ID Hyperlinks registering 'red light stop' in hyperlinks panel

[Marie29007679rwta]

I work for county government and must reference federal documents or websites (such as the U.S. Census or Federal Highway) via hyperlinks in my reports. Reports (pdfs) or websites from federal agencies often show the 'red light' on the hyperlinks panel which warns that the hyperlink is not working.

I have copied the hyperlink from my browser and inserted it through the hyperlinks panel but still receive this warning.

What can I do to make this right?

[Bill Silbert · Accepted solution]

Network or security restrictions for the URLs in question may be the issue. InDesign needs to be able to reach a URL to verify its status. If it can't then it will show an error. A local firewall, a login requirement for the destination site, or website anti-bot measures can prevent InDesign entry and show as an error in the hyperlinks panel..