from the cloud, the latest version has a package feature very similiar to the same feature in InDesign. This might help you.

     
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