TechNote

Linked files whose names contain extended or accented characters are broken when you open a file

Issue

Links that contain extended or accented characters and that were created in Adobe InDesign CS2 or Adobe InCopy CS2 on Mac OS are broken when you try to open a file.

Reason

The links in the file were established in InDesign on Mac OS and the file is being opened in InDesign on Windows.
The names of the linked files have extended characters (such as French accented letters).

Solution

Do one or more of the following solutions:

Solution 1: Install InDesign CS4.

To purchase an upgrade from Adobe, visit the Adobe Store at http://store.adobe.com/store/, click Print Publishing, and choose InDesign CS4.
To locate an authorized reseller, visit the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/store/customerregistration/other_places.jhtml.

Solution 2: Install the most recent InDesign CS2 update.

Download the update from the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/support/downloads.

Note: In order for this update to resolve the issue, you must also download and run the Microsoft Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) Mitigation APIs file. Find the file at www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=AD6158D7-DDBA-416A-9109-07607425A815&displaylang=en or by searching the Microsoft website for "Microsoft Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) Mitigation APIs". Please contact Microsoft if you have questions about downloading or installing the file.

Solution 3: Use only one platform.

Use only one platform during your workflow rather than a cross-platform environment.

Solution 4: Relink objects manually.

You will need to relink objects manually each time you reopen the document unless you save the document with the new paths to linked objects (Step 5).

Open your publication in Windows.
When you see the error message, "Link cannot be found," click OK.
In InDesign, choose Window > Links to open the Links panel.
Select the broken link and choose Relink from the menu that appears when you click the top right arrow on the Links panel.
Save your document.
Note: If broken links are not located in the same folder, you may need to repeat these steps for each broken link.

Solution 5: Do not use accented (extended) characters to name linked objects.

Additional Information

This issue occurs when files with Unicode file names are transferred from Macintosh to Windows via a server. The issue is caused by differences in the way Unicode file names are encoded on each platform.

This issue occurs only when you create a package in Mac OS and then open it in Windows. If you create a package in Windows and then open it in Mac OS or on another Windows system, no problem with links occurs.

Adobe has rectified the behavior in InDesign CS4 and the latest InDesign CS2 update.