%26 breaking URL in Captivate

[kristenm2954116]

I have a click box opening a new window to a URL containing "Finance_%26_Accounting".  When I publish it out, Captivate switches the "%" to "%2526" which breaks the link.  I've seen other solutions with a similar issue where the %20 is changed to an actual space within the URL.  However, when I change the %26 to "Finance_&_Accounting" the link still does not work.  Has anyone had any experience with this?  How can I fix it?  I don't have control of the link to remove the ampersand...

Thanks!

[CUeld-Sprouse]

I don't know if either of these will work but you may want to try the ascii code "&" or HTML name string "&"  to replace the ampersand.  As I am sure you know, this is one reason it is a very bad practice to include special characters in folder, file or URL naming.

[kristenm2954116]

Thanks for the attempt, but neither worked.  I am a big proponent of not putting symbols in URLs or files, but this link is hosted by a different team.

[RodWard · Accepted solution]

I think the issue with the link is that an ampersand in a URL is normally used as an component of the URL that immediately precedes the name of a variable.  Ampersands are also used in JavaScript and other web-based programming code.  So including them in a URL where it's not expected can break things.

That being said, I do agree that it would be nice if Captivate didn't arbitrarily change the format of the link at publish and break it.  I suggest you log this as a bug with the Captivate development team here: Adobe Captivate

In the meantime (don't hold your breath for a quick resolution in Captivate itself) I would suggest you try using TinyURL or some other similar service that will create an alias link you can put into Captivate that doesn't get changed.

TinyURL.com - shorten that long URL into a tiny URL

[CUeld-Sprouse]

I'm not sure where my head was at when I replied earlier but I agree with Rod, tiny URL should provide a quick and easy resolution to your issue.