RPS Hyperlinking

RPS Hyperlinking

Hyperlinking between documents in electronic submissions is done within PDF (Portable Document Format) documents. RPS release 1 and 2 do not propose any changes to this.

Hyperlinks have two ends: A "source" which is the document where the link can be found, and a "target" which is the document that the hyperlink leads to.

Links between documents in a submission unit or sequence are dictated by the file structure of that submission unit. Links between documents in a different submission unit, or a different application, must also be created with an awareness of the structure of related submission units or applications at the agency or agencies.

Currently in electronic submissions of all types (including eCTD and NeES), there is an issue with what happens to hyperlinks between documents when a document which is the target of a link is replaced or deleted. If the source document is not also replaced, the hyperlinks in those source documents will continue to point to the original document. This is called "The Broken Link Problem."

Within a given submission unit, links between documents should behave exactly as they would in eCTD or NeES submissions. Because RPS specifies relationships between documents using document IDs, the relative structure of submission units and applications does not have to be known, except for hyperlinks between documents across those submission units. This creates an additional level of difficulty in creating hyperlinks.

For further discussions of this issue and attempts to address solutions, see RPS_Structure_and_Linking_Discussion.