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EGTucker's avatar
EGTucker
Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
Oct 05, 2021

Internal links broken when PDF'ing from Word

This issue began for me and several team members recently. (It then resolved itself and now is not working again.) We are using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC through Creative Cloud Online and Microsoft 365. 

 

The issue: When creating a PDF from a Microsoft Word document, hyperlinks created in Word should be retained in the PDF'd copy. However, for us, the external links (to webpages) are retained, but the internal links (to places within the document and the Table of Contents links) are not.

 

The way we create PDFs is by using the Acrobat toolbar in MS Word. In the Preferences settings, "Add Links" is checked. To launch the process, we select "Create PDF" which generates the PDF.

 

I have tested the same file outside our work environment - on my personal computer (I also have Adobe Acrobat Pro DC through Creative Cloud online), and all the hyperlinks are retained (both internal and external). So the problem is not the Word file itself. It seems to be environmental.

 

Could this be a problem with the Acrobat toolbar add-in, or maybe a security problem? Any ideas are welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

(We often have multi-hundred documents and manually linking within the Acrobat PDF file is really not a viable option.)

  • stevewagner's avatar
    stevewagner
    Copper Contributor

    EGTucker 

     

    I am having a similar problem and I can't tell if it's the same.  Here's what is happening for me on both my desktop environment (Windows 10 Home 19044.2006, Word Version 2208 Build 15601.20148 Click to Run, Acrobat Standard 2017) and my laptop environment (Windows 10 Pro 19041.1415, Word Version 2208 Build 15601.20088 Click to Run, Acrobat Standard 2017):

     

    1. I have internal hyperlinks in a Word document which when clicked take one to a different part of the document (they link to text with a Heading style).
    2. When I export to pdf, many (but not all) of the internal links in the Word doc break so that they no longer work in Word or in future pdfs created using Export to PDF.  (I am exporting to PDF using the File \ Export, but Word is accessing my Adobe Acrobat Standard 2017 to complete this export process.)

    My best guess is that something in the export process causes the internal links in the Word doc to change somehow.

     

    Any solution to this?

     

    • Willianaleman's avatar
      Willianaleman
      Copper Contributor

      Stefan_Blom Up to today, March 2022, the internal link issue has not been fixed in macOS Big Sur. Microsoft Word version 16.58.

  • Alice_79's avatar
    Alice_79
    Copper Contributor

    EGTucker Any updates? Has Windows solved the issue? At the moment, the only workaround seems to be to use online PDF converter tools, but that's not safe...

  • shaylab's avatar
    shaylab
    Copper Contributor
    Any updates on this? I really need these internal links working for my documents.
  • My teammate and I had a Microsoft update notification this morning. We did the update and now the TOC links and internal links are working again. I hope this works for everyone and "sticks" (as it did reverse a couple of weeks back). Crossing my fingers and thanking everyone for replying!
    • BasSchout's avatar
      BasSchout
      Copper Contributor
      I had also an small update, but is doesn't help.
      • EGTucker's avatar
        EGTucker
        Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
        Perhaps the update was unrelated (?). Sorry, this is a mystery.
    • shaylab's avatar
      shaylab
      Copper Contributor

      Unfortunately still not working for me EGTucker 

       

      Now on Microsoft® Word for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2109 Build 16.0.14430.20292) 64-bit

  • Alice_79's avatar
    Alice_79
    Copper Contributor
    Me and my team are having the same problem (internal links not working after converting a Word document into PDF), since 8th of October.
    I have contacted the Adobe support and they suggested several procedures to try and fix that. These include: using the "Repair installation" tool on Acrobat, trying to revert to a previous Acrobat version by installing a patch dated 28th of July, creating the PDF files in all the possible ways (using all the different Word options, and creating them directly from Acrobat). None of this worked. They also suggested to convert the Word into PDF using their online facility (at https://documentcloud.adobe.com/ ), but this just works the very first time you upload and convert a document. From the second time you try, you'll get an error message ever after.

    I have an open case with Adobe but they don't seem to be able to fix it at the moment.
    We have:
    Windows 10 Pro (version 21H1)
    Word version 2109 Build 16.0.14430.20256
    Acrobat Pro DC version 21.007.200099.61763
    • TASchreyer's avatar
      TASchreyer
      Copper Contributor
      Hi Stefan,
      I just want to let you know about another problem with these links, just in case you aren't already aware of it. I have a .doc file with links to other files on my PC. These used to be relative links that were defined based on where my .doc file was located. The links now point to my user/AppData directory, as if it is expecting me to store other documents there.
      • Stefan_Blom's avatar
        Stefan_Blom
        MVP

        TASchreyer 

         

        I recommend that you  start a separate thread on this issue. Generally, though, Word isn't very good at dealing with relative links.

  • shaylab's avatar
    shaylab
    Copper Contributor

    Just commenting to say I am having the same issues, I have tried uninstalling all plugins, adobe acrobat pro, different computers, different files and reinstalling word and the best I've gotten is external links only, nothing internal.

    Using Microsoft® Word for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2109 Build 16.0.14430.20256) 64-bit

  • TASchreyer's avatar
    TASchreyer
    Copper Contributor
    I am having the same problem, and it just started today (October 8). I am editing a .docx file and saving it as a pdf. Two days ago, all hyperlinks were working on the pdf file. Today, external hyperlinks are working, but internal links (to other parts of the same pdf file) are not working. Looks to me like something broke on the latest Word 365 update.
  • BasSchout's avatar
    BasSchout
    Copper Contributor

    EGTucker We have the same problem. External links in WORDdocument working well in PDF, but internal links don't. We tried a lot, also installing a new Adobe version. Still not working. If you find a solution, please let me know.

    • BasSchout's avatar
      BasSchout
      Copper Contributor
      Office 2016 and 2019 and Adobe Acrobat XI and DC

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