PDF won't relink

almaink

Well-known member
Odd one here. I have templates set up in InDesign. 28 pagers 32 pagers and so on. What I do is place a PDF then re-link new PDF's that have the same specs. Got an odd issue here now. New 28 page PDF will not re-link. Says "Failed to open the PDF file". Both PDF's are exactly the same, size, and bounding boxes. Only difference between them is the Language they are in. Also had issues changing the bleed bounding boxes on these PDF's it would change in Pit Stop but wouldn't keep or save. Odd thing again was I could change the media box size and it did keep and save. These were all done in Indesign CS and I believe they were originally Quark 4 files brought over. Thing I don't get is I've already done like 10 of these without issues not this one will not work.
Any Idea?
 
what PDF version is it save as? go to Documents Properties to see.
 
All PDF's are the same version 1.4 or Acrobat 5.
So thats not it. Just seems odd that I can place them no problem but they will not re-link to replace the other PDF. I had one other one like this in Japanese but that also shouldn't matter. I've seen this in other CS2 jobs as well just never bothered to ask if anyone had a clue as to why it happens.
 
That is extremely ODD. wow, hope you get an solution.. I'm curious about it to. Are you using a mac? might try Deleting preferences for the adobe InDesign app. maybe a corrupted preference file
 
How exactly are you doing the re-linking?
Are you doing it through the links pallet or doing a file place and replace selected?

color me curious
 
Yes this is on a Mac and yes I use the links pallet to re-link and even tried selecting and relining but that didn't work either. I can place the file no problem just can't re-link it. Even odder, after re-placing the file I can re-link it back to the original file! Real odd one here and I still have no answer for it. I tossed the preference file and that didn't help either.
 
How were they placed

How were they placed

What import options did you use when placing the original PDFs. i.e. Crop to Bounding Box, Art, Crop, Trim, Bleed or Media.

You will receive this error when there is a placed pdf using an Import Option that is no longer available in the new PDF. For example, the placed originals are using Import Options set to crop to: Trim and the New PDFs you're relinking to don't contain a Trim box. This would then cause InDesign to give you this error.
 
What import options did you use when placing the original PDFs. i.e. Crop to Bounding Box, Art, Crop, Trim, Bleed or Media.

You will receive this error when there is a placed pdf using an Import Option that is no longer available in the new PDF. For example, the placed originals are using Import Options set to crop to: Trim and the New PDFs you're relinking to don't contain a Trim box. This would then cause InDesign to give you this error.

when you use the relink button on the bottom of the link palette window, it doesn't come up with any options.. The options comes up when you do a place. and only if you check import options even at that.

this wouldn't apply to the problem that almaink is having
 
Originals it applies to

Originals it applies to

when you use the relink button on the bottom of the link palette window, it doesn't come up with any options.. The options comes up when you do a place. and only if you check import options even at that.

this wouldn't apply to the problem that almaink is having

Yes, I know that this option is not available when reliniking. I didn't say anything about Import options when relinking. I say it again IF the Original placed PDF was placed using the "Trim" option and the new PDF doesn't contain a Trim. It will give you this errror when trying to relink to the new PDF.

When you relink to a PDF, InDesign will always import/place the new PDF using the settings that were used when the Original PDF was placed. If the new PDF doesn't contain that setting (TRIM, BLEED or Crop), InDesign will complain in this manner.

Make sure that the new PDF contains a Trim, Bleed or Crop as the originals do.
 
Then why can't it relink? Are you saying that if the PDF doesn't contain the info, it wouldn't import? We are trying to help AlmainK with his issue. I have experience the issue you describe but it will always relink no matter if there is a (TIM< BLEED or Crop) or not.
 
Nope, you're wrong cjwworld, I've just tried it. Have placed a PDF into InDesign (CS2) with the option crop to trim box. Then tried to relink it from the links palette to a PDF that has no trim box and got the error "Failed to open PDF file."
 
Interestingly, it will relink if there is a trim box even of another size - but not if there is no trim box.
 
I stand corrected.. Learn something all the time.. thanks LoneGoose.. maybe this will help AlmainK
 
Thanks LoneGoose, I'm glad to see that someone was willing to test what it was that I was saying. I didn't want to just come out and say "You're wrong".

By the way, yes if the Trim box (or Crop, Bleed) is of different size it will still relink. InDesign doesn't care what size it is, it only cares that it exists just like when the original was placed.

It will be interesting to see if this solves the problem to the original post.
 
No I told you all the PDF files are exactly the same. All have a trim, and media box only. I am using the media box for bleed because I couldn't change add a bleed box option using Pit Stop. It looked like it would work add the bleed box that is but it wouldn't save. Only way I could get the PDF into the template was be re-placing it.
 
I've been getting the "Failed to open the PDF file" error occasionally lately when placing PDFs, although not when relinking. I've fixed it by just opening the PDF, doing a Save-As, then trying again. So far, that works. I don't know the cause, but let us know if this cheers it up for you.
 
We've run into the same sort of problem as well, it seems to happen with any random PDF, haven't discovered any rhyme or reason to it yet. cmccue's solution of resaving the PDF usually works, sometimes have to save it as a postscript and re-distill it.

If that doesn't work, not sure what to tell you.
 
I've tried all the above methods and none worked on these although I have had some success in the past using the Optimise save from Acrobat. Thing that bothers me is I have another 20 of these PDFs coming.
BTW there was no security properties on any of these PDF's, like I said before the only difference between them was the language they were set in, everything else is exactly the same.
 

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