I've came across this error message too and it is really annoying. I've had time to investigate these days and here are my findings so far.
Eventhough if the option "Create link" is not checked in the XML Import Options dialog box when importing an XML file, the InDesign documents will be somehow "weeded" with the XML file. As "Create link" is not checked during the import, the XML file will naturally not be shown in the Links panel (but why to the hell is InDesign keeping the history at all???).
I tried out of curiosity to import several different XML files - self-evident - without checking the Create link option. As before, none of them are shown in the Links panel. After saving this InDesign dokument even with Save As... (which is "well known" as InDesign will internally clean up the file), InDesign Server will throw for ALL! previously imported XML files a Link missing error . In fact, it seems InDesign writes some kind of internal history about all imported XML files from the past to the document. For what reason???
I would rate this as a bug as I do not see any benefit keeping a history of imported XML files. Additionaly, I doubt there is any JavaScript or AppleScript method to get rid of this history.
In the end there is only one cumbersome way to get rid of the Link missing error:
- Create a complete new document from scratch
- Import the tags (NOT! the XML file itself) from an XML file
- Copy all needed textframes (from another document where the XML structure/tags are allready associated with the layout/textframes) to the new document
- Check the XML elements from the XML structure panel with the associated tags (Tag panel) and the XML/Tags placeholders within the new document
- Proceed with adjustments where they do not fit
- The most important thing at the end: Save it as .indt file (InDesign template).
Saving it as .indt file will lower the risk to accidentally import the XML file to the "virgin" InDesign document which would tie it together again (what would mean you would have the Link missing error on the cheek again and thus all previous work has gone and you can start again from scratch).
This way you can do all changes in the so called virgin template (add/delete objects and link them with the XML structure/tags). But NEVER!!! import any XML file to this ORIGINAL document. If you wana test it, open a copy of it and delete it if its not what you want. If you have to do changes inside the document, do it in the virgin template without any XML import and save it again as .indt (InDesign template).
Unfortunately, this is a real hassle but as far as I see there is no other solution to get rid of the Link missing error. I am wondering that Adobe didn't provide any solution, at least a JavaScript command/method, to clean up the history inside an InDesign document.
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