Links

Hyperlinks

The <link> element inserts a hyperlink into your document. Hyperlinks are links to content not in your document (for example, a file, webpage, or image). The text inside <link> is the link text.

<link> has five attributes:

Attribute	Value	Description
ref	string	Required. Specifies the hyperlink destination.
label	string	Specifies a label for the hyperlink.
status	added changed deleted	Indicates the modification status of the hyperlink.
author	string	The author of the tracked change.
dateTime	ISO 8601 datetime string	The date and time of the tracked change (2024-01-09T14:37:00Z).

A hyperlink:

<section>
  <p>
    <link ref="http://www.montypython.com/">Monty Python Official Site</link>
  </p>
</section>

A hyperlink with tracked changes:

<section>
  <p>
    <link ref="http://www.montypython.com/"
      status="added"
      author="Eric Idle"
      dateTime="1969-10-05T09:00:00Z">Monty Python Official Site</link>
  </p>
</section>

Cross-references

The <ref> element inserts a cross-reference into your document. Cross-references are links to content (internal or external) referenced on a different page other than the current page of your document. With cross-references, you can reference an anchor (<anchor>) or paragraph (<p>) (for example, a specific page number, a part of a paragraph, or a full paragraph). If the location of your linked content changes, Adobe InDesign updates the cross-reference.

<ref> has six attributes:

Attribute	Value	Description
refType	anchor paragraph	Required. Specifies whether the cross-reference destination is an anchor or paragraph.
refId	string	Required. The unique ID of the anchor or paragraph.
format	string	Required. The name of the cross-reference format in Adobe InDesign. See also Use cross-reference formats .
status	added changed deleted	Indicates the modification status of the cross-reference.
author	string	The author of the tracked change.
dateTime	ISO 8601 datetime string	The date and time of the tracked change (2024-01-09T14:37:00Z).

A cross-reference to an anchor:

<p>
  <anchor id="1" />
  The endangered Bemaraha woolly lemur (Avahi cleesei)
  is named after John Cleese
</p>
<p>
  Read more about lemurs on page
  <ref refType="anchor" refId="1" format="Page Number" />
  .
</p>

A cross-reference to a paragraph:

<p id="1">The endangered Bemaraha woolly lemur (Avahi cleesei)
is named after John Cleese</p>
<p>
  Read more about lemurs on page
  <ref refType="paragraph" refId="1" format="Page Number" />
  .
</p>

A cross-reference with tracked changes:

<p>
  Read more about lemurs on page
  <ref refType="anchor" refId="1" format="Page Number"
   status="added"
   author="John Cleese"
   dateTime="1975-04-05T09:00:00Z" />
  .
</p>

Document links

The <doclink> element inserts a document link into your document. Document links behave similar to hyperlinks (<link>), but they link to the ID of an anchor (<anchor>) or paragraph (<p>) element in the same document.

<doclink> has five attributes:

Attribute	Value	Description
refType	anchor paragraph	Required. Specifies whether the document link destination is an anchor or paragraph.
refId	string	Required. The unique ID of the anchor or paragraph.
status	added changed deleted	Indicates the modification status of the document link.
author	string	The author of the tracked change.
dateTime	ISO 8601 datetime string	The date and time of the tracked change (2024-01-09T14:37:00Z).

A document link to an anchor:

<p>
  <anchor id="1" />
  Seven asteroids are named after Monty Python or its members
</p>
<p>
  Document link to
  <doclink refType="anchor" refId="1">asteroids named after Monty Python</doclink>
  .
</p>

A document link to a paragraph:

<p id="1">Seven asteroids are named after Monty Python or its members.</p>
<p>
  Document link to
  <doclink refType="paragraph" refId="1">asteroids named after Monty Python</doclink>
  .
</p>

A document link with tracked changes:

<p>
  Document link to
  <doclink refType="anchor" refId="1"
    status="added"
    author="John Cleese"
    dateTime="1975-04-05T09:00:00Z">asteroids named after Monty Python</doclink>
  .
</p>

Anchors

The <anchor> element is used in cross-references (<ref>), document links (<doclink>), and index entries (<indexterm>) to specify the destination of a link.

<anchor> has five attributes:

Attribute	Value	Description
id	string	Required. The unique ID of the anchor.
name	string	The name of the anchor. An anchor with the name attribute also generates a bookmark in Adobe InDesign that appears in the final PDF document. NOTE The Main Story is processed first, and Elements after, so bookmarks in Elements will always appear after the ones in the Main Story.
status	added changed deleted	Indicates the modification status of the anchor.
author	string	The author of the tracked change.
dateTime	ISO 8601 datetime string	The date and time of the tracked change.

An anchor:

<anchor name="Round Table" id="round-table-T1" />