4

I have quite a few text anchors in a document and now the naming of the text anchors has to be changed.

  1. Does someone know how to rename text anchors (have not found a rename option yet)
  2. Is it then sufficient to just select refresh in the cross-references panel to get the texts updated?

EDIT:

Found something similar!? One has to know that Text anchors are grouped as Hyperlinks. You can rename them in the Hyperlink panel or Cross-References panel under Hyperlink Destination Option.

The catch is - after a rename and refresh, they point to the beginning of the document. Is this a bug or am I doing something wrong?

1
  • Merged new findings into topic.
    – abergmeier
    Jan 20, 2014 at 18:10

2 Answers 2

2

You can't do this easily from within InDesign, but there is a simple workaround:

  • Export the InDesign file to IDML, which is simply an XML file where everything is in plain text.

  • Load the file into a good text editor, and run Search/Replace on the terms you need to change.

  • Open the updated IDML file in InDesign, which will give you a fresh InDesign file with the renamed anchors.

A bonus with this approach is that it will clear out any clutter that may have accumulated in the file while you were editing it, giving you a completely "clean" INDD.

1
  • Alan, are you sure that IDML files are XML? InDesign CS6, it seems that the file is binary.
    – john c. j.
    May 6, 2021 at 0:35
1

You can change the name from within Indesign. Click on the Hyperlink Destination options in the flyout menu of the Hyperlinks panel. Select your destination and click Edit. enter image description here

Uncheck the Set to current text insertion point checkbox.

1
  • This works for me, but there are 2 drawbacks. The first drawback is that to make the "Update cross-references" button clickable, you need edit the cross-reference itself: it doesn't matter how. The second issue is that if you have multiple cross-references to that anchor, you will need to repeat the first step step for each of them.
    – john c. j.
    May 6, 2021 at 0:47

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.