External links not working in EPUB

[adieu]

We have created a 740-page guidebook in inDesign (latest version), with about 850 internal links and 200 external links (to email addresses and URLs).

When we export to PDF all the links work fine. When exported to fixed-layout EPUB all the internal links work, but none of the external links do in Windows, iOS or Android.

In Windows, the cursor changes to a hand recognizing there is a link, but nothing happens when clicked. Same in the EPUB Interactivity Preview.

The first time we converted to EPUB we were given a list of about 15 links not found. Unfortunately this list was not saved and each time we have converted the file since we have not been given that list of failed links.

Any ideas why the external links are not working? Thanks.

[AnshulJain19]

Hi,

Can you please try in a new document with some text and one external link, does it work? It will help in narrowing down the issue.

Also both URL and Email, both kind of links do not work in your case?

Please let me know your InDeisgn version, OS as well.

Thanks

-Anshul

[adieu]

Hi Anshul,

Thanks for your reply. Sorry for my delay.

I am using Windows 10 and InDesign v16.1.

As you asked, I created a single-page EPUB with text and two links, one email, one url. 

The file opened in Adobe Digital Editions.

As with my 740-page document, neither link works. The hand icon recognizes that they are links, but nothing happens when I click on them.

[adieu]

I attached the one-page file here.

[Derek Cross]

Wouldn't this text heavy document be better as a Reflowable ePub?

[adieu]

Actually it's not text heavy at all. It's probably 80 percent Illustrator images. It can only be fixed layout.

Wouldn't this text heavy document be better as a Reflowable ePub?

By @Derek Cross

[Derek Cross]

My comment was based on the sample you posted which was just text. If it's a heavily illustrated book then FXL ePub (or InDesign’s Publish Online) would be better.

[adieu]

Perhaps I'm mistaken but I think the sample is what I was asked to post.

Are you saying that one of the options you suggest will solve my link problem?

[Derek Cross]

Well, it would only take a couple of minutes to test out a Publish Online document.

[adieu]

After looking into Publish Online, it will not work for us. While we do have links in the guide for use when cell or WiFi are available, most of the time the guide will be used offline, off grid for that matter.

[adieu]

Anshul,

Might it have something to do with links that have a shared destination?

When we built this guidebook we basically merged seven of our smaller guidebooks into one. Many of the links became shared destination links. We kept them that way since the compiled guide worked fine, in PDF anyway, though one of the smaller guidebooks sometimes popped open when we were editing a link in the compiled guide. It was annoying and we didn't really understand why the original InDesign file was opening, but we were happy as long as everything worked.

Just wondering if an epub document reads shared destination links differently than a PDF.