Some cross-references are dead in pdf

[max_drawdown]

(Unstructured FM12 on Win7, but this probably predates FM12).

Does a thread exist for this in another forum?

I see inconsistent behavior of cross references. In FM, Ctrl+Alt-click consistently works.

In the pdf, clicking on some cross references works while others are dead.

When I delete all content of the source FM file, save, and then create two simple new targets and cross-references to them, behavior in FM and the pdf is as expected. No dead links.

When I create a new FM file from one of the blank templates, then create two simple new targets and cross-references to them, behavior in FM and the pdf is as expected, like in the previous example. No dead links.

So perhaps my real FM file is corrupt?

Maybe, but MIF washing the file does not seem to help.

Uh: Help!

Best regards,

[Bob_Niland]

Does the referencing text or the source text (target of xref) by any chance have any Character Formatting applied?

[max_drawdown]

Error7103,

The answers are Yes and No.

Every xref to every heading paratag works.

• Every heading paratag has "Default ¶ Font" in its Character Format dialog box.
• The xref formats used in cross references to those targets use the <l-link> chartag in their Character Format dialog boxes.
• So in this set of examples, every xref uses a condition tag, points to a target in which the Character Format dialog box is not empty, and each of these behaves as expected in the pdf.

The target of every other cross reference uses a paratag in which Character Format is something other than Default ¶ Font. Important example: fgc-FigCaption uses the <b-Bold> chartag.

For test purposes, I created a fresh, content-free target at the end of the file, a figure caption without a figure. Of course the target paratag is fgc-FigCaption. I then created a cross-reference to that fresh target.

• The xref format is: [<l-Link><$paranum><le-/Link>]. So it uses literal brackets and two chartags.
• I applied a condition tag to this cross-reference. Condition Show/Hide is Show All and Show Condition Indicators is set, so everything is (supposed to be) visible.
• This cross-reference behaves as expected in the pdf.

[Editing 1 resumed here]

I also created a set of cross- references to real targets with content, figure caption paragraphs with caption text. Each of these cross references fails in the pdf, whether the markers in the targets are conditional or unconditional, even after Update References > All Cross References. (Some of the targets were originally conditioned, and so were their xrefs. For test purposes, I removed all conditions from the target markers. That pdf still does not work.)

The xref formats of these failing cross references are:

• <$paranum>
• [<$paranum>]
• [<l-Link><$paranum><le-/Link>], which is the same code as the working reference to the fresh target (described above).

I'm not sure what to do next. Maybe delete all the content of the file except the references and targets? Then MIF that?

[Mike-Hardy · Accepted solution]

Optimize your book file for PDF.

1. Open your book file.
2. Choose Format > Document > Optimize PDF Size > Options
3. Set the dialog as follows:
   Optimize Size Of: [All Linked Documents]
   Previously Optimized Files: [Force Optimization]
   Prompt When Opening: [uncheck]
   Prompt When Saving: [uncheck]
   Optimized Files: [Overwrite Existing Files]
   Errors: Cancel On Error: [check]
4. Click Set
5. Choose Format > Document > Optimize PDF Size > Optimize File

There might be some more dialogs on which to click OK or some other default. FrameMaker should then report that it has optimized n files, where nmatches (or exceeds) the number of documents in your book. If I've got the details wrong, RTFM.

Save As PDF, and all should be OK.

If that doesn't work, then Save As PDF again. In the PDF Setup dialog, choose the Links tab. Check the "Create Named Destinations..." box. This will create a substantially larger PDF file, so the first option is the better one if it works.

[max_drawdown]

Mike-Hardy,

Thanks. It worked upon the first Save As PDF.

Uh: why did it work?  What did it change?  Or maybe a better question is: where do I read to learn what it changed?\

Edit: Well, as far as the MIFs are concerned, the only thing that "changed" is: the following line is now in the target paragraph to which cross references had failed:

  <PgfReferenced Yes>

Best,

[Mike-Hardy]

FrameMaker keeps a record in each paragraph of whether it is the target of a cross reference (the PgfReferenced property in the MIF). Sometimes, it gets this wrong.It then doesn't create a Named Destination in the PDF. Without the Named Destination, the PDF link doesn't work.

The Optimize command and options that I suggested force this setting to be re-evaluated for all paragraphs in your document.

The alternative I suggested (the "Create Named Destinations..." box in the PDF Setup) forces a Named Destination in every paragraph of the PDF. So links work, but there are a lot of unused Named Destinations that bloat your PDF.

[max_drawdown]

Mike-Hardy,

Thanks for the follow-up!

Best,

[max_drawdown]

Mike-Hardy‌,

Now I notice FM12 crashing when "something" does not work with a file in the book -- or a file that is linked to a file in the book.

• The Cancel on Error option seems to work as far as it goes. FM12 reports 0 files processed, and the console includes a [PDFSize] error message that identifies the problematic file. That makes sense to me.

• So if FM12 were not crashing, the Optimize function would be nearly perfect.

• MIFwashing the problematic file does not change the behavior.

Also: the the scope of Specified vs. Linked does not appear to be respected. The problematic files are linked to the Specified Document. So are other files that are not problematic. For example, a completion message refers to "linked files" even though the option Specified Document Only was set.

Any suggestions? (Apart from RTFM. I did. It actually seems better than the previous FM.)

Best,

[Mike-Hardy]

I always optimise the entire book, as outlined in my previous post. The "All Linked Documents" option instructs FrameMaker to process all the book components; I believe this also extends to any text insets etc.

Assuming you're doing this, my only other suggestion is to see if the very latest 12.0.4 is any better. You'll probably have to get this through the Adobe Update Manager.

[max_drawdown]

Mike-Hardy‌,

Thanks for the follow-up.

Best,