Skip to main content
T
TBarcellos
Participant
May 26, 2009
Answered

Linking text to references

  • May 26, 2009
  • 2 replies
  • 994 views

I have a long document (350+ pages) with multiple sections, each of which has a list of references at the end. The text of each section is sprinkled throughout with bracketed item (e.g., [III.1], [III.2], [III.3], etc.) which correspond to the labels for each item in the list of references (e.g., III.1 Classified Hiring Manual, III.2 Faculty Hiring Manual, III.3 District Form P-38, and on and on).

We're supposed to generate a pdf in which the reader can click on, for example, [III.1] (wherever it occurs) and get transported to the corresponding descriptive III.1 item in the reference list. ("Oh, it's the Classified Hiring Manual."). Has anyone created a script that would automate the task of creating links between the bracketed items in text and the corresponding expanded items in the list of references? (The bracketed items can occur multiple times in the narrative text, but each item in the list of references is unique.) As a newbie to scripting, I'd be much relieved not to have to do it up from scratch.

Any advice?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer interesting_Flower157F

I have made a script that solved TBarcellos request.

The script can be found here:

http://www.nobrainer.dk/make-references-from-text-to-a-referencelist/

2 replies

interesting_Flower157F
interesting_Flower157FCorrect answer
Inspiring
May 30, 2009

I have made a script that solved TBarcellos request.

The script can be found here:

http://www.nobrainer.dk/make-references-from-text-to-a-referencelist/

T
TBarcellosAuthor
Participant
May 30, 2009

Thomas's JavaScript solved my reference-linking problem effectively and thoroughly. The results are excellent and exactly as desired.

interesting_Flower157F
interesting_Flower157F
Inspiring
May 26, 2009

Could you supply an Indesign CS3 document illustrating what you need? Just a few pages with text and references (dont need to be the actual text/job).

Perhaps manually do a single link so I can see how it's supposed to work.

T
TBarcellosAuthor
Participant
May 27, 2009

Thanks for your response, Thomas. Attached is an Indesign file that helps to illustrate the problem. I've created a couple of hyperlinks for [III.1] and [III.2] and can use Go to Source and Go to Destination in the Hyperlinks panel to see that they work. Ideally, all bracketed references should be sources that jump to the corresponding unbracketed references (at the end of the document) as destinations. It would also be nice if one could then jump back, where a complication arises from the fact that there may be several [III.1] references going to the single III.1 destination. (If only there were a handy Back button in the Adobe reader.)

Since the entire document has hundreds of sources to link to hundreds of destinations (and back, if possible), it's an obvious job for scripting, but just as obviously a rather big task for an inexperienced person who got the question dropped in his lap only last week.

I appreciate any guidance you can give me.

--TB

Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices