Media in exported pdfs linking to textbook login page

I have YouTube videos in my textbook. When I export to pdf and click on the provided link for excluded interactive elements I am not taken to the textbook. Instead, I am taken to the textbook login page, which would require readers to have an account.

Students should not need an account to view videos.

Has anyone had this problem? How can I resolve?

Hi @rgrossman thanks for flagging this. I’ve just recreated the issue in a test book and will bring it to the developers. Progress can be tracked at Fallback links to video embeds in PDF exports are unclickable · Issue #3808 · pressbooks/pressbooks · GitHub

Fallback links to YouTube videos in PDF exports tend to be long enough to spill over onto a second line. It seems that the network domain on the first line of the provided link is being treated as a standalone link, excluding the remainder of the link on the second line (everything after the /). As a result, clicking the link brings readers to the network homepage instead of the video.

If you were to type the full provided link, as it appears in the PDF export, into the browser, it would be possible to navigate directly to the embedded video (no account required). But that’s obviously cumbersome, so we’ll want to look into a fix for this.

Ah, thank you!

This is an unfortunate user experience for students, but at least this is an issue that you can replicate.

How are issues prioritized by the developers? I want to get back to my colleagues and let them know if this is going to be a long wait time for a fix.

(I’ve worked in tech, so I know things are prioritized and it’s hard to estimate time needed!)

Rena

I discussed the issue with the developers at a bug troubleshooting meeting today, but the issue hasn’t been sized in the backlog and planned for an upcoming sprint yet, so I can’t say for sure re: priority. Our tech sprint planning meeting every two weeks is typically when the priority of different issues in the backlog is clarified. This one appears to be a longstanding issue though I think it’s one that will be important to solve given how it affects user experience. I’ll push for it to be considered for the tech team’s upcoming sprint (but I can’t confirm that it will be included because it depends on other tasks in the backlog and their relative priority - I’ll post an update here if it’s included at the time!)

By the way, at the meeting earlier, I suggested replacing the displayed URL in the “One or more interactive elements…” fallback message with linked text, but it was pointed out to me that this wouldn’t be compatible with our print PDF export option where the link needs to be shown in full. Both print and digital PDFs use the same export routine, but there may be a way for us to handle the message differently in digital PDF exports. Another solution would be a fix for the broader issue with multi-line URLs in PDF exports, but the cause of that one isn’t fully understood yet.

Thank you! I’ll pass this on to the faculty I am working with.

Might the theme of the book affect spill over? I’m wondering if I should try to create a customized theme to test it out.