Hyperlink Issue, can't resolve it

[perkjess]

Version: 2004
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

Here's the scenario: Word docs were created and info and hyperlinks to files on our server and to pages on the internet were created. Someone here decided (without thinking) to move the Word docs and the hyperlinked docs to different places on in the server - into new folders, the works.

As you know all the hyperlinks to files on our server were broken. For some reason - when the hyperlinks are edited only a portion of the path shows up in the hyperlink field of the dialog box (but, the full path shows up when we hoover the mouse over the link). When we try to use the link we get the error: Cannot open the specified file.

When doing a Save As to the doc with the hyperlinks - for the sake of creating a "new" doc and try to edit the hyperlinks, we get the same problem.

When creating a brand new blank document and inserting a hyperlink with the same path - the hyperlinks work.

All web ones work no matter what...

Do you think there is some underlying programming that stays with the doc when it is moved, therefore creating some kind of conflict? Or a limit as to the number of folders in the path when linking docs on an internal server? Character limit?

We have tried several things to narrow down the problem and what it comes down to is any document that contained hyperlinks or was hyperlinked to and has been moved - we get errors when editing the hyperlinks to show the new path.

All of the hyperlinks worked prior to the documents being moved around to new folders, different folders, etc. Any thoughts or help or insight - would be appreciated.

 

[Phillip Jones, C.E.T.]

I don't know what to do to fix the problem other than what you have
already suggested unless you can go to each of the individual links and
re-link.

But I know what caused it. There are two types of links and I don't know
if word can use both.

the first type of links are absolute links. And work as implied by the
name they are put on a specific computer and a certain Directory is
created everything about the Documents and the linked items have to be
saved to that main directory. if a file, sub directory or any of item is
moved or even changed for any reason you must relink that item.

The preferred Link is called Relative Links. if you use Relative links
as long as the entire contents of a Directory on a Computer is moved to
another Directory, the links remain intact. and the entire directory can
be moved from computer to computer without links breaking.

When I first got DreamWeaver and started using it I could design pages
and hen upload but the links would always fail no matter how hard I
tried until I made them Relative links. then everything fell into place.
the explanation gave was that absolute links worked best on servers
where the location and content would never change. Relative links work
equally as well on Server situation or on Websites that are changed often

 

[John McGhie]

Word "can" use relative hyperlinks, but it's a bit unstable doing so: it is
difficult to get relative links to "stick", it attempts to convert them to
absolute links.

However, you can use Find/Replace to replace just the path name in all of
the hyperlinks in one hit.

You need to reveal Field Codes in the document, then run the search for the
old path and replace it with the new path.

To save yourself a lot of grief, make it a fully-qualified path.

Then you save the document and then hide the field codes and save again.

Hope this helps

Version: 2004
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

Here's the scenario: Word docs were created and info and hyperlinks to files
on our server and to pages on the internet were created. Someone here decided
(without thinking) to move the Word docs and the hyperlinked docs to different
places on in the server - into new folders, the works.

As you know all the hyperlinks to files on our server were broken. For some
reason - when the hyperlinks are edited only a portion of the path shows up in
the hyperlink field of the dialog box (but, the full path shows up when we
hoover the mouse over the link). When we try to use the link we get the error:
Cannot open the specified file.

When doing a Save As to the doc with the hyperlinks - for the sake of creating
a "new" doc and try to edit the hyperlinks, we get the same problem.

When creating a brand new blank document and inserting a hyperlink with the
same path - the hyperlinks work.

All web ones work no matter what...

Do you think there is some underlying programming that stays with the doc when
it is moved, therefore creating some kind of conflict? Or a limit as to the
number of folders in the path when linking docs on an internal server?
Character limit?

We have tried several things to narrow down the problem and what it comes down
to is any document that contained hyperlinks or was hyperlinked to and has
been moved - we get errors when editing the hyperlinks to show the new path.

All of the hyperlinks worked prior to the documents being moved around to new
folders, different folders, etc. Any thoughts or help or insight - would be
appreciated.

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]