Script to automatically create links

[Rsfl]

Hi all,

the cross references in a set of FM documents were lost in the translation process so the sources and the published PDFs contain plain text parts such as "see chapter 4.6.2.1". I imagine that theoretically a script could search for such text snippets and the automatically link them to the corresponding headings - does anybody know a solution for this?

Robert

[4everJang]

Hi Robert,

Of course something like this can be scripted, but it is not a very easy job and would take considerable time. A script blindly follows rules, so you would have to tell it EXACTLY what text fragments can be expected, how the text snippets can be taken apart to find the correct chapters, which file names those chapters have, how to find the subparts of that chapter (based on autonumbering or formats and sequence numbers of such formats) and what to do if multiple targets are found (in case numbering got corrupted or when a target is not found. A lot of things to program and check to make sure the materials are not messed up even more.

You should be prepared to pay someone to do this and they possibly charge the organisation/people responsible for getting the references lost in translation. There are a couple of experienced scripters on this list who might be able to help you out. I am covered in work for the upcoming months, so count me out.

It might be wise to check how many cross-refs you have in those documents. If the number is not in the 100s or more, consider using a regular expression in the search dialog and manually re-creating the cross-references. It might be quicker and cheaper to handle this translation process glitch in this manner. And do repair the translation process.

Good luck

Jang

[Rsfl]

Hi Jang,

thanks for the fast replay, that is about what I had suspected. Yes the cross refs are in the hundreds. Maybe it would be easier to create the links in the published PDFs (working with a single document rather than separate FM files), I'll ask a separate question in the Acrobat forum and drop any possible solution here, if found.

I suppose this issue is so specific that nothing exists in this direction but thought it might be worth a try.

And do repair the translation process.

Ohh yes as soon as I recover a proper vocabulary..