Help with hyperlinks!

[Brock]

I am creating a procedure manual for work in which I will need to link
several documents from a table of contents. Is there an easier way to do this
(other than using hyperlinks, or creating a single LARGE Word document). The
biggest problems I am having are related to formatting, and also, if I use
seperate Word documents for each procedure, I am encountering problems when I
change the location of the folder, because the hyperlinks no longer have the
correct path.

 

[Jezebel]

You can get around the path problem by entering the links as relative paths:
then, as long as your set of files remain within the same relative folder
structure, they will continue to work. ALL hyperlinks fail if you change the
folder structure: that's a problem that every project writer has to deal
with, and the answer is always more or less the same -- decide where you're
going to put things, then leave them there.

You can use RD fields for creating indexes, TOCs, etc from Referenced
Documents: but you'll still have to solve the target/path problem.

You'll need to explain more about 'problems I am having ... related to
formatting' ... what are you actually trying to do?

 

[Brock]

Thanks Jezebel,
I have several documents that are individual procedures that need to be
combined for ease of use. One brainstorm was that we could simply copy &
paste each word document into a single document, but the formatting wasn't
working out. It was because these were created over time, and there were no
standards for the appearance of these documents. We had errors with the
numbering of outlines that we couldn't correct, the margins, and fonts,
because the templates used for each of these documents was different when
they were created. Those are the formatting errors. The next solution we came
up with was to use one document as the TOC, and link to each of these
individual procedures, however, when we completed the project that way, we
were asked to copy it into another drive, and our links all were broken.
There are 2 of us working on this, and we're not programmers/developers and
we don't have access to that type of resource.
If you have any suggestions, i.e. using another program besides Word (97 by
the way, our company's too cheap to upgrade), we're definitely open to
suggestions.

Thanks again Jezebel.

 

[Jezebel]

Suggest you approach it like this:

1. Create a document (call it 'Map') that specifies how your files will be
arranged on your HD -- ie, the names of the sub-folders you'll use, and
which files belong in which.

2. Insert your links as relative paths. That means, if the referenced file
is in the same folder, just use the filename without any path at all. For
files in child folders, use [Folder]\[Filename] . For files in parent
folders, use ..\[Filename] . Then, if you copy the entire set of files to
another computer, the links will still work.

3. If you need to fix the formatting errors, create a document (call it
'style sheet') that defines the styles you will use. You can use Find and
Replace to change the styles used in a document, and you can use the
Organizer to copy styles from one document or template to another. (Avoid
this task if you can! -- it's mind-numbingly tedious, and the improvements
are rarely apparent to anyone else.)

4. Use RD fields to create a master TOC from a number of referenced
documents. See ShaunaKelly's site for the nuts and bolts of doing this.

 

[macropod]

Hi Brock,

Most of Word's fields for linking to other files don't support relative
referencing, but updating their paths is not necessarily all that difficult
to do.

In many cases, simply pressing Alt-F9 to reveal the document's field coding,
then doing a Find/Replace to change the 'broken' portion of the path might
be all that's needed, followed by Alt-F9 then Ctrl-A and F9 to re-establish
the links.

Alternatively, you can use a macro, such as the one I developed at:
www.wopr.com/cgi-bin/w3t/showthreaded.pl?Number=261488
(url all one line)
to automate the process.

As for the problems you're having with the various documents being formatted
differently, the best long-term solution will likely be to define a
'procedure' template, using Word's styles to define how various paragraphs
should be laid out, numbered, etc, and re-format all documents with that
template.

Cheers

 

[Jezebel]

Hi Brock,

Most of Word's fields for linking to other files don't support relative
referencing, but updating their paths is not necessarily all that difficult
to do.

? Actually, most of them DO. Word is deceptive in that it displays (as
tooltip) the current absolute path, even if the reference is, in fact,
relative. But move the files to another location and the apparent absolute
reference updates correctly.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

This has not been my experience with IncludePicture fields.

 

[Brock]

Thanks everyone for your help. I'll try this and if there's anything else I
need, I'll come back. Thanks again!

Suggest you approach it like this:

1. Create a document (call it 'Map') that specifies how your files will be
arranged on your HD -- ie, the names of the sub-folders you'll use, and
which files belong in which.

2. Insert your links as relative paths. That means, if the referenced file
is in the same folder, just use the filename without any path at all. For
files in child folders, use [Folder]\[Filename] . For files in parent
folders, use ..\[Filename] . Then, if you copy the entire set of files to
another computer, the links will still work.

3. If you need to fix the formatting errors, create a document (call it
'style sheet') that defines the styles you will use. You can use Find and
Replace to change the styles used in a document, and you can use the
Organizer to copy styles from one document or template to another. (Avoid
this task if you can! -- it's mind-numbingly tedious, and the improvements
are rarely apparent to anyone else.)

4. Use RD fields to create a master TOC from a number of referenced
documents. See ShaunaKelly's site for the nuts and bolts of doing this.

Thanks Jezebel,
I have several documents that are individual procedures that need to be
combined for ease of use. One brainstorm was that we could simply copy &
paste each word document into a single document, but the formatting wasn't
working out. It was because these were created over time, and there were no
standards for the appearance of these documents. We had errors with the
numbering of outlines that we couldn't correct, the margins, and fonts,
because the templates used for each of these documents was different when
they were created. Those are the formatting errors. The next solution we came
up with was to use one document as the TOC, and link to each of these
individual procedures, however, when we completed the project that way, we
were asked to copy it into another drive, and our links all were broken.
There are 2 of us working on this, and we're not programmers/developers and
we don't have access to that type of resource.
If you have any suggestions, i.e. using another program besides Word (97 by
the way, our company's too cheap to upgrade), we're definitely open to
suggestions.

Thanks again Jezebel.

 

[macropod]

Simple test:

Copy a Word file and a source file using INCLUDEPICTURE, INCLUDETEXT, LINK
or RD fields in the same folder to another folder and see what happens when
you press F9.

You get an error message.

The same happens even if you delete the path from the field before moving
the files.

Cheers

 

[Jezebel]

Try it with Link or Hyperlink, which were the OP's concern.

Cheers TU2

 

[macropod]

These, of course default to absolute addressing, and require the same
solution, unless you care to provide a tutorial on relative addressing .....