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geoffreyr651434
geoffreyr651434
New Participant
October 3, 2015
Solved

navto links go dead when not the first article in collection

  • October 3, 2015
  • 12 replies
  • 3039 views

I am experiencing some very strange behavior with navto links in DPS solution articles.

I have an article with a large button with this link:  navto://GRhodes_PofC_contents#1  --just the name of another article in the same collection, going to the second page.


If I set up the collection so that the article with the navto link loads first, the button works.  If it is anywhere else in the collection (and I navigate there through a link from another article), the button is dead.  It is clearly reading the action because the <=back link doesn't appear at the top of the screen.  And no error comes up ('content not found'), instead it does nothing.  It seems like a bug, but I can't diagnose it.  I have not tried yet completely rebuilding the collection and articles on DPS, but that is my next step.


Anyone else having this problem with unreliable strange behavior with navto links?

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    Best answer by Colin_Fleming

    Hey Geoffrey;

    Navto links in DPS2015 work much like the previous version, but there are some differences.

    Within a project you'll have many articles, but every article name is unique. Navto://articleName will get you to the article, but the relative location of where you came from and where you "nav'd-to" has an impact on your experience.

    A navto from one article to another in the same collection has a context, so you can swipe to previous or next articles within the collection.

    But if you navto an article that's outside of the collection, then there's no context for any swiping navigation (you can only go Back). So a navto an article outside of the current collection is a bit like going into a cup-de-sac -- you must exit the way you came in.

    Some relative navto commands work, and there's info in the HELP system: https://helpx.adobe.com/digital-publishing-solution/help/hyperlinks.html#create_goto_links_to_custom_icons

    The notable passage in the HELP article is in the first section, third bullet point:

    • If the destination article is in the same collection as the article the user is viewing, tapping the link opens that article within the context of the collection. If the destination article is not in the same collection, it will be opened in a state that's not related to a collection, with no articles to the left or right of it. Users can use the navigation bar to return to the source article.

    HTH;

    Colin

    12 replies

    B
    bobbr3212
    Employee
    October 21, 2015

    That's an interesting approach, Geoffrey. In the next couple of releases, we'll have support for linking to collections and (later) context linking to articles in a different collection. I'm curious to see whether those enhancements will give you what you're looking for..

    Colin_Fleming
    Colin_Fleming
    New Participant
    October 21, 2015

    Yes, you are correct Geoffrey.

    This is a current limitation to navto.

    geoffreyr651434
    geoffreyr651434Author
    New Participant
    October 21, 2015

    So am I correct that there is no way to use a static navto navigation article as a menu to multi-page articles?  Specifically, I get these navto link cul-de-sac problems when I try to make a static navigation page (by selecting the horizontal swiping navigation checkbox when exporting from InDesign and then unchecking that box in its collection metadata so that the first page of the article appears and is unswipeable).  Then, in that static menu page, I have a button with a navto link to a different collection and multi-page article that allows horizontal swiping and put a button in there that links back to the static menu page.  When I do this, I get the dead buttons problem; I am unable to link back to the static menu page, instead the buttons do nothing when touched.  The same articles and buttons do work if they are all put into the same collection, but then I lose the ability to have one article that is static connected to another article that can be swiped horizontally between pages.

    B
    bobbr3212
    Employee
    October 20, 2015

    The format will be navto://collection/[collectionname]

      B
      bobbr3212
      Employee
      October 20, 2015

      That's right. The format will be navto://collection/[collectionname]

      [Edited to reflect the right format.]

        GU_Julz
        GU_Julz
        New Participant
        October 20, 2015

        so what you are saying is next Monday I can do "navto://[Collectionname}" ? That would be great! I am trying to make more Navigation beyond the one top level navigation option.

        Julz

        B
        bobbr3212
        Employee
        October 20, 2015

        Hi Julz,

        You can use the navto://[articlename] format to link to a different article in any collection. The article name needs to be the same article name that appears in article properties, so if you migrated content, you'll want to copy/paste the article name.

        In Monday's (Oct. 26) release, you'll be able to link to collections.

        -Bob

          GU_Julz
          GU_Julz
          New Participant
          October 20, 2015

          Hi Colin!

          I have a random question on article linking. Is there a way to link an article to a collection? Think if you liked this article you might want to check out this collection kind of thing? Is this possible. I tried with Navto without much luck. Just curious.

          Julz

          Colin_Fleming
          Colin_FlemingAccepted solution
          New Participant
          October 9, 2015

          Hey Geoffrey;

          Navto links in DPS2015 work much like the previous version, but there are some differences.

          Within a project you'll have many articles, but every article name is unique. Navto://articleName will get you to the article, but the relative location of where you came from and where you "nav'd-to" has an impact on your experience.

          A navto from one article to another in the same collection has a context, so you can swipe to previous or next articles within the collection.

          But if you navto an article that's outside of the collection, then there's no context for any swiping navigation (you can only go Back). So a navto an article outside of the current collection is a bit like going into a cup-de-sac -- you must exit the way you came in.

          Some relative navto commands work, and there's info in the HELP system: https://helpx.adobe.com/digital-publishing-solution/help/hyperlinks.html#create_goto_links_to_custom_icons

          The notable passage in the HELP article is in the first section, third bullet point:

          • If the destination article is in the same collection as the article the user is viewing, tapping the link opens that article within the context of the collection. If the destination article is not in the same collection, it will be opened in a state that's not related to a collection, with no articles to the left or right of it. Users can use the navigation bar to return to the source article.

          HTH;

          Colin

          geoffreyr651434
          geoffreyr651434Author
          New Participant
          October 3, 2015

          I take it back... maybe Adobe's server is messed up.  Right now the ONLY time my navto links work is when the articles are all in the same collection... I am unable to move back up the hierarchy to higher level collections, only move down.  So the exact same article with the exact same navto link trying to find an absolute article name, navto://GRhodesPCcontents#1 , works when it's in the same collection with that article, otherwise it doesn't.

          Seems like this wasn't true last week, but it is true now.

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