PDF link in Flash output not working

[M. Krebs]

Hi. I am using Captivate 9 to create a tutorial, which is output to Flash. I have a link in the last slide that needs to open to a PDF form (a certificate of completion). The link works fine (I.e., the PDF opens) if I output the turtorial to HTML5; the link does not work when I output it to Flash.

How do I get the link to work in the Flash output?

[Lilybiri]

How did you test? What did you use: a hyperlink with 'Open URL or file'?

[M. Krebs]

I used "Open a File".

[M. Krebs]

Also, I do not see the option 'Open URL or File'. When I create the hyperlink in Captivate I only see the following options:

Web page

Open a file

Send email to

Slide

Open another project

Etc...

[M. Krebs]

Is it because it is encoded?

[Lilybiri]

No, sorry about my typo. The 'wording' is different for the menu for hyperlinks compared with the dropdown options in the Actions tab. I should have looked at the exact words...

You didn't answer my question 'How did you test'? After publishing?

[M. Krebs]

I published the project using the "HMTL5/SWF" option selected for Publish As to a location on our network and then clicked on the file .htm: I click the link (which should open the PDF I specified) and nothing happens.

[M. Krebs]

Is this problem due to the fact that the link is encoded in Flash? Do I need to decode the link text to get the browser to run the PDF specified in the hyperlink?

[Lilybiri]

Did you include the pdf in the published folder?

[M. Krebs]

Yes, of course.

But note that there is no attempt by the browser to open anything—i.e., the browser does not display an error message or show any processing at all. When I click the link, the browser just sits there as if the link does not exist all. (This seems to tell me that Flash is not translating the link.)

[RodWard]

Your issue could be due to Flash Global Security blocking the links to open the PDF.

Try uploading your content to a web server (not a file server) and then see if it works from there.

[M. Krebs]

I figured out the problem: you need to allow your installation of Flash to allow access to the external location of the link. See https://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager04.html