6 Replies Latest reply: Mar 13, 2012 1:26 PM by P Spier RSS

    Image folders that are found automatically

    zimbop Community Member

      It seems that sending files to a friend forces images in my project sub-folders to need to be relinked because the full hard drive path is different. This seems rather stupid of indesign not to be able to see that relative links are still intact even if thefull path has changed. Are there any workarounds to this? I have hundreds of images and so don't want them littering the main project folder, and would prefer to organise them without the need for enormously long filenames.

       

      Any suggestions?

        • 1. Re: Image folders that are found automatically
          Steve Werner CommunityMVP

          I think the linkage would remain if you used the File > Package feature. One of the default options is Update Graphic Links in Package.

          • 2. Re: Image folders that are found automatically
            P Spier CommunityMVP

            Links in InDesign are absolute. If the absolute link cannot be found, ID will search the current folder and subfolders to see if it can locate files with the same names, but this is NOT relative linking.

             

            That's why packaging works. The links, though absolute and broken when you move the package to a new computer, will work because the linked files are contained in a subfolder of the package folder and ID will find them in the subsequent search. If your file transfers include the links in a subfloder they should be found, though you may be asked to update.

            • 3. Re: Image folders that are found automatically
              zimbop Community Member

              Hi, I think I need to be more specific about our setup. We are using version control (SVN/Subversion) as a way of maintaining and sharing the project. So I commit files into the system, and my colleague updates his copy so we have the same files. He then opens the document and is immediately prompted with a relink request even though no files have actually been changed. I'm wondering if there are settings or particular folder names that allow InDesign to be able to understand or accept that files which have remained in the same place relative to one another do not prompt this specific behaviour. Sorry if I wasn't more clear in my original post (and hoping that I've cleared this up, I'm trying to be as succinct as possible!).

              • 4. Re: Image folders that are found automatically
                P Spier CommunityMVP

                I don't know a thing about your version control system. Is your colleage really getting a relink request, or an update request? They are different.

                 

                Where are these files stored? What does the path look like? What happens afet your colleague is done and you reopen the file?

                • 5. Re: Image folders that are found automatically
                  Joel Cherney Community Member

                  I'm wondering if there are settings or particular folder names that allow InDesign to be able to understand or accept that files which have remained in the same place relative to one another do not prompt this specific behaviour.

                   

                  I thought that InDesign would always look in any folder named "Links" that was in the same folder as the InDesign file.

                   

                  I suspect that Subversion is overkill here, but if that's your preferred project management tool then <shrug>

                  • 6. Re: Image folders that are found automatically
                    P Spier CommunityMVP

                    Joel Cherney wrote:

                    I thought that InDesign would always look in any folder named "Links" that was in the same folder as the InDesign file.

                     

                    You might think that, but it isn't actually the case. It only looks inthe links subfolder if the links in the file actually point to that subfolder, or if the real links can't be found. You can demonstrate this by packaging a file (to be sure the links point to the subfolder of packaged links), then copy (not move) the package folder to a new location ON THE SAME Machine so there are two of them. Delete the links subfloder in the second copy and ID will be happy as a clam because it is still using the original links subfolder.