Experiment: I opened the problem file from IDML. It converted to INDD. I deleted all problematic Xrefs. They converted to text. I saved the document at that point as IDML (to a different name). I then opened the IDML and had it convert to INDD. There were NO suspicious Xrefs in the file (according to the Xref dialog). I attempted to add an Xref ("Appendix B" in the paragraph above.) I chose the destination file. I did not get further than scrolling to the style of the paragraph (AppendixNumber). CRASH. Something is seriously wrong here. UPDATE: I'm beginning to suspect that this problem only affects cross-file Xrefs. I'm able to make internal Xrefs even in the problem files without issue. So: What could be present in an IDML file that would make ID unable to perform a cross-file Xref? Update: I was able to do a cross-file Xref to the chapterTitle of another file from my regular paragraph (paragraphROP). When I tried to do the same Xref to the same external file from the same working file that had just succeeded -- but did it from within the Note style paragraph, it crashed. Is it possible that it is the STYLES that have been compromised? Yet Another Update: When I examined the IMDL styles doc for the Note style, it didn't show anything abnormal (to me). Back in the trouble document, I created a new paragraph (not a note), rewrite the text of the note, including Xrefs, which worked, converted that paragraph to a note, deleted the original note, and pasted in the new note (Am I clear? I did a swap.) No problem. I saw another Xref in a regular paragraph that had been converted to text -- one of the scotched Xrefs. In another location, I recreated the link, deleted the original, then pasted the new link in successfully. Now, I'm thinking that somewhere a couple of the INDD files got subtly damaged in a way that ID could not cope with and that damage is propagated -- invisibly -- by the IDML format. At least I haven't found the damage. At this point, the work-around seems to be to rewrite any passage that includes a non-working Xref, delete the original, and paste in the rewrite. Laborious, but I can think of more laborious options. Weeding my garden, for instance. -j
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