Can You Launch Files From within InDesign?

[soho34]

Hi,

I asked this question a few days ago, but I don't think I asked it correctly.

Is there a way within an InDesign document to launch a separate file? For example, if I have files called "C:\Company\FileA.pdf" and "C:\Company\ZipFile1.zip", can I create a "link" in my InDesign document to trigger it, or attempt to open.

Maybe I'm expecting too much from InDesign and need to just create an HTML document.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

soho34

 

[soho34]

One more thing I think I should mention. The reason I need to link to these files is because I'm shipping my ID document on a CD, which contains these external files. My goal is to have my ID document link to the files (like PDF and ZIP) from this CD. Is this an impossible dream within InDesign?

 

[soho34]

Ok. I figured out how to do this. I'll post what I did here so that it can help someone else out. This is for CS2 version.

1. Create your text as normal, then highlight it.
2. In the Hyperlinks palette, select "New Hyperlink from URL". ID will create a hyperlink.
3. Double-click on the hyperlink from within the Hyperlink palette, and that opens the window.
4. Modify the URL selection to point to the location where you need the file to open from.

The thing that was hanging me up was ID's use of the word "URL", which in this case can also represent stand-alone files.

Hope this helps someone else.