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mich.leclair53
Participating Frequently
October 25, 2022
Answered

TOC Links not working in InDesign book file to PDF

  • October 25, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 1360 views

I'm using page hyperlinks in a book file TOC, because I want to avoid using an InDesign-generated TOC. I tried using anchor links, but that crashed the export if I collected the book for output. Unfortunately, the page links hyperlinks don't seem to work anymore! They act like they can't find the designated page, and instead go to the first page in the first book document. Is this a recent InDesign bug? This used to work fine.

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Correct answer James Gifford—NitroPress

Book exports are fussy and it's best to avoid loading them with complex structural bits; hyperlinks can also be fussy in their own ways; PDF export has its nuances. My first thought would be to try and simplify things if this is not a one-shot project you will never have to update and export again.

 

Others have more insight into PDF formats, standards and export — I just don't run into many problems with it and rarely have to hit a narrow target of standards-based elements.

 

Many who can't make the TOC feature do everything they want use the Cross-Ref features instead. I find that TOC has enough features and layers to do almost anything reasonable, including some quite complex results, but XRefs have more. You might see if that more standard, stable alternative works better.

 

1 reply

James Gifford—NitroPress
James Gifford—NitroPress
Legend
October 25, 2022

I guess question number one would be "why are you avoiding an ID TOC?" (There are some good answers, but it might help to clear up any misunderstandings first.)

 

Without knowing exactly what method and steps you are using, though, it's hard to narrow down a cause. You might make sure that the export options are set correctly in the PDF export, especially checking "Hyperlinks" in the General pane.

 

M
mich.leclair53Author
Participating Frequently
October 25, 2022

Hello James. The TOC is extremely complicated and doesn't really work with InDesign's parameters. I have checked "hyperlinks" on export, I have all the book documents open while exporting, I've tried a number of things and the page links all go to the first page in the first book doc. Anchor links work, but they corrupt if the book is collected and cause InDesign to crash if the book is exported to a PDF. 

James Gifford—NitroPress
James Gifford—NitroPressCorrect answer
Legend
October 25, 2022

Book exports are fussy and it's best to avoid loading them with complex structural bits; hyperlinks can also be fussy in their own ways; PDF export has its nuances. My first thought would be to try and simplify things if this is not a one-shot project you will never have to update and export again.

 

Others have more insight into PDF formats, standards and export — I just don't run into many problems with it and rarely have to hit a narrow target of standards-based elements.

 

Many who can't make the TOC feature do everything they want use the Cross-Ref features instead. I find that TOC has enough features and layers to do almost anything reasonable, including some quite complex results, but XRefs have more. You might see if that more standard, stable alternative works better.

 

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