PDF publishing from FrameMaker - Links do not work

[defaultcbj1p6qywajq]

I am publishing two Frame documents that have cross-reference links from one (Owners' Manual) to the other (Sales and Operations Manual).  Currently, both sets of FrameMaker files reside on an internal server in separate folders. The FrameMaker links work on the internal server, but do not work between the published PDFs on our internal or external server.

When I publish as a PDF, none of the links work on the source document (Owners' Manual) and the destination document (Sales and Operations Manual).  I have tried publishing as a PDF and also tried File > Publish from the main menu.

I get the following error when I edit the hyperlinks and save:

iManage plugin for Acrobat has failed to write the alternative data stream.

In my case, I have moved the PDF files into one folder and tried to edit the sourse PDF document's link to point to the topic in the destination PDF.  Haven't found a solution, yet.  Any help would be appreciated. Also, I need to eliminate the path that was used on our internal drive, so that the files can be published from any folder on an external server, similar to HTML, where I can use .../folder_name/filename. As you know, in this path, I can use any folder name to access the root.

Thanks!

[defaultcbj1p6qywajq]

Another note to add is that I am not accessing the files from iManage.  They are on an internal server only...S:/ drive.

[frameexpert]

When you insert your cross-references between the files, make sure they have the same relative location to each other that they will have when you place the PDFs in the final location.

[Bob_Niland]

Or use fully qualified URLs that point to where the documents will {always} be served from. This, however, will also always result in use of the link hitting the internet.

Perhaps the ideal relative location is ./ (same directory). This can work for both served and local-copy PDFs.

But pdf-2-pdf links, cannot today be relied on to always work (compared to internal PDF links, which can … if the PDF reader supports them, and not all do, esp. on phones).

Perhaps some future link enhancement will include fall-back:
primary: ./otherdoc.pdf
alternate: https://domain.tld/support/manuals/morepaths/…/otherdoc.pdf

[defaultcbj1p6qywajq]

The links never hit the internet.  The domain is an internal domain to the company, only.  Therefore, only from personnel logins can company personnel have access to the domain and the files or folders within that domain.

[Kenneth5FBC]

Bob, I still cannot get the links from Doc A to go to topics in Doc B.  I opened both FrameMaker files and the links work fine. I published the PDF files into the same folder from the Framemaker books, but the links still don't work.

[LinSims]

Adding on to Rick's response, "the same relative location" means that the folder names/path to the PDF files must be identical to the one used when you created them up to the last common/base directory.

For example, your base directory might be Documentation, while PDF1 is in Documentation\Project Name1\Install and PDF2 is in Documentation\Project Name1\Configure. You have to recreate the entire path from the Documentation directory on down for both PDFs in whatever location you want people to access them from.

[defaultcbj1p6qywajq]

Ok, one more question.  If I put them both in the same relative directory (folder), do they have to be created with Framemaker files in the same directory?  In other words, if I have the FrameMaker files in two different paths (different folders), do the Frame files for both manuals have to be in the same directory where the PDFs are created?

Thanks!

[frameexpert]

No, they don't have to be in the same folder. However, you have to open any of the target .book files when you make a PDF from the book. That way, FrameMaker knows to point to the target-bookname.pdf instead of the individual chapters that you create the links to.

So, say you have book-A.book that has documents with cross-references to files in book-B.book. When you create the book-A.pdf from FrameMaker, make sure that book-B.book is also open in FrameMaker.

[defaultcbj1p6qywajq]

Yes, I always have both books open when creating the Frame and PDF files.  So, that being said, I can create PDF book A in Frame Book A folder and PDF book B in Frame Book B folder, then put both PDFs in the same folder and the links should work?

Thanks again!

[LinSims]

No. The Frame files do not have to be in the same folder as the PDFs, but the PDFs have to stay in the same relative location to each other.

If you want both of the PDFs to be in the same folder at the end, create that folder first and then create each PDF in it. You can tell FM where to save the PDF file during naming.

[Kenneth5FBC]

LinSims, I did ask you instructed, but PDF A links still do not go to PDF B topics.  I opened both FrameMaker books and published the PDFs to the same folder, but the links are still not working.

[frameexpert]

Let's schedule a short web meeting next week. You are missing something here and it will be easier to show you. Thanks.

[Kenneth5FBC]

Yeah, short web meeting sounds great, because I think I am now getting what you are saying, but it still sounds to me like I am missing something in the context of your messages. Meantime, I am going to modify the directory structure, to remove the spaces.  Will try that and let you know if anything changes in the links.  Let's go ahead and schedule maybe a 15-minute meeting.  You can email me at [e-mail removed by moderator - use DMs to communicate private info]

Ken