Phonenumbers in Publish online not working

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
January 10, 2023
4 replies
772 views

Hi all! I' using Indesign 18.1 and I tried to export an interactive folder via publish online. I wanted the phonenumbers in this doument clickable. So I marked the numbers and set a hyperlink as an URL and in the URL box I typed "tel:" and the phonenumber without + or blanks. But when I exported the file via publish online I clould't click on the number. The browser (safari) responded, that he cant open the URL. Is this some kind of bug? I couldn't find a solution to this problem. Maybe somone encountered the same problem or has got a solution?

Thanks everyone!

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James Gifford—NitroPress

Legend

Just to follow up on my first comment, this notation appears in W3docs, a fairly authoritative reference, for 'tel:' —

There isn’t any documentation (official) on this protocol handler for links. That’s why there can be differences in browser support and behavior. Commonly, browsers make different decisions on determining what to do with the clicked link.

So I'd start by creating a workable link in a simple web page, see how it behaves in different browsers and on different devices, and then compare the behavior of such a link from ID/in PO.

J

Jeffrey_Smith

Community Expert

For a clickable phone number, you can insert html into your Indesign document with the following html code:

<a href="tel:+1234567890">Call me at +123-456-7890</a>

James Gifford—NitroPress

Legend

I think this is the key. Not every browser or device simply knows what to do with a 'tel:' link; fully defining it as a URL string may work more reliably.

But then, none of my devices including a phone-enabled desktop and a Samsung phone responded correctly to either version, so...