Re: Warning re: importing by reference

[Scott Wahl <swahl -at- BRIDGEWATERSYS -dot- COM>]

Hi all,

One caveat to Beth's argument against importing by reference.  We need to make the
distinction between an "absolute" path and a "relative" path.  An absolute reference
might look like this "c:\winnt\profiles\swahl\desktop\graphics".

You can make the reference to the graphic a "relative" one by using a simple
directory structure:
        Document
                Frame
                Graphics

You put the Frame files in the Frame folder and your graphics in the Graphics folder
*before* you import the graphics. Frame sets the reference to the graphics as
relative to the Frame file, rather than as an "absolute" path that starts at the
hard drive.  The relative path in this example would look like ":Graphics".

This allows you to import graphics by reference without making the references
dependent on a particular hard drive or server.  You can move the Document folder
anywhere and the graphics will always appear.  The only way this gets messed up is
if you change the name of the Graphics folder.

Regards,

Scott

Elizabeth Kane wrote:

>      Suzette,
>      Just a few words of warning about "import by reference" -- I NEVER use
>      it, because copying the graphics into the doc is so much simpler,
>      safer and (in my case) really doesn't add an intolerable amount of
>      size to my files. The trouble with importing by ref is that any time
>      you copy or move those chapters to another location, you have to make
>      sure to also copy every one of the graphic files that are imported by
>      ref. You might also have to redefine the path to them. It's a pain!
>      What if you lose one of them, or they all get deleted by mistake? The
>      only way to make the file usable again is to recreate the captures.
>      That's too much work to take a chance on, for me.
>
>      These days I'm having quite a time coping with a really bad situation
>      caused by import by ref: our graphics guy was laid off, and I offered
>      to maintain his huge archives. Right after he left, the MIS guy backed
>      up his art docs onto tape. Then his Mac's hard drive died.
>
>      So we had to use the tape to restore all his files onto my machine.
>      But every time I open a doc, I get an error message saying associated
>      graphics files are missing. He used import by ref in every one of his
>      docs, and sometimes there are 6 or 8 files I have to track down.
>      Because the path to the files the doc was dependent on cited his hard
>      drive name, and it's dead now, every file has to be fixed! I'm working
>      unpaid overtime as a result.
>
>      Beth Kane
>      bkane -at- artisoft -dot- com in Tucson

--
Scott Wahl
Customer Documentation Coordinator
Bridgewater Systems Corporation
(613) 591-6655 x.2579

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