Modified Link Showing Without Page Number in Links Panel

[dorcas_4738]

Good morning! My links panel is showing a modified link, but without any page number. I try relinking and it doesn't work. I wish I could delete it but I can't even do that. Any advice on how to fix this?
I am afraid it's damaging my file, because I have got an alert about a damaged file. 
Thanks!

<Title renamed by MOD>

[Mike Witherell]

Dorcas,

Can you post a screenshot?

[Mike Witherell]

Dorcas, there might be a corruption in the file. To test, export the INDD to IDML and re-open the IDML and then save-as to a new file name. Maybe this will fix it. Otherwise, you might have to reset preferences. Here is a troubleshooting compendium that discusses, among other things, how to reset preferences, with graduated 4 degrees of reset technique.

[dorcas_4738]

 Thanks, Mike! I tried exporting as IDML and whenever I tried opening the IDML file, Indesign crashed. So??

[dorcas_4738]

So if I reset preferences, I won't mess anything up in my documents?

[Mike Witherell]

No

[dorcas_4738]

Thanks so much, Mike! I did that re opened my cloud doc I'm working on. But the alert for the invisible modified link is still there. Did I miss a step?

[Frans v.d. Geest]

Looks more like a  placed InDesign file that needs to be updated (yellow is 'out of date' not 'missing'). Did you try 'update all links' (not relink) from the fly-out menu in the Links panel?.

[dorcas_4738]

I did. But nothing happens. Since it doesn't show any page number I can't figure out where to find it. I can't "go to the link" nor relink it.

[dorcas_4738]

My preflight panel shows "no errors".

[Mike Witherell]

Instead of cloud document, can you save-as to a local hard drive file and operate that local file?

[dorcas_4738]

I did that as well and it still shows...

[Mike Witherell]

Could it be on a hidden layer?

[dorcas_4738]

Good point. But all my layers are set to visible..

I'm very confused.

[Peter Spier]

If you spin open the other links in that screen shot, do they show page numbers?

Might just be a corrupt panel, in which case deleting the InDesign cache files follwing the instructions in @Mike Witherell's compendium might help.

Is this isolated to just this file? Does it happen if you open it on a different computer?

[dorcas_4738]

Yes, the other links show the page numbers.

I've only had this problem on this specific file.

[Peter Spier · Accepted solution]

Since .idml did not fix the issue, my next thought would be to try moving the pages to a new document.

[dorcas_4738]

Thanks so much! That took care of it! And my doc is now half the size. Shows how much it was weighing my program down.

[Peter Spier]

You're welcome.

[Harry_Frank6307]

It sounds like the modified link might be stuck on a hidden area like the pasteboard or a parent page, which is why it doesn’t show a page number or let you delete it. Try using “Go to Link” to locate it, then embed and unembed to refresh its status. Also, check your cache folder—corrupted settings can cause strange link behavior and even damage alerts. Saving a fresh copy of your file is a smart move while troubleshooting.

[dorcas_4738]

Thanks. Yes, I tried the "Go to Link" and it never worked.

[Peter Spier]

Both pasteboard and master pages SHOULD also be inidcated in the inks panel....

[Gregory24336603tjc8]

Everything that Dorcas described is now happening to one of my documents. It has many links. I deleted several frames but the linked images remained in the Links panel. There is no way (that I can see) to delete these links. As with Dorcas, moving the pages to a new document does clear the problem but ... also removes all of my Text Variables, meaning I will have to fix the running headers on 380 pages.  Ugh! Is there no sort-of "check and fix the integrity of an InDesign file" utility?

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @Gregory24336603tjc8,

Could you please confirm the version of InDesign and the details of your OS? Also, have you tried saving the file as IDML to see if that resolves the issue, and does the problem with the links moving from the Links panel still happen afterward? If you can, please share a screenshot showing the current state of the links, so I can better understand what's happening.

Looking forward to your update.

Abhishek