Broken InDesign links between Mac and Windows Pc

[adobe ccm2616891]

Hello everyone, we're experiencing a recurring issue with broken links in our InDesign documents stored on our shared network drives. The problem typically arises when a file is updated on one platform and then opened on another. For example, if a Mac user updates a file and then a Windows user accesses it, the links break, and vice versa. Any suggestions on how to resolve this cross-platform linking issue?

[Kasyan Servetsky]

Try this script.

[HARSHIKA_VERMA]

Hi @adobe ccm2616891,

Thank you for reaching out and reporting the issue. Would you mind confirming the version of InDesign on both machines? Have you started experiencing this issue after the latest update of InDesign?

Does that happen with all files or with a specific file? 

We will try our best to investigate the problem.

Thanks,

Harshika

[adobe ccm2616891]

This issue only started recently, in January. With Version 20.1. to further troubleshoot the issue users were rolled back to the previous versions however, they still had the same issue. 

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@adobe ccm2616891

InDesign stores absolute paths, so you'll have to relink every time.

What are the paths seen by Windows and Mac? 

[adobe ccm2616891]

I know the Windows path used drive letter J: \\server\department\Folder

While Mac users used //Volumes/Department/Folder

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

I know the Windows path used drive letter J: \\server\department\Folder

While Mac users used //Volumes/Department/Folder

By @adobe ccm2616891

Can you map directly to the "Folder"?

So your file structure will look like this:

\file.indd

\Document fonts (folder)

\Links (folder)

[adobe ccm2616891]

yes, I can map directly to the folder

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

yes, I can map directly to the folder

By @adobe ccm2616891

It would be perfect on Windows - as no matter what is the user's account - or if you change IP / name of your server - InDesignn will always see nice and short path.

But what with Mac? I'm not a Mac user.

[adobe ccm2616891]

Sure. Same for MAC

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

Sure. Same for MAC

By @adobe ccm2616891

Could you please show how it will look like? I don't have access to a Mac - so I would like to see - for a future reference.

[BobLevine]

How long are the file paths? Are there any illegal characters being used in file names? Accents?

[adobe ccm2616891]

Windows \J: \server\department\Folder

Mac : //Volumes/Department/Folder

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @adobe ccm2616891,  

Thanks for sharing the details! I checked with the product team, and they confirmed that if the file server is synced locally (like Dropbox), the absolute file paths will be different on macOS and Windows, which could be causing the issue. However, if you’re using a network location, the paths should ideally remain the same. 

A good workaround is to package your files before sharing, as that will keep all links intact. Another option is ensuring that the directory structure is identical on both Mac and Windows, so InDesign can resolve the links automatically. Let me know if that helps or if you need any further guidance!  

Looking forward to your update.  

^

Abhishek