External Text Anchor not found

[Inélsòre]

Why am I getting this error when exporting to EPUB (Fixed Layout)?

I've looked for solutions on this forum & elsewhere.

The TOC has been remade from scratch multiple times.

Thinking it could have something to do with footnotes, I manually copied and recreated all of them. 

I've tried the IDML trick suggested in another post. Nothing... same error.

The location the error points to appears to be some sort of Cache. Could I just delete it (or move it away)?

Thanks

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

But as per end of the link - ClipboardScrap1 - looks like something you've copy&pasted from some external application?

[Inélsòre]

Yes, from a copy of the same document within InDesign itself. 

It seems, though, that it was a broken hyperlink (still, copied through multiple, slightly different iterations of the same file).

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I'd search the actual content of the EPUB to locate the exact location and context of the link. (Not something I recommend often, but sometimes bits of grit like this are so "orphaned" that none of the regular searches or reviews will turn them up.)

[Inélsòre · Accepted solution]

It was a link in a footnote.

This was generated from the "copy permalink" function of the target website which, for some reason, starts with http:// not https:// like the rest of the website. This apparently was not good enough for InDesign. 

Changing it solved the issue. 

I only wish error messages were more helpful.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I agree, this is about one step up from an idiot light.

I find ID's logic in parsing and validating URLs extremely narrow and fussy; I have more than one destination that ends with a folder (...com/ART/) for entirely valid reasons and zero compatibility problems, but ID red-flags these as invalid. That this checking extends to export without even being clear about the issue... sigh.

While https is now considered good form and all, it's not mandatory and should not be a validation issue at this level.

[Inélsòre]

"I agree, this is about one step up from an idiot light."

I like the sound of this sentence, but as a non-native English speaker I can't grasp its full meaning. Could you enlighten me?

I now tried to go to the website, export the permalink again, and paste it into InDesign again (with its http:// intact). No exporting issue... Bah... I wish these EPUB Exporting issues would at least repeat, and not get a new one each time...

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

"I agree, this is about one step up from an idiot light."

I like the sound of this sentence, but as a non-native English speaker I can't grasp its full meaning. Could you enlighten me?

By @Inélsòre

https://wiygul.com/support/1883/idiot-lights-the-little-lights-that-usually-cry-wolf/ 

Idiot light: A warning indicator on the instrument cluster that foretells a failure that never occurs or, conversely, blinks on just after the vehicle has coasted to a stop.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

That's it. Basically the light that lights up to tell you you've just blown your engine, idiot.

Of course, the majority of gauges in most modern cars  are simply idiot lights without the light. They don't actually move with the engine condition, but have two or three fixed positions like "Ice Cold — Normal — Boiling Over."

But in context, a warning that says little more than "Ha, ha, something's wrong with your export" is the equivalent.