Unnecessary Text Anchors

AaronMo · 10-04-2024, 08:58 PM

Hey Everyone,

inDesign automatically added idText Anchors to my chapter headings. I have very short chapters and don't include them in the TOC. I'm inclined to remove these. Are there any good reasons to leave them in?

Second question, is there a way to quickly remove them rather than go line by line? Or more specifically, is there a way to use regex \d or similar to search <a id="_idTextAnchor024"></a></h3> so that \d replaces 024?

Thanks

theducks · 10-04-2024, 09:23 PM

Diaps Toolbag plugin can Delete them no matter how they are used in the block.

retiredbiker · 10-04-2024, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AaronMo

Hey Everyone,

inDesign automatically added idText Anchors to my chapter headings. I have very short chapters and don't include them in the TOC. I'm inclined to remove these. Are there any good reasons to leave them in?

Second question, is there a way to quickly remove them rather than go line by line? Or more specifically, is there a way to use regex \d or similar to search <a id="_idTextAnchor024"></a></h3> so that \d replaces 024?

Thanks

If you are not using them, you can probably get rid of them without causing a problem. Just make sure that anchor string is not used somewhere else where you DO want it. Try a regex search for

Code:

<a id="_idTextAnchor\d+"></a>

and replace with nothing.

If you want to prevent the problem, maybe head your chapters with a styled <p> instead of some <h> and they likely won't get the anchors (guessing, since I don't use InDesign)

Karellen · 10-04-2024, 09:53 PM

It's not clear but I am guessing the "024" is the chapter number, so you will need to capture it in the Search regex (\d+) so it can be used in the Replace field.

DiapDealer · 10-05-2024, 08:39 AM

If you absolutely need the </h3> in the search to get the right matches, consider using a positive lookahead to avoid capturing/replacing it:

Code:

<a id="_idTextAnchor\d+"></a>(?=</h3>)

Then replace with nothing,

Or you can capture the /h3 and make sure it stays by using it in the replace expression:

Code:

<a id="_idTextAnchor\d+"></a></h3>

Then replace with:

Code:

</h3>

AaronMo · 10-05-2024, 10:34 AM

Thanks for the help. As everyone noticed, I designated the chapter headers as h3 in indesign. I won't make that mistake again.

Turtle91 · 10-05-2024, 01:02 PM

Just to be clear, there is nothing wrong with using header tags <h1-6> on headers like chapter titles, etc. That is actually the recommended, and semantically correct, method.

That InDesign adds unnecessary IDs doesn’t mean <h> shouldn’t be used. The IDs themselves don’t hurt anything, and they are easily removed if you really don’t want them in there.

10-04-2024, 08:58 PM	#1
AaronMo Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2024 Device: All	Unnecessary Text Anchors Hey Everyone, inDesign automatically added idText Anchors to my chapter headings. I have very short chapters and don't include them in the TOC. I'm inclined to remove these. Are there any good reasons to leave them in? Second question, is there a way to quickly remove them rather than go line by line? Or more specifically, is there a way to use regex \d or similar to search <a id="_idTextAnchor024"></a></h3> so that \d replaces 024? Thanks

10-05-2024, 08:39 AM	#5
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,039 Karma: 199464182 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	If you absolutely need the </h3> in the search to get the right matches, consider using a positive lookahead to avoid capturing/replacing it: Code: <a id="_idTextAnchor\d+"></a>(?=</h3>) Then replace with nothing, Or you can capture the /h3 and make sure it stays by using it in the replace expression: Code: <a id="_idTextAnchor\d+"></a></h3> Then replace with: Code: </h3> Last edited by DiapDealer; 10-05-2024 at 09:34 AM.

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10-04-2024, 09:23 PM	#2
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 30,442 Karma: 58055868 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	Diaps Toolbag plugin can Delete them no matter how they are used in the block.

10-04-2024, 09:53 PM	#4
Karellen Wizard Posts: 1,354 Karma: 6794938 Join Date: Sep 2021 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2	It's not clear but I am guessing the "024" is the chapter number, so you will need to capture it in the Search regex (\d+) so it can be used in the Replace field.

10-05-2024, 10:34 AM	#6
AaronMo Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2024 Device: All	Thanks for the help. As everyone noticed, I designated the chapter headers as h3 in indesign. I won't make that mistake again.

10-05-2024, 01:02 PM	#7
Turtle91 A Hairy Wizard Posts: 3,220 Karma: 19000635 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Charleston, SC today Device: iPhone 15/11/X/6/iPad 1,2,Air & Air Pro/Surface Pro/Kindle PW & Fire	Just to be clear, there is nothing wrong with using header tags <h1-6> on headers like chapter titles, etc. That is actually the recommended, and semantically correct, method. That InDesign adds unnecessary IDs doesn’t mean <h> shouldn’t be used. The IDs themselves don’t hurt anything, and they are easily removed if you really don’t want them in there.