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Viewing Absolute Links

You can view a list of files in your Flare project containing absolute links to other files. An absolute link contains the full path to the target file. For example, let's say you have a text hyperlink that points to a file in your project like this: file://C:\MyProject\Content\MyFile.htm. (You can view this link format in the file's true code, which can be seen by using the Internal Text Editor in the source Flare project.) Because users do not have access to your local C: drive, they will not be able to use the link successfully in the output. Instead, the link should be relative to the file in your project, with dots and slashes that represent each folder level away from the current file (e.g., ..\..\MyFile.htm). You do not need to create this path manually; instead, it is automatically created when you properly insert a link by using the interface. The Absolute Links window pane allows you to find absolute links so that you turn them into relative links (by re-inserting the link). You can double-click a row to open the file in the Analyzer interface. You can also select the row and click File > Send to Flare to open the file in the Flare project. The link is highlighted so that you can easily fix it.

Closedhow to view absolute links
  1. Open a project.
  2. Do one of the following:

    • Ribbon Select the View ribbon. In the Dynamic Reports section, select Links > Absolute Links.

    • Analyzer Summary Window Pane Double-click the row that mentions absolute links.

    The Absolute Links window pane opens, listing all of the occurrences of absolute links in the project.

  3. To see more of the information in the window pane, drag the divider bar to make the pane wider:

    • Link Displays the link that is absolute (e.g., the path and name of the topic).
    • File Displays the name of the file where the absolute link occurs.
    • Folder Displays the name of the folder in the Content Explorer, which contains the file where the absolute link occurs.
    • Link Text Displays the text in the source topic that is being used as the link.
    • Link Tag Displays the style used for the link. For example, if a regular text hyperlink is used, you will see "a" in this column.
    • Extension Displays the extension of the file where the link is pointing (e.g., htm).

  4. If a certain number of items have been found, page navigation buttons in the local toolbar may be enabled. You can use these buttons to go to additional pages to display more items. You also have the option to view all items at once in one long list. This is called the View All option. You can toggle these views by clicking the View All/View as Pages button in the local toolbar. The button displays the opposite of whatever view is currently activated (e.g., If the View All option is currently active, the button shows View as Pages to indicate that if clicked, the button will switch the window pane to the View as Pages option).

Closedhow to fix absolute links

  1. Do one of the following, depending on whether you want to open the file in the Analyzer interface or within Flare.

    to open the file in the analyzer interface

    Double-click the file in the window pane. The benefit of using this method is that it is quick and convenient. You have access to the features normally available in the editor (but not necessarily to all of the features available elsewhere in Flare).

    to open the file in flare

    1. In the window pane, click on the file.
    2. Select File > Send to Flare.

    The benefit of using this method is that you have access to all of the features in the application, not just those available from the editor.

  2. Redirect the link as necessary (e.g., right-click on the link and select Edit Hyperlink).

    See the online Help in Flare for more information about creating and editing navigation links.

Closednote

Note: You can also include this information in reports that you create. See About Reports.