InDesign and OneDrive linking issue

[benthemc727731]

Hi,

I've searched a bit across the internet, but didn't find a solution (yet).

We are currently using OneDrive to store a complete project on there. The files are synced to each team member's computer locally. So far so good, that works.

But we have a problem with InDesign: the links don't work when someone else than the creator opens the file. OneDrive syncs to a folder on the local machine - this path contains the username that is logged on the computer - so every member has a different path. Therefore, the links do not work for others.

Is there a workaround for this? How can we fix it?

Another issue is that OneDrive doesn't know when someone else has a file open. I assume this can be avoided with turning on the Check-Out function? I haven't tried it yet though...

Thanks for help!

Ludwig

[vladan saveljic]

I think it would be better to use InCopy in this case

How to create & use Adobe InCopy CC workflows

[benthemc727731]

I never used InCopy, but from what I've read in the link, it can be helpful for working with multiple people. However, that doesn't really solve the problem because the file paths would still be different on different computers. I'll have a look!

[BobLevine]

I assume by check out you are referring to InCopy content but the rest makes no sense. Are you saying you have missing links because the file structure is different?

I've used OneDrive successfully for this type of work as well as Dropbox and have never had this issue with sharing folders.

[benthemc727731]

BobLevine​ yes that's the issue - missing links because the file path is always different. And the Lockfile doesn't seem to get synced by OneDrive; I've read somewhere else that this is due to the " ~ " in the file name. We can avoid this with proper communication internally, but the missing links issue is quite annoying...

Writing this, I think it could be solved by changing the location of the OneDrive synced folder on each computer to a location that has the same file path and is not related to the user folder - does this make sense?

[BobLevine]

The lock files do not sync and they never have. While this workflow is great for small workgroups it does depend on proper communication between users.

As for the links...again, I've never seen this issue on Dropbox or OneDrive even when working cross platform. I wish I could help but I have no idea why you're experiencing it.

[BobLevine]

Just to be clear. You created the folder, added all of the contents, including links to it and then shared it with full editing rights with other users?

Anything else would cause problems.

[benthemc727731]

I'm not 100% sure how the process went because I wasn't involved. I think that the whole folder structure of the porject has been created in SharePoint and is now synced via OneDrive to the individual computers. So everyone has full editing rights, we all work on this as it would be a folder on the local server - except that everyone basicly works on his local harddrive and the files are synced with the cloud.

Maybe we did something wrong when we set up the whole thing but I'm not seeing what this could be. Probably it's also more a Microsoft OneDrive / Sharepoint issue so maybe I will ask in a forum there how to solve it.

[benthemc727731 · Accepted solution]

I assume that it could be solved by following this guide: https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/move-onedrive-folder and change the folder to a location that has the same path everywhere, like C:\synced project\presentation/...

[BobLevine]

I’ve never done this with Sharepoint involved. I’d try to bypass that part by copying everything into a new OneDrive folder and sharing it with the group.

[Guest]

Were you able to find a solution for this? We're currently dealing with this. Companywide file. Adding image links via OneDrive attaches that users C: drive to the path so when the next user goes to use the file, the image link is broken. 

[Graphics50]

We can't do that on a Mac anymore.

Years ago we could put files in the root directory on a Mac, but not anymore.

[BobLevine]

This post is a year and a half old. If you have a question or a problem please start a new discussion with full details.