Warning re: importing by reference

[Luigi Benetton <Luigi_Benetton -at- MARKHAM -dot- LONGVIEW -dot- CA>]

Beth Kane writes:

     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.

I agree with Beth, if you use Windows Explorer to move or copy files. The
way to prevent such problems is to save the files from within Frame to a
new location. Frame updates the paths automatically. I admit that this can
be tedious for a large number of files, but you don't need a lot of files
if you can squeeze the contents of an entire book into three to five files.
I also agree that it's much simpler and quicker to paste graphics into
documents, but in my case, the long-run costs outweigh the short-run
benefits.

     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.

As for the dead hard drive, I can sympathize with Beth, but hard drives
don't die often enough for me to overlook the benefits of imported graphics
files. In one case, I'd have over FIFTY files for one book instead of the
eight I have now.  (This is the 800 page monster I mentioned in an earlier
post.)

     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.

If you use one folder for your referenced files and objects, Frame looks in
the path you specify the first time you use the "Missing File" dialog. If
all your referenced files are in the same folder, you only see this dialog
once per file; Frame updates the other links for every other imported
graphic.

Just had to put in my two cents, Beth. Nothing personal. Referenced files
make my life much simpler.

Luigi Benetton

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