I still hang on to RW6 because the links to the resources all stop working once I update to version 7 or 8. Now that I have a new Mac, I have to update to the newer versions anyway. Is there someone who can help me here. With my old Mac I’m still on version 6 and everything works perfectly. I described this problem almost 2 years ago (see below), but now I have to update. I’m even willing to pay for working help offers, so I don’t have to relink for several weeks.
Here is my old topic from September 2018 Well, after a lot of testing and trying I’ve come to the conclusion, that the update problem with the broken links concerning the resources folder is a – at least for me – major bug. Real mac can’t be serious in selling this update. Facts: 1. If I use the rw6 file everything is working fine. 2. if I update to rw 7 or 7.5 the resources links all don’t work anymore. 3. if I update to rw 8 it’s the same. 4. I never touched or changed the resources folder (neither on my mac nor in rw). 5. None of the mentioned tricks are working (re-saving etc.). 6. I really can’t relink all my resource files (around 2000 links to pdf or mp3 files). Conclusion: I have to stay with rw6 because I’m not willing to be realmacs beta tester. If this bug won’t be fixed somehow, I can not use my paid update. I lost hours and hours with this stupid issue.
I feel your pain - this has happened to me several times not just on upgrading from 6-7 but with some other updates since. I have never got my head around the issue and when you have a large number of links it is nothing short of a massive pain in the …
Thank you for your compassion, but I still refuse to believe that RW cannot propose a solution here. Earlier in RW 2 up to RW 4, I even worked without the resource folder and was happy with it. Then I did a lot of work to gather all those external files in the resources folder. Now I seem to have made a big mistake in believing the program’s advice …
@JAW61 – Well, we all are RM’s beta testers. Frankly, I don’t see a possibility for this situation to change for the better (especially since Catalina).
I stopped using RW’s Resources years ago and now I have zero problems of the kind you are describing. I keep all my resources on the server instead. That includes images, PDFs and fonts. In my mind, this is the only long-term solution for RW’s de-linking, disappearing resources.
So, my advice to you is to forget about using RW’s Resources. It’s sad, but realistic.
Sorry about the problem and frustration you’re having with upgrading.
I never used resources in earlier releases of RapidWeaver. The process of using a pointer to a file on your Mac instead of copying the resources into the project wasn’t a good design in my never humble opinion.
In RapidWeaver 8 RealMac did a complete redesign of how resources work. It’s a much better but not perfect solution. Unfortunately the conversion process from the older RW7 resources to the newer RW8 version hasn’t been a very clean process.
If you’re looking for a “fix” in this upgrade process, it’s probably not going to happen. I’m not trying to make excuses just being realistic. RapidWeaver 8 is getting long in the tooth and RW9 Probably isn’t far off. On top of that with each new release of MacOS the system is getting more and more locked down.
In your OP back in September of 2018 it was suggested to try an intermediate conversion to RW7 since you’re skipping a release:
You indicated that the resources didn’t work when you open the project in RW7? That’s usually, most people didn’t have that problem, but going from RW7 to RW8 was the messy part.
You indicated that you have thousands of resources, so I’d consider doing what Rob @Rovertek suggests and manage them outside of RapidWeaver. I think the new RW8 resource management is very stable and works well (once you get the resources converted) but managing that many files with it would be difficult.
I’m in nearly the same boat as you. I’m using RW6 but anticipating I will need to update my Mac OS soon, and I am worried about this. Does RW6 not work at all under the newest Mac OS, or is it just the Resources part? I only have a few pdfs in Resources, but the website itself has thousands of links that would be a disaster if they went away. So what is your experience with RW8? Was everything else working except the Resources? Was it an easy transition to RW8? Thanks for any info you can share!
I’m not running Catalina so I can’t say for sure if RW6 will or will not work. I know there’s issues even with RW8 with older plugins. Catalina requires the plugins to be “notarized” by the developer.
When you say links are you talking about just links to other sites? That shouldn’t be affected.
I’d probably try upgrading RapidWeaver and all its plugins first, before updating the MacOS version.
Thanks for the advice. I keep all of my stacks updated and will make sure to do this if I make the switch to a new OS. This OS switch issue has been a real problem over the years. Upgrade to the new OS, then find out that critical programs you are using are no longer functional, then upgrade them ($$$) and hope they still work. That’s why I put it off as long as possible. Every version of RW seems to very buggy and problematic. I know many people have switch over to Wix and similar websites because of this.
It’s good to keep stacks updated, but the problem with Catalina has been the plugins (Stacks itself is a plugin). So check for things like FormLoom, Sitemap Plus, Pluskit. Most that are still around have an update available.
Here is a post:
You could also consider trying out the newer releases of RW with the trial versions: