Shared notebooks -- hyperlink

[Ron Rosenfeld]

How do I share a hyperlinked document between notebooks (ON 2007)

I've set up a shared notebook with synchronization per the instructions. One
copy is on my desktop; the other on my tablet PC.

From within ON, I added a hyperlink to a pdf document on the desktop notebook.
I had also copied the pdf document into the "shared" folder on the desktop.

When I open the notebook on my tablet, although the hyperlink is present, it
cannot open the pdf file. The hyperlink appears to be pointing to the correct
folder, but the folder is not specified as being on the desktop computer.

What is the correct method of adding a hyperlink so that it and the file it
links to will be properly synchronized?
--ron

 

[David Olsen]

Can you navigate to the desktop shared folder from the tablet and open the
pdf?
Does the tablet get an error message when you attempt to open the pdf from
within OneNote?
When you pass your mouse over the hyperlink, what is the fully qualified
path name displayed in the tool tip?

 

[Ron Rosenfeld]

Thank you for responding, David.

Answers inline:

(I have substituted NameOfFile for the actual name of the file, though).

Can you navigate to the desktop shared folder from the tablet and open the
pdf?
Yes

Does the tablet get an error message when you attempt to open the pdf from
within OneNote?

Yes

Unable to open
file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\All%20Users\Documents\My%20Notebook\MOM\NameOfFile.pdf.
Cannot open the specified file

When you pass your mouse over the hyperlink, what is the fully qualified
path name displayed in the tool tip?

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\My Notebook\MOM\NameOfFile.pdf

(all on one line)

The following information may be of value in troubleshooting

When I set up this synchronization, it was with an existing Notebook. There
were other hyperlinks in the notebook at that time, and they are working OK.
But, when I float my mouse over them, there is no tooltip; when select to edit
the hyperlink, so as to see what's there, the Address is
file:NameOfDifferentFile.pdf

Thanks again for any help.
--ron

 

[David Olsen]

Try editing the hyperlink (right click) and change to:
\\DesktopPC\MOM\NameOfFile.pdf

replacing the DesktopPC with the computer name of your desktop PC and MOM
with the name of the share used by your tablet to find that folder.

 

[Ron Rosenfeld]

Try editing the hyperlink (right click) and change to:
\\DesktopPC\MOM\NameOfFile.pdf

replacing the DesktopPC with the computer name of your desktop PC and MOM
with the name of the share used by your tablet to find that folder.

I cannot check that just now, but will do so over the weekend.

I expect that editing the hyperlink will work (i.e. enable access to that
document from within ON on the tablet).

Assuming it does work, what would be the next step?
--ron

 

[David Olsen]

Well that will solve the immediate problem.

Is this a Shared Notebook?

 

[Ron Rosenfeld]

Well that will solve the immediate problem.

Maybe I did not state my problem clearly enough. It is the inability to easily
synchronize the two notebooks.

A requirement to go through a process of manually editing hyperlinked documents
when they are added in one or the other of the notebooks makes the
synchronization tedious and error-prone.

Is this a Shared Notebook?

--

Yes. It was set up per the instructions in OneNote Help under "Share an
existing notebook (Windows XP)" with the subset "Share your notebook on a
simple home or office network"

Ooops. I think I see what may be my problem. Although the folder (shared
documents) was set up to be shared, I had not clicked the particular option on
the properties for the notebook folder itself (a subfolder of shared
documents). Also, since I "knew" where the folder was located on the network,
I never bothered to send the email location link from OneNote as instructed.

And I just noted that, on the Share menu of ON, the option to send this link
was gray'd out.

So now I've "specifically shared" the ON notebook folder; sent the link; and
I'll see what happens.

Thanks for your efforts. I'll let you know the results.
--ron

 

[Ilya Koulchin]

Maybe I did not state my problem clearly enough. It is the inability to easily
synchronize the two notebooks.

A requirement to go through a process of manually editing hyperlinked documents
when they are added in one or the other of the notebooks makes the
synchronization tedious and error-prone.

For shared notebooks, it will likely be more convenient to insert files
as attachments, rather than linking to them. Inserting file as
attachments will allow anyone who has access to the notebook to access
the file as well, regardless of where the original is stored. The
downside is that if the original changes, the file inserted as
attachment will not be updated.

 

[Ron Rosenfeld]

For shared notebooks, it will likely be more convenient to insert files
as attachments, rather than linking to them. Inserting file as
attachments will allow anyone who has access to the notebook to access
the file as well, regardless of where the original is stored.

The downside is that if the original changes, the file inserted as
attachment will not be updated.

That is a critical limitation for most of my linked files. Many of them will
be changing from time to time. I have been moving those to the "notebook
folder" to ensure it is in a shared folder.

But I will try your suggestion for those that will not.

--ron

 

[Ron Rosenfeld]

Well that will solve the immediate problem.

Is this a Shared Notebook?

Please also see my previous response to you.

Things still are not working properly.

I set up (and synchronized) the shared notebooks exactly as per the
instructions.

Doing some experimenting, I continue to have a problem with the hyperlinks.

The "linked" document is on the desktop, and is within the notebook folder.

If I insert a hyperlink while working on OneNote from the tablet, and the link
refers to a file on the desktop, the link will be named
file:///\\Ronbp\mom\SomeFile.pdf and will work on both machines.

However, if I insert a hyperlink while working on the desktop, the link will be
named

file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\Ron\My%20Documents\OneNote%20Notebooks\MOM\SomeFile.pdf

and cannot be accessed by clicking on the hyperlink from the Tablet. Given
this file name, it makes sense since there is no reference to the computer on
which the file is being stored.

Could it be that OneNote only includes the ComputerName when the Insert
Hyperlink refers to a file NOT on the computer running OneNote?

If that were the case, it would explain the behavior I see. Perhaps there is
also some difference between running as part of a domain, vs a "simple network"
(mine is the latter).

Also, if that is the case, I would hope it would be a simple fix to have
OneNote check to see if the Notebook is being shared, and if so, include the
computer name in the Path. Or perhaps include the shared pathway. It should
be able to derive the shared path, as the contents of the notification email
includes the link. OneNote could even check the status of the folder to which
the hyperlink refers (if the notebook is shared), and enforce a policy that
these files be in a shared folder.

FWIW, I am running Windows XP Pro SP3.
--ron

 

[Bernd]

-------- Original-Nachricht --------

Please also see my previous response to you.

Things still are not working properly.

I set up (and synchronized) the shared notebooks exactly as per the
instructions.

Doing some experimenting, I continue to have a problem with the hyperlinks.

The "linked" document is on the desktop, and is within the notebook folder.

If I insert a hyperlink while working on OneNote from the tablet, and the link
refers to a file on the desktop, the link will be named
file:///\\Ronbp\mom\SomeFile.pdf and will work on both machines.

However, if I insert a hyperlink while working on the desktop, the link will be
named

file:///C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\Ron\My%20Documents\OneNote%20Notebooks\MOM\SomeFile.pdf

and cannot be accessed by clicking on the hyperlink from the Tablet. Given
this file name, it makes sense since there is no reference to the computer on
which the file is being stored.

Could it be that OneNote only includes the ComputerName when the Insert
Hyperlink refers to a file NOT on the computer running OneNote?

If that were the case, it would explain the behavior I see. Perhaps there is
also some difference between running as part of a domain, vs a "simple network"
(mine is the latter).

Also, if that is the case, I would hope it would be a simple fix to have
OneNote check to see if the Notebook is being shared, and if so, include the
computer name in the Path. Or perhaps include the shared pathway. It should
be able to derive the shared path, as the contents of the notification email
includes the link. OneNote could even check the status of the folder to which
the hyperlink refers (if the notebook is shared), and enforce a policy that
these files be in a shared folder.

FWIW, I am running Windows XP Pro SP3.
--ron

AFAIK a shared OneNote Notebook doesn't know, that it is shared ...
It's only up to the sharer(s) to know and synch.

Erik or Ilya: am I right ?

So the hyperlinks only work when set by a sharer; as you described.
So the usage scenario with hyperlinks should include:

1. never use local hyperlinks
2. never change the original notebook directly, only the shared ones.
The "original" is only used for synchronisation purposes and
should be located (together with the hyperlinked files) on
a dedicated "server".

Bernd

 

[Ron Rosenfeld]

The "original" is only used for synchronisation purposes and
should be located (together with the hyperlinked files) on
a dedicated "server".

Although it would surely work that way, that seems contrary to the
documentation (upon which I relied) which states, in part, "You can also create
the notebook on a file share on your computer". Of course, I'm not certain if
a "file share" on my computer is the same as a "shared file" (with Level 5
permissions) on an XP system. But if I type "file share" into the Microsoft
online Help and Support wizard, the first article returned
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304040/ "How to configure file sharing in
Windows XP"

An additional issue with the hyperlinks seems to be that if the source folder
is not accessible, as when one is working off-line, the document will not be
available either. This may make it difficult to work off-line.

If these limitations are by design, it is unfortunate that the documentation
has not been clarified. If not by design, then hopefully the implementation
can be changed.
--ron

 

[Ron Rosenfeld]

AFAIK a shared OneNote Notebook doesn't know, that it is shared ...
It's only up to the sharer(s) to know and synch.

In my setting up of my shared Notebook, I see behavior that seems to contradict
that statement.

If a notebook has not been set up as a shared notebook (i.e. if it is located
in a non-shared folder), some of the options under the Share menu are grayed
out. Once the notebook is set up as a shared notebook, it synchronizes
automatically (if you have selected that as an option), and the grayed out
options on the Share menu are now accessible.
--ron

 

[Bernd]

-------- Original-Nachricht --------

In my setting up of my shared Notebook, I see behavior that seems to contradict
that statement.

If a notebook has not been set up as a shared notebook (i.e. if it is located
in a non-shared folder), some of the options under the Share menu are grayed
out. Once the notebook is set up as a shared notebook, it synchronizes
automatically (if you have selected that as an option), and the grayed out
options on the Share menu are now accessible.
--ron

Mmmmmh ...
You are right, partially.
My "personal" scenario is:

A notebook, that is not explicitly declared as shared, as original on my
desktop PC, with the grayed out options,as you mentioned.
So I said "it doesn't know, that is is shared".
But in fact it is shared, because I created it as shared from my Tablet
PC on a "share" of the Desktop PC. Synchronization works both ways.
But mostly I make changes on my Tablet and use the original on the
desktop just as "just in time" backup.
Concerning your hyperlink problem I am afraid that it's by design.
But we should wait what the real experts here say ....

Bernd

 

[Ron Rosenfeld]

Try editing the hyperlink (right click) and change to:
\\DesktopPC\MOM\NameOfFile.pdf

replacing the DesktopPC with the computer name of your desktop PC and MOM
with the name of the share used by your tablet to find that folder.

That does, indeed, work and allows access from the tablet.

However, I still have the problem of access to the hyperlinked file when
working off-line.

And also, setting up the hyperlink in that fashion is something that requires
extra steps. One would think that if the Notebook is shared, OneNote should
know to set up hyperlinks using that format, or to "send" that format when
synchronizing.
--ron

 

[David Olsen]

While you are using a link to a file on a second computer you will not be
able to access that file while offline. This would also be true if you had
linked a file on a file server via drive letter (eg. j:\admin\project.doc).
Hyperlinking to files on other computers is not a solution if you are
attempting to access the file while offline.

If you want access the file while offline you can either insert/embed the
file into the OneNote page and make this the source attachment; or configure
both PCs to have the same folder for shared attachments (e.g.
c:\sharedstuff) and have that folder synchronise while both computers are
attached to the network.

 

[Ron Rosenfeld]

While you are using a link to a file on a second computer you will not be
able to access that file while offline. This would also be true if you had
linked a file on a file server via drive letter (eg. j:\admin\project.doc).
Hyperlinking to files on other computers is not a solution if you are
attempting to access the file while offline.

I was hoping that OneNote synchronization could work around this problem.

If you want access the file while offline you can either insert/embed the
file into the OneNote page and make this the source attachment; or configure
both PCs to have the same folder for shared attachments (e.g.
c:\sharedstuff) and have that folder synchronise while both computers are
attached to the network.

I'll try to implement something along that line.

It would still be nice if a "synchronized" OneNote notebook would create
hyperlinks that refer to the network file share, when the file is on the same
computer. The way the hyperlink is created currently, it cannot be accessed
from the remote computer. I have to manually change the hyperlink.
--ron