Skip to main content
E
elellilrah
Inspiring
December 10, 2018
Question

Remove broken link to Word doc

  • December 10, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 1925 views

Hello,

I've ran into the broken link problem in Indesign (13.1). I have a single Word doc of a book linked into an ID file. The layout has been completed and all looks great. But ID says the link needs to be updated. I update the Word doc link and the entire layout is ruined.

Embed Link and Link Options are greyed out in the Links panel. I tried previous suggestions:

There are no locked layers

A suggested script to delete parents deletes most of the doc contents.

Track changes is off

Trashed preferences, reinstalled.

Saved to IDML, open, resave to ID file

I've done embedding with other ID files, deleted the original Word doc, and it worked fine.

This is only a single linked Word doc. Is there a way to delete the link and move on? The layout is complete, all I need to do is clear the error.

Thanks!

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

BobLevine
Community Expert
BobLevineCommunity Expert
Community Expert
December 11, 2018

Right click the link in the links panel and choose unembed link.

Then with no files open, check your preferences and disable "create links when placing text and spreadsheet files.

E
elellilrahAuthor
Inspiring
December 11, 2018

Therein lies the problem - the unembed link option is unavailable. The book is already laid out but it's still attached to the original Word ms. Once I update the link, the formatting is trashed. Any ideas?

BobLevine
Community Expert
BobLevineCommunity Expert
Community Expert
December 11, 2018

I link to the Word file to integrate manuscript updates as they are made. This helps along the process when there are still edits to be done. It's pretty handy when you're pushing a schedule.

However, I made the mistake of letting the design get too far along and didn't catch the layout being left linked. I should've checked the INDD file myself along the way to catch this.


If this is your typical workflow I strongly recommend you look at Wordsflow from emsoftware:

http://emsoftware.com/products/wordsflow/

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices