Relative path to linked image

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tomoyuki-kosaka
Posts: 41
Joined: 2009-02-17 17:44:12

Relative path to linked image

Post by tomoyuki-kosaka »

Now Nisus Write Pro using absolutely path to linked image.
I hope if we can use relative path to these files, it more convenient for synchronizing among several computers.
I'm using Dropbox for synchronizing RTF files. But you know, usually computer user name is different.
Then, we cannot seen the linked figures in NWP, and also if you embedded the double cricking does not work well.
I hope, if we can choose "absolute" path and "relative" path for image linking, its very happy to me.
Please consider this.

Kosaka
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martin
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Re: Relative path to linked image

Post by martin »

Thanks for your request Kosaka.

As you may know, Nisus Writer Pro (NWP) previously allowed relative file paths for linked images (and linked files). Those options were removed when NWP adopted sandboxing. The short explanation is that sandboxing requires an app to have permission from a user before it can access any file on your Mac. Sandboxing does not easily accommodate the workflow you describe.

The problem is that even if NWP on your Mac has access to the linked image, it cannot share that access with some other Mac via Dropbox. To put it another way: the image file identified by a single relative path on any Mac is actually two distinct files on two Macs (or 3 files on 3 Macs, etc). Each file on each Mac would require a different sandbox authorization that cannot be synced via Dropbox.

To solve that authorization problem would be messy. The document would need to store sandbox authorizations for every Mac that ever opened the document, and for each image in the document. The other solution is also ugly: NWP itself would need to store sandbox authorizations in a registry for all linked images you've ever opened. Either solution involves storing a lot of unnecessary data, without any clear strategy for deleting old and unnecessary authorizations.

Well, it is technically possible to do this, so I'll file it as a potential enhancement. If other users have the same needs, please let us know.
Vanceone
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Joined: 2013-05-03 07:06:31

Re: Relative path to linked image

Post by Vanceone »

Does sandboxing prevent Nisus from accessing documents in the same folder as the open document?

Again, I am thinking of a document that has links to other documents that are in the same folder... kind of like the rtfd format currently used by Nisus. That hasn't been taken away, has it? I'm still trying to get a PDF with relative links to other documents built with Nisus, and it's terribly hard (in general, relative links in PDF seems hard). Even just a link to a document in the same folder that will work when the folder is moved to another disk or location breaks.
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martin
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Re: Relative path to linked image

Post by martin »

Vanceone wrote:Does sandboxing prevent Nisus from accessing documents in the same folder as the open document?
It does. Unless the user specifically chooses a whole folder (eg: in a file opening dialog), NWP won't have access to that folder. If you open a document in NWP, the sandbox only grants NWP access to that single file.
Again, I am thinking of a document that has links to other documents that are in the same folder... kind of like the rtfd format currently used by Nisus. That hasn't been taken away, has it?
RTFD files work just fine under sandboxing. As you probably know, RTFD documents are just folders with a special "package" flag, so the Finder treats the folder as a single file. When you open an RTFD document in NWP, the sandbox grants NWP access to the whole contents of the RTFD package/folder, including any enclosed images.
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