LinkFixer Advanced
Definitions & Basics
A link is defined as the information contained in a parent file that designates the name and the location (disk, folder, etc.) of a child file pointed to by the parent file. To be clear, it's important to know that when we say "link", we are referring to the data itself (the name, the file path, etc.) that tells your computer what child file to display and where to find that child file.
A parent file is defined as a file that contains one or more links that point to some other file or files.
A child file is defined as a file that is pointed to by a link in a parent file.
- Microsoft Word 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, XP, 2000, and 97 files
- Microsoft Excel 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, XP, 2000, and 97 files
- Microsoft PowerPoint 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, XP, 2000, and 97 files
- Microsoft Access 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, XP, 2000, and 97 files
- Microsoft Project 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007 and 2003 files.
- Microsoft OneNote 2016, 2013 and 2010 files.
- Microsoft SQL Server 2017, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2008, 2005 and 2000 databases
- Microsoft Visio 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2003 files
- Windows Shortcut files
- Autodesk AutoCAD R13 – R2023 files
- Autodesk Revit 2016 - 2023
- Bentley MicroStation V8-format files
- Adobe Acrobat v5.0, v.6.0, v7.0, v8.0, v9.0, v10.0, and DC files
- Adobe InDesign v1.5, CS, CS2, CS3, CS4, CS5, CS5.5, CS6 and Creative Cloud 2015, 2016 files
- Adobe PageMaker v6.0, v6.5, v7.0.0 files
- HTML, JS, ASP, CSS and SWF (Flash) files
- SharePoint site pages, wiki pages, and web part pages. These three are specialized ASP (.aspx) files.
- PNG, JPG, BMP, TIF and GIF (as child files)
And additional plug-ins are soon to be released that will provide support for even more types of files.
Yes, one of the prominent features of LinkFixer Advanced is its ability to generate a variety of detailed reports showing all of the links contained in one or more of the supported types of files. And it validates the status of each of the links determining whether they are broken or healthy. Even hyperlinks that point to Internet Web pages can be automatically checked and validated.
Yes, LinkFixer Advanced has been specifically designed to move or rename batches of files and folders without causing broken links.
The most common method of moving files and/or reorganizing folder structures without causing broken links would include the following steps:
- Running the “Inoculate” process on the files prior to moving them. This process prepares the files so the links they contain can be automatically fixed after they are migrated to a new location.
- Moving the files to the new location and/or new folder structure using Windows Explorer or any other desired method.
- Running the “Cure” process to automatically fix all the links in the moved files that were broken as a result of the move.
You can also easily migrate a large number of files from one location to another by using the LinkFixer Advanced Move/Rename process. This process moves the selected files from one location to another while automatically updating any links that would otherwise have been broken by the migration. Some users prefer to migrate files using Move/Rename because the entire migration can be accomplished in a single pass through the data.
But what if disaster has already struck? What if someone has already moved (migrated) a bunch of your files and folders, before you had LinkFixer Advanced? And what if doing so has already given you a ton of broken file links? Is it too late?...No! It's not too late. LinkFixer Advanced can also help you get out of a disaster. The Modify Links process allows you to write sophisticated rename rules that can modify your links to cause them to point correctly to the child files in their new locations.
Yes, using the "Modify Links" process to modify the contents of links in batches of files, LinkFixer Advanced can definitely help fix broken links in files that have already been moved.
License & System
- Windows 7 or newer operating system
- Windows Server 2008 or newer
- Microsoft SQL Server is required for optimal performance.
- 200 gigabytes of available hard disk space is recommended to allow your SQL Server to grow.
- Four processors are required as a minimum. Using 16 processors is strongly recommended for a greater (faster) experience
- 16 gigabytes RAM are required as a minimum. Using 64 gigabytes of RAM is strongly recommended for a greater (faster) experience. (4 CPUs to 16 GB RAM, or 8 CPUs to 32 GB RAM, or 16 CPUs: 64 GB RAM). You must install CPUs and RAM in a 1 to 4 ratio.
- .NET 4.6.1 framework (will be installed along with LinkFixer Advanced if not already present)
Important: Your Windows user account must have read and write access to every network location, server, share, directory and file that LinkFixer Advanced will be instructed to process. You will need to remove any password protection or encryption from your files in order for LinkFixer Advanced to be able to process them.
General Limitations:
- A maximum of 100,000 files or 100GB of data (whichever is less) can be scanned at a time.
- The "Inoculate", "Cure", "Modify Links" and "Rename/Move" functions will process up to 500 links per function per day, and up to a total of 5,000 links per function during the course of the 21-day trial, for all file types except CAD.
CAD Files:
For CAD files (DWG and DGN), the limits are 100 links per function per day, and up to a total of 1,000 links per function for the entire trial.
LinkFixer Advanced requires a license ID and password provided by LinkTek Corporation to perform its tasks. Site and Organization licenses require an up-to-date maintenance agreement in order to continue to operate. LinkFixer Advanced will operate only in "trial" mode without a correct license ID and password, or when maintenance has expired. Licensing support is provided only to active maintenance holders.
For more information, call 727-442-1822.
LinkFixer Advanced processes links in files up to the maximum number of links for which the program has been licensed. The link limit counter is reset after each process that is run. The link limit is not cumulative.
For example, if LinkFixer Advanced is licensed for 200,000 links, and a Scan Report is being generated, then a maximum of 200,000 links will be processed by the report at one time. But after the report is run, it would be possible to run the same process again (or another process, such as Inoculate) for up to another 200,000 links.
If LinkFixer Advanced reaches the licensed number of links during processing, a message will be displayed stating that the limit has been reached. You will be asked whether the current process should be canceled or whether LinkFixer Advanced should continue the process and display a report for only the links that have been processed up to that point.
Yes, LinkFixer Advanced can be upgraded to process a larger number of links at any time. Simply contact your LinkFixer Advanced representative and they will be happy to provide you with the details. Call LinkTek at (727)442-1822.
Program Capabilities
Yes, LinkFixer Advanced is able to process Universal Naming Convention (UNC) formatted links, mapped drive formatted links, and even relative path formatted links. During processing, LinkFixer Advanced recognizes the format used in a link and will automatically maintain the same formatting when the link is automatically fixed.
Yes! LinkFixer Advanced will process most user-defined links contained in VBA code or macros in Microsoft Word, Access and Excel file types.
It is not required that Microsoft Word, Excel, Access or PowerPoint be installed on the same computer as LinkFixer Advanced. That is because LinkFixer Advanced performs "direct file access" to these types of files and does not need to use the Word, Excel, Access or PowerPoint applications when working with these files.
LinkFixer Advanced is compatible with SharePoint (2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016), SharePoint Online and OpenText (10.x, 16.0). LinkFixer Advanced can process links in files located in SharePoint libraries and List attachments.
Although not officially supported, LinkFixer Advanced is also compatible with some other document management systems. If you can map a drive letter or Network Place to a folder in your document management system that contains your data, LinkFixer Advanced, can probably process your files successfully.
Call LinkTek Support at (727)442-1822 if you have questions or need help with this.
Yes, LinkFixer Advanced does support the industry standard IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) WebDAV protocol, so LinkFixer Advanced should then be compatible with document management systems that support and have enabled the same WebDAV protocol.
Specific Processes
Inoculate: This important process prepares your files so that the links they contain can be automatically fixed after the files are migrated to a new location. Your files will be safe from the dangers of broken links.
Cure: Cure is the complementary process to Inoculate. Cure automatically rewrites the links in your files in their new locations, so that the links once again work correctly.
Move/Rename: Move/Rename is a data migration tool that not only moves your files from one location to another, but automatically preserves the integrity of your links while it does so. Move/Rename can also rename files in bulk while preserving links that point to the renamed files.
Modify Links: Modify Links is a sophisticated search and replace tool that can modify any portion of a link's path in dozens of different file types. The Modify Links process can often be used to "rescue" links that have already been broken by user error, a data migration or a file restructuring project.
Yes, this can be done using the "Modify Links" process which allows you to define sophisticated "rename rules" specifying how to modify the contents of links contained in a batch of parent files, including server names, folder names, file names, file extensions and more.
This important process prepares your files so that the links they contain can be automatically fixed after the files are migrated to a new location. Your files will be safe from the dangers of broken links.
"Inoculation" is a patented process where a unique "linkID" value is assigned to each child file pointed to by non-broken links in a parent file. These linkIDs are then embedded within the child files as well as within the links in the parent file that point to the child files. This creates a secondary association between the parent file and each of its child files. Then, should a link become broken because files were either moved or renamed, the complementary "Cure" process can be used to automatically fix the broken links in the parent file.
"Cure" is a patented process which let you automatically fix broken links in parent files that have previously been inoculated, when links are broken due to files being moved or renamed. You can fix broken links, in batch, automatically.
The Cure process will automatically select and fix broken links by uniquely matching linkIDs found in candidate child files with linkIDs stored in the links of parent files and then automatically updating links to point to the found child file.
The "Rename/Move" process allows for the definition of sophisticated rename rules telling LinkFixer Advanced how to move or rename batches of parent files and child files. And as the files are moved or renamed, LinkFixer Advanced automatically updates the links in parent files so that they do not become broken.
The "Modify Links" process allows you create "rename rules" that can change practically any portion of your links in almost any way you can imagine. Using the Modify Links process, you can easily modify the content of links contained in batches of parent files. This often makes it possible to fix links that have already been broken in files that have been moved, folders that were renamed or even server names that were changed.
While the performance of the program can vary depending upon the computing environment in which it is run, there are several performance tips that can be used to ensure that LinkFixer Advanced will operate as efficiently as possible:
- Ensure the Windows system that LinkFixer Advanced is installed on has a virtual memory space defined with a minimum of at least 4 GB.
- Install LinkFixer Advanced on a machine that has a multi-core processor. LinkFixer Advanced will automatically process files using multiple threads, based on the number of available processors.
- Point LinkFixer Advanced to your Microsoft SQL server instead of the SQLite database that comes with LinkFixer Advanced.
- Install and run LinkFixer Advanced on the Windows server where the files are located, to allow local file access instead of slower network file access.
- Define a parent file filter in LinkFixer Advanced to include only needed files to be processed, such as “*.docx;*.xlsx” if only Word and Excel files need to be processed, versus “*.*” that would include all licensed types of files.
- If possible, don't run other applications at the same time as LinkFixer Advanced. While it will work just fine with other applications running, the more applications you have running at the same time, the more this will slow your processing and increase the time it takes for LinkFixer Advanced to complete its work.
By default, LinkFixer Advanced does not automatically create backups of files that are modified during processing. However, you can tell LinkFixer Advanced to create backups of files by selecting "Application Tab | Options" and selecting the "Backup" tab. Then you can check the "Create backups of modified files" checkbox option. On the same screen, you can configure a prefix or suffix to identify backup files, and select the location where backup files will be created.
Note: It is always the "best practice" to make a backup of your data prior to running any program that will move or modify your files. We strongly recommend that you make backups before running LinkFixer Advanced.
Yes! By default, LinkFixer Advanced will maintain the last modified date and time of files that it processes. If you wish to disable this option, you can do so by selecting "Options | Files | Processing Options" and disabling the "Maintain original file modified dates and times" checkbox.
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Head over to our Technical Support page, and you'll get the help you need.
1805 Drew Street
Clearwater, Florida 33765
Phone: 727-442-1822
E-mail: LinkMail@LinkTek.com
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