InDesign

Edit href attributes

InDesign creates href attributes automatically to handle image files. The href attribute defines the on-disk location of the image file so that the image file can be displayed. When you tag a placed image, InDesign creates an href attribute value that lists the image’s path and filename.

The path can be an absolute link, a relative link to the same folder as the XML file, or a relative link to the Images subfolder of the folder where the XML file is located. Relative paths are specific to the path where the document is saved.

  • An href attribute with an absolute link looks like the following (in Windows and the Mac OS):

    href=file:///C:/Images/Meadow.psd

    href=file:///Users/abhayc//Desktop/abc.jpg

  • An href attribute to an image file in the same folder as the XML file looks like the following:

    href=file:Meadow.psd

  • An href attribute to an image file in the Images subfolder looks like the following:

    href=file:///Images/Meadow.psd

You can edit the href attribute to specify a new link to an image. For example, you can edit an absolute link to make it a relative link, thereby making the image file accessible when you export the file.

  1. In the Structure pane, double-click the href attribute. (You may need to click the triangle icon next to the image element to display the attribute.)
  2. For Value, enter the new path to the image, and then click OK.