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Clicking Yes will work if the file is still in the same disk location as it was when it was
originally placed. If you are working with a customer file that now resides on your computer,
you may need to locate the original file submitted by the customer.
If you try to print a document that has missing or modified links, an alert appears. You can
cancel printing or print anyway, although Adobe recommends resolving missing or modified
links prior to printing. Missing and modified links are also identified when you preflight a
file, and as you’d expect, you can easily resolve any link-related problems from within the
Preflight dialog box.
Unli nk i ng and re li nk i ng p l ace d te x t f i l e s
Unlike placed graphics files, placed text files are always completely included in the document
so that the text can be edited freely in InDesign. They are also linked to their source files,
so that the Links palette can indicate when the source files have been modified after being
placed. If text files are marked as missing in the Links palette or Preflight dialog box, it poses
no problems for high-resolution printing because the text is completely included in the
document.
Placed text stories can be unlinked from their source files using the Links palette. This will
cause InDesign to stop tracking the source text files. If a customer uses a workflow where
text is only edited and formatted within Adobe InDesign after it’s placed, unlinking text files
can be a good idea to prevent unnecessary alerts caused by modified or missing external text
files that are no longer needed. Depending on your customers’ editing workflow, you might
consider adding an unlinking step to customer checklists you provide for handing off jobs.
To unlink text files:
1. Select all text files in the Links palette. You can use the standard methods for multiple
selection (Shift-clicking or Ctrl/Command-clicking items in the palette).
2. Choose Unlink from the Links palette menu. The unlinked items are removed from the
Links palette, but the actual text files remain in the document.
It’s possible to relink an unlinked story to an external text file by using the Place command.
This should only be done when the new text file is known to be a completely appropriate
replacement for the selected text, because it will completely replace the selected text. In
addition, if the original text was formatted in InDesign, the formatting won’t be preserved
by the replacement text.
To replace text files:
1. Use the type tool to select the text you want to replace.
2. Choose File > Place.
3. Locate the replacement text file, and make sure Replace Selected Item is selected in the
Place dialog box.
4. Click OK or Open.
