"Re-Link to new Path" Script

Hi @Hannes5CE3, here's a script I wrote that should do what you want. The limitation is that it won't relink unless the file exists in the new path. I honestly couldn't work out a way around this limitation. Would love to know if anyone has solved it.

To use the script, first set the vars "findWhat" and "changeTo" so that when doing a find/change on the path, the result will be a valid path to the correct files. Then just run the script and it will relink all placedItems in the active document. Have a look through the script and you'll see I've added a couple of options that can be passed to the function, eg. if you're using the function in a batch (all open documents, for example) you might want to turn the alert off by setting showResult to false.

- Mark

/*
    Relinker.js
    for Adobe Illustrator

    by m1b
    here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/quot-re-link-to-new-path-quot-script/m-p/12776878

    with help from advice found here:
    https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator/get-broken-file-path-of-rasteritem/td-p/9794237

    Limitations:
    • only relinks if the new path points to a valid file
    • document must be saved before relinking to ensure
      xmp manifest is up-to-date (script handles this)

    Notes:
    • the find/change is performed on the complete path,
      including filename and file extension
    • findWhat can be String or RegExp
    • onlyChangeBrokenLinks means don't do the relinking
      if the link isn't broken
    • showResults means show an alert with result stats

*/
var findWhat = 'Old Folder',
    changeTo = "New Folder";

findChangeInLinkedFilePaths(app.activeDocument, findWhat, changeTo, false, false, true);

function findChangeInLinkedFilePaths(doc, findWhat, changeTo, onlyChangeBrokenLinks, automaticallySaveDocumentBeforeRelinking, showResults) {
    doc = doc || app.activeDocument;
    if (showResults !== false) showResults = true;

    // must save document before relinking to ensure the xmp manifest is up-to-date
    if (!doc.saved) {
        if (automaticallySaveDocumentBeforeRelinking || confirm('Document "' + doc.name + '" must be saved before relinking. Continue?', false, 'Save Document')) {
            doc.save();
        } else {
            return
        }
    }

    // get all the placedItems
    var items = doc.placedItems,
        relinked = [],
        notFound = [],
        notChanged = [];

    // collect the paths of all the placedItems
    if (ExternalObject.AdobeXMPScript == undefined) ExternalObject.AdobeXMPScript = new ExternalObject('lib:AdobeXMPScript');
    var xmp = new XMPMeta(doc.XMPString),
        manifestItemCount = xmp.countArrayItems(XMPConst.NS_XMP_MM, 'Manifest');

    // sanity check
    if (manifestItemCount != items.length)
        throw ('Aborting: Manifest item count does not match placed item count.');

    for (var i = 0; i < manifestItemCount; i++) {
        // get the path from the document's manifest
        var xpath = 'xmpMM:Manifest[' + (i + 1) + ']/stMfs:reference/stRef:filePath',
            path = xmp.getProperty(XMPConst.NS_XMP_MM, xpath).value,
            newPath = path.replace(findWhat, changeTo),
            filename = newPath.split('/').pop(),
            item = items[i],
            success = false;

        if (path == newPath) {
            notChanged.push(filename);
            continue;
        }

        try {
            var triggerErrorIfBrokenLink = item.file;
            // current link is okay
            if (!onlyChangeBrokenLinks) {
                success = relinkPlacedItem(item, newPath);
            }
        } catch (error) {
            // current link is broken
            success = relinkPlacedItem(item, newPath);
        }

        if (success) {
            relinked.push(filename);
        } else {
            notFound.push(filename);
        }
    }

    // report
    app.redraw();
    if (showResults) {
        var report = ['Relinker results'];
        if (relinked.length > 0) {
            report.push('Relinked:\n' + relinked.join('\n'));
        } else {
            report.push('No files relinked.');
        }
        if (notFound.length > 0)
            report.push('Link didn\'t exist:\n' + notFound.join('\n'));
        if (notChanged.length > 0)
            report.push('Ignored:\n' + notChanged.join('\n'));
        alert(report.join('\n\n'));
    }

    function relinkPlacedItem(item, path) {
        if (File(path).exists) {
            item.file = new File(path);
            return true;
        }
    }
}