Anchors borked, and usability

[LondonSquirrel]

I have a document where the text anchors have become borked. How they have, I do not know. But they have. There are about 100 of them and they links to the anchors now go to the wrong place.

I tried fixing this manually by deleting the anchors, and re-adding them, and what an enormous pain it is. Here is one example:

I have two options now:

1. I can use the Anchors studio palette. This doesn't have a search function so I have to scroll through and find it manually.
2. I can use the Text menu/Interactive/Delete anchor option. This is a lot of mouse movement and time consuming.

When I add an anchor, after highlighting the text, the Anchors studio palette should make the New Anchor icon a different colour so I know that it is available. At the moment there is a GUI inconsistency: if I select an anchor in the palette, the Delete icon changes (see below).

I know the "two lines in a circle" icon on the left means "go to anchor", but working through a publication in order where the anchors have been borked makes this not very useful. 

I also have a blank anchor. Clicking on "go to anchor" takes me to a page but I cannot find this anchor. I could just delete it, but who knows what will happen?

The right click menu when over an anchor in the publication could use some reordering. Why is "Anchor Properties", separate from the "Interactive" sub menu where are far more anchor options? Move them together, please. 

 

More on (un)usability: Why can I not select multiple anchors in the Studio and delete them in one go? Why am I limited to one at a time? Seriously, does anyone actually test this for usability?

J.

[LondonSquirrel]

It's not me, I thought it was me, I was prepared to believe it was me, but it's not me. It's APub. It is borked. And I can prove it.

1. I have two words in a publication 'Public Transport' which I wish to make a link to a different part of the document.
2. I highlight those two words, and set the link correctly. I had removed any previous link.
3. Indeed, just to be sure, I deleted the two words and typed them again.
4. I immediately check the the link properties and it is wrong.

A different anchor:

Why is APub linking to something I have not selected?

J.

[Like, would like more if…]

I too am having problems with this, it appears that despite any edits you make later the anchors remain fixed in the exact location that they were posted originally, whether in text or applied to objects.

I am using them to mark positions in a long page pdf attaching them to objects. When first placed they work perfectly, but if I add anything above, move them or duplicate and rename them they are persistently hanging onto the original anchor and its coordinates within the document.

When I first found that duplicating an object and changing its anchor name didn't work I just resorted to creating a new object and giving it a new name. Links then worked. However, now discovering that even with separate identities, moving them doesn't get their positions updated is proving much more frustrating.

When its a half a dozen to update its not so bad but as the document is going to require 60ish anchors it is going to become very painful and something that it is only safe to add once all content is in place..

There seems to be no tracking of an anchor's changing position, which is extremely frustrating.

[SPaceBar]

Hi @LondonSquirrel Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Do you still have the document? If so could you upload it here please? I'd really like to take a look at it? If not can you tell me if your anchors were nested?