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ericCessna
Inspiring
February 1, 2019
Answered

unresolved cross- reference

I'm working with FM 2019. When I open my book I get some warring messages I have unresolved cross-references. There used to be a pod to see all of these. Has that gone bye-bye or am I missing something?

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Matt-Tech Comm Tools
Matt-Tech Comm ToolsCorrect answer
Community Expert
February 1, 2019

Of course, you can always use Find/Change to search for Cross-Reference - Unresolved.

Also, try opening all files in your book. If there are dialogs related to missing resources (fonts, images, etc.) then the missing xref messages may simply indicate that Fm can't access the files.

-Matt Sullivan, FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant
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21 replies

Barb Binder
Community Expert
Barb BinderCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 9, 2021

@Winfried Reng, I voted (the first one!).

 

Also, I had to write a post on x-refs for an upcoming class, and since this thread is still active as of this morning, I thought it might be helpful to others struggling with unresolved cross-references.

https://www.rockymountaintraining.com/adobe-framemaker-unresolved-cross-references/

 

~Barb 

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~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
    LinSims
    Community Expert
    LinSimsCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    March 9, 2021

    Added my own vote, along with the following comment:

     

    When this happens to me, it usually seems to be connected to the presence of either a marker or a reference to something hidden by a condition. I've learned to ignore it when no unresolved xrefs are found during a search, but it would be nice if it didn't happen in the first place, especially as it always gives dire warnings about how the INDEX can't be formatted properly even when there isn't an index!

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      Simone5CDE
      Participant
      December 21, 2020

      Well, if Adobe would only make it that easy. I have all my book files open and when I update my book, having everything checked, including update all cross references, the book error log window tells me that I have a bunch of unresolved cross references. When clicking on those links, I am routed to the correct chapter, but there is no indication where that unresolved cross reference actually is. When I use the Find/Change Unresolved cross references option it tells that there are no unresolved cross references. When doing what you are suggesting above, I get that window that should allow me to find the unresolved cross reference, but IT DOESN'T EITHER. FrameMaker used to be a really great and solid publishing tool, but you guys have apparently ruined it completely. All the great features that used to work either work badly or not at all. It is getting worse with every release. You guys completely ignore the decades long complaints about FM features and just make it worse with every release. And to top it all off, it is getting more expensive with every release and one can't even buy it anymore, one has to lease it, one has become the proverbial cash cow. It's absolutely shameful.

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      LinSims
      Community Expert
      LinSimsCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      December 21, 2020

      Do you have xrefs that have been conditioned? If the xref is hidden, it will flag as being unresolved but the Find/Replace won't see it when you look for it because, of course, it's hidden.

       

      I've had this happen. What I do is turn on all conditions so everything is visible, update to make sure none of the xrefs are unresolved, then hide the conditions that aren't needed for an output and reupdate for the TOC and the visible xrefs. FM will still gripe about unresolved xrefs, but you can ignore the message since you just checked to be sure everything was linked properly.

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      Matt-Tech Comm Tools
      Community Expert
      Matt-Tech Comm ToolsCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 1, 2019

      Look at View > Cross References.

      It's subtle, but there's both a Cross Reference and a Cross References pod.

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      -Matt Sullivan, FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant
      Matt-Tech Comm Tools
      Community Expert
      Matt-Tech Comm ToolsCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
      Community Expert
      February 1, 2019

      Of course, you can always use Find/Change to search for Cross-Reference - Unresolved.

      Also, try opening all files in your book. If there are dialogs related to missing resources (fonts, images, etc.) then the missing xref messages may simply indicate that Fm can't access the files.

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      -Matt Sullivan, FrameMaker Course Creator, Author, Trainer, Consultant
      ericCessnaAuthor
      Inspiring
      February 1, 2019

      That's the answer I was looking for, thanks

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        LinSims
        Community Expert
        LinSimsCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        February 1, 2019

        IIRC, if you enable automatic updates for a file (Edit > Update References > All Cross-References), you'll see a window that tells you how many unresolved xrefs are in the file when you open it. You'll still need to use Find/Replace - Unresolved Cross References to find them and fix them.

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        Jeff_Coatsworth
        Community Expert
        Jeff_CoatsworthCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        February 1, 2019

        IIRC there's a Console pane that appears now in FM2019 (used to be a separate floating window session IIRC) - you can turn on/off the Console via the Prefs screen - I think it was the "show file translation errors" field??

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