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H
Haahoou
Inspiring
August 26, 2020
Answered

Can not unlink the file

  • August 26, 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 1073 views

I have a indd file and have 3 to 4 AI file placed in it. when i open this indd file it gives me following message

i tried both option and have not noticed any diffference between the 2 options.

my links panel looks like this 

 

 

 sudoku med(4).ai is the file thats is problematic.  I have relinked to itself as well as relink to several other files but nothing change my links panel looks same.

I  tried Go to link option but nothing changed

I have completed my doc with al the cross references considering that i can unlink file later after searching online how to unlink/delete linked file.

so what should i do. suggest something that i dont have create the from file from scratch if possible.

 

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Haahoou

 @ grant

I do not remeber i have any hidden layers, and i can not conofirm because i have even emptied the trash

@ rob day

yes file name is sudoko med(4).ai. I had power issues so i created multiple versions and later deleted all previous versions before placing

 

But I solved my problem by

1  Creating a new file.

2  Use MOVE PAGES command from pages panel (i have all my cross referances around 200 intact). 

3  Copy paste contents of Master Pages. (Though later i found i can MOVE MASTER PAGES as well)

4  Placed all my files again (though i have to place all 3 files again but it was easy )

3 replies

rob day
Community Expert
rob dayCommunity Expert
Community Expert
August 27, 2020

—When there is more than one copy of a placed file you’ll get the number of copies in parenthesis after the file name along with a drop down arrow so you can see where the copies are located. Unless the actual name of your modified file includes (4) in its name, it looks like there might be a problem with the panel display, which often can be fixed by deleting your InDesign Caches folder. If there are 4 copies of the file sudoko med.ai, the Links panel would list it as sudoko med.ai (4), and not sudoko med(4).ai.

 

On OSX the Caches folder is here: /Users/username/Library/Caches/Adobe InDesign/Version 15.0

 

In any case when you get a yellow triangle that indicates the file is linked but has been modified. You don’t need to relink the asset, you just need to update it by clicking the Update link icon at the bottom of the panel.

H
HaahoouAuthorCorrect answer
Inspiring
August 30, 2020

 @ grant

I do not remeber i have any hidden layers, and i can not conofirm because i have even emptied the trash

@ rob day

yes file name is sudoko med(4).ai. I had power issues so i created multiple versions and later deleted all previous versions before placing

 

But I solved my problem by

1  Creating a new file.

2  Use MOVE PAGES command from pages panel (i have all my cross referances around 200 intact). 

3  Copy paste contents of Master Pages. (Though later i found i can MOVE MASTER PAGES as well)

4  Placed all my files again (though i have to place all 3 files again but it was easy )

Grant H
Community Expert
Grant HCommunity Expert
Community Expert
August 27, 2020

Just to rule out: have you got any hidden layers? Is that link on any of them?

R
Community Expert
Randy HaganCommunity Expert
Community Expert
August 26, 2020

The first thing you should probably do is back out as far as your computer will allow and search for "sudoku med(4).ai" on all drives  If you're like me, you'll likely have at least two.

 

If you have multiples, review them all and note where the latest/best version is located on your system.

 

Open the file in Adobe Illustrator, save it and close it.

 

Go back to your InDesign file and delete the offending placed file.

 

With the old file gone, re-place the best/latest version from the location you already noted.

 

Save the file and close it. Then close InDesign.

 

Re-open InDesign, then the (hopefully previously problematic) document. And see if this clears up the problem.

 

This has worked for me more times than I care to admit.

 

Good luck,

 

Randy

 

 

H
HaahoouAuthor
Inspiring
August 27, 2020

I have only one file name "sudoku med(4).ai", If u look closely in my link panel it does not have a small arrow next to it. it means i do not have anything placed from files. It means I can not delete offending file from  indesign file. I could not either find any "Delete" option in links panel either.
If right click file name -> reveal in finder  It takes me to the right location.

If i try to relink again to itself or some other file whether link option is checked or not, some messge appear and disappear in a blink of an eye. 

R
Community Expert
Randy HaganCommunity Expert
Community Expert
August 27, 2020

You may only have one file name "sudoku med(4).ai" in your InDesign document, but do you have only one on your computer?

 

As Grant asked, do you have any hidden layers in your document?

 

It's interesting that you have multiple instances of your other three .ai files placed in the document. Have you created three honkin' big .ai files and you're cropping them to place parts of them on multiple pages?

 

If you know where the "only one" example of your (4).ai file is, we can approach this another way:

 

  1. Go to where it's stored on your computer.
  2. Remove it from its location and place/paste it on your desktop.
  3. Since it's been moved to a different location where it was when it was placed in your InDesign document, the "alert" yellow icon should change to a red stop sign which signifies that the file is now "missing." This should make it easier to delete your link and do what you want to do from there.

 

Hey, I'm just trying to help. It still won't hurt to just delete the placed element and start over ... unless you've got something like 56 examples of it scattered throughout your InDesign document, that is ...

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