Managing Links to Imported Pictures

As Chapter 23 explained, when you place a graphic into an InDesign document ‚ either via the Place command (File ‚ Place, or z +D or Ctrl+D) or by dragging and dropping a graphics file's icon directly into a document window ‚ InDesign remembers the name and location of the original graphics file and uses this file when the document is printed.

If you always print your documents from your own computer, and your graphics never get modified, moved, renamed , or deleted, you won't have to worry much about managing the links between your InDesign documents and imported graphics files. But that scenario is the exception rather than the rule. Graphics files are often modified while the InDesign pages that contain them are under construction, and at many publishing sites, the computer used to create a document is seldom the computer from which it's printed.

Note ‚  

If you import a graphics file that's 48K or smaller in size , the entire full-resolution image is automatically embedded in the InDesign document. The Links pane, explained later in this section, lets you manage links to these embedded graphic files and all other imported pictures.

Tip ‚  

If you'll be taking your documents to a service provider for output, be sure to include all imported graphics files, as well. You can use InDesign's Preflight and Package features, which are covered in Chapter 30, to automatically collect graphics files in preparation for output.

The Links pane (File ‚ Links, or Shift+ z +D or Ctrl+Shift+D), shown in Figure 24-6, displays link- related information about all imported graphics files, and the pane's accompanying pop-up menu provides tools for managing links. The scroll list displays the name of each imported graphic. A Missing Link icon is displayed for graphics that have been moved, renamed, or deleted since they were imported into the document. A Modified Link icon is displayed for graphics that have been modified since being imported.

Figure 24-6: The Links pane and its palette menu.

When you open a document that contains imported graphics files that have been modified, moved, renamed, or deleted since they were imported, the alert shown in Figure 24-7 is displayed. This alert tells you the number of files with missing links (that is, the original graphics file has been moved, renamed, or deleted) and with modified links (graphics files that have been opened and saved since they were imported). You don't have to update missing or modified links as soon as you open a document, but it's not a bad idea.

Figure 24-7: This alert is displayed when you open a document that contains imported pictures that have been modified, moved, renamed, or deleted. The Relink dialog box (bottom) is displayed if you click the Fix Links Automatically button.

To fix missing or modified links, click the Fix Links Automatically button, which will then open a Relink dialog box listing a missing link. That Relink dialog box has a Browse button for you to find the missing file. As you relink each missing file, InDesign will display the next missing file, until all are relinked. If you can't or don't want to relink a specific file, you can skip it by clicking the Skip button. When done, click OK.

If the status of a link to a particular graphics file changes while you're working on a document, a Missing Link or Modified Link icon is displayed in the Links pane. For example, if you import an illustration created with Illustrator or FreeHand into an InDesign document, then open, modify, and resave the illustration using its original program, the Links pane will display the Modified Link icon for that file.

Note ‚  

Generally, you'll want to keep all links up to date. If you don't update the link for a modified graphic, it will still print correctly, but what you see on-screen may be quite different from what prints. Remember that when you import a graphics file, InDesign creates and saves a low-resolution screen preview for display. If the graphics file is then modified, InDesign will continue to use the old screen preview for screen display until you update the link.

If you try to print a document that contains a missing graphics file, the alert shown in Figure 24-7 is displayed. At this point, you can Cancel the print job and then use the Links pane to update the link, or you can click OK to print anyway. If you print anyway, InDesign will send the low-resolution screen preview to the printer instead of sending the original graphics file.

Note ‚  

If you import an EPS file that, in turn , contains OPI links to placed images in the file, the Links pane will display these links. You shouldn't change them. Doing so could cause printing problems.

The Links pane's palette menu has four groups of commands that let you manage links, embed the original graphics file of any imported graphic, display link information for individual graphics, and control how filenames are displayed in the pane. If you want to update, relink, or view information about a specific file, click on its name in the pane, then choose a command from the palette menu or click a button at the bottom of the pane, all of which are explained in the following sections.

Managing links

The first four command in the Links pane's palette menu let you reestablish links to missing and modified graphics files, display an imported graphic in the document window, and open the program used to create a graphic file:

• Relink: This command, and the Relink button (the leftmost at the bottom of the pane), lets you reestablish a missing link or replace the original file you imported with a different file. When you choose Relink or click the button, the Relink dialog box is displayed and shows the original path name and filename. You can enter a new path name and filename in the Location field, but it's easier to click Browse, which opens a standard Open dialog box. Use the controls to locate and select the original file or a different file, then click OK. (You can also drag and drop a file icon from the Mac OS Finder or Windows Explorer directly into the Relink dialog box.) If you want to restore broken links to multiple files, highlight their filenames in the scroll list, then choose Relink or click the Update Link button.

  QuarkXPress User ‚  

  InDesign's relink function is not as smart as QuarkXPress's equivalent Picture Usage. If you have multiple broken links to the same file in an InDesign document, you must relink each one manually from the Links pane. QuarkXPress will automatically fix all links to the same file as soon as you correct any link to it. That's another reason to use InDesign's automatic fix described earlier when you open a file with broken links.

• Go To Link: Choose this option, or click the Go to Link button (second from left) to display the highlighted graphics file in the document window. InDesign will, if necessary, navigate to the correct page and center the image in the document window. You can also display a particular graphic by double-clicking its name in the scroll list while holding down the Option or Alt key.

• Edit Original: If you want to modify an imported graphic, choose Edit Original from the palette menu or click the Edit Original button (far right). InDesign will try to locate and open the program used to create the file. This may or may not be possible, depending on the original program, the file format, and the programs available on your computer.

• Update Link: Choose this option or click the Update Link button (third from the left) to update the link to a modified graphic. Highlight multiple filenames, then choose Update Link or click the Update Link button to update all links at once.

  Note ‚  

  When you update missing and modified graphics, any transformations ‚ rotation, shear, scale, and so on ‚ that you've applied to the graphics or their frames are maintained .

Embedding imported pictures

The Links pane's Embed command lets you embed the complete file of any imported graphic. (Except for files that are 48K and smaller, you import only a low-resolution screen preview when you place a picture.) If you want to ensure that the graphics file will forever remain with a document, you can choose to embed it ‚ however, by embedding graphics, you'll be producing larger document files, which means it will take you longer to open and save them.

To embed a picture, click on its name in the scroll list, then choose Embed from the Links pane's palette menu. An alert is displayed and informs you about the increased document size that will result. Click Yes to embed the file.

Caution ‚  

When you embed a file, the filename is no longer displayed in the Links pane, nor is an embedded file automatically updated if you modify the original. Generally, you should avoid embedding files, especially large ones, unless you're certain that they won't be modified.

Displaying link information

Choosing Link Information from the Links pane's palette menu displays the Link Information dialog box, shown in Figure 24-8. This dialog box doesn't let you do much (the Previous and Next buttons let you display information about the previous and next files in the list, but that's about it), but it does display 11 sometimes useful bits of information about the highlighted graphics file, including its name, status, creation date, file type, and location.

Figure 24-8: The Link Information dialog box.

Sorting imported files in the Links pane

The next three commands in the Links pane's palette menu let you control how the files in the scroll list are arranged:

• Sort by Status lists files with missing links first, followed by files that have been modified, and finally files whose status is OK.

• Sort by Name lists all files in alphabetical order.

• Sort by Page lists imported files on page 1 first, followed by imported files on page 2, and so on.

  New Feature ‚  

  If you Option+double-click or Alt+double-click a picture, InDesign will open the original in either the program that created it or, if you don't have that program, another program that can edit the picture.

Changing the view

Finally, the Links pane's palette menu has an option called Small Palette Rows that lets you reduce the size of text in the pane and decrease the space between entries so you can see more entries at once. Of course, the reduced rows are also harder to read. To go back to the normal display size, simply select this option again.