Adobe Community: Why do I lose all my html links when converting to pdf

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1. Gilad D (try67),

Jan 7, 2013 6:07 AM in reply to matthew L2014

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You need to convert using the PDFMaker plugin, not by printing to the PDF printer, if you want to maintain those links.

This plugin is not always available, though.

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2. matthew L2014,

Jan 7, 2013 6:23 AM in reply to Gilad D (try67)

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but if the plugin is not always available, that can hardly be the way Adobe expects the average user to complete this action, right?

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3. Gilad D (try67),

Jan 7, 2013 6:30 AM in reply to matthew L2014

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That's the way it is, I'm afraid. When you print to the PDF Printer it's

like using a physical printer. You lose any formatting or metadata that is

associated with the file. The reasons why the PDFMaker plugin is not always

available are technical and have to do mostly with problems in the

collaboration between Apple and Adobe. I wouldn't put all the blame on

Adobe for this one, though...

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4. matthew L2014,

Jan 8, 2013 7:19 AM in reply to Gilad D (try67)

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Try 67 - I don't intend to bite the hand that feeds me, but I'm confused.

There are many ways to 'pdf' a document besides 'printing" it to the pdf printer. I can "save as pdf" from within Word. I can open the word doc from Acrobat Pro.

You're saying that due to technical issues beyond Adobe's control none of these methods preserves the html links. And that the company has not developed a work-around?

thanks

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5. Gilad D (try67),

Jan 8, 2013 7:20 AM in reply to matthew L2014

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Save as PDF has nothing to do with Adobe. It's an internal function of

Office.

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6. Phillip Jones,

Jan 8, 2013 7:33 AM in reply to matthew L2014

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See this Movie. This is the only way you can Convert to PDF on a Mac and retain hot links. http://www.screencast.com/t/RFKYTE2KNi

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7. Phillip Jones,

Jan 8, 2013 8:03 AM in reply to Gilad D (try67)

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try67 wrote:

Save as PDF has nothing to do with Adobe. It's an internal function of
Office.

Quit propogating that 15 year lie it can't be done in a Mac. While Words save as PDF function is actually calling up Apple's PDF Conversion. It can be done in a Mac Adobe is just going to have to fix their conversion engine.

Its been proven that Word has the same "hooks" in Word for URL's in Mac office as in PC Office. Adobe's software developers are just lazy and don't want to be bothered with fixing the Mac Version of there applications to accept them. There has been this fued been going on between Apple, MS and Adobe for 15 years or more. They all act childish in some respects. They refuse to colaborate with each other to solve issues. You can take a Mac Word created File, open it in PC version do nothing what so ever to it, and convert to a PDF and the URLS and Mailto's will be live. Were the "hooks" not there the PC word version would have to do them over. You can also open the same file in, OpenOffice or Apple's Pages and and they would be live as well.

In fact in the answer following your comment. I have shown in a Movie how to bypass altogether all the Save as, and Print to Adobe PDF functions and get An acrobat file that has Live links.

It takes a Long time, for processing, but it works. I even tested the link after after the conversion within the movie. I didn't use any Tricks Movie was not edited and pieced together.

If it can be done this way, then the software developers at adobe could fix the problem in the Print to Adobe PDF feature in the Print Menu, which is using Adobe's PDF engine not Apple's. They just don't want to do it or corporate don't want to do it.

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8. matthew L2014,

Jan 8, 2013 10:16 AM in reply to Phillip Jones

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Philip,

I followed the procedure you showed in your movie - I think it is the same as launching Acrobat Pro and then using the 'open file' command in Acrobat to launch the docx file.

Alas the outcome is the same - pretty blue underlined text, but no html links.

Wonder why our results were different.

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9. matthew L2014,

Jan 8, 2013 10:22 AM in reply to matthew L2014

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ok - getting a little closer to the issue

if the html link is in the word document as hypertext - like USA Today - the converter doesn;t recognize the underlying url

but if I type http://www.usatoday.com/ as the text in the word doc, it remains live after conversion into a pdf.

the issue is that from a design and presentation perspective, it is very jarring to readers to see lengthly urls in the text. So option one is really the only way to go.

Alice had an easier time with the rabbit, eh?

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10. Phillip Jones,

Jan 8, 2013 3:02 PM in reply to matthew L2014

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Don't know It was a geniune URL Link to my Home page.

I opened word 2011 Typed it converted automatically tolive link. Then I quit word and dropped the file on The Acobat icon in the Dock. I think the reason it took so long is that it was opening Distiller in the background. after it was created I saved the file and clicked on the link although I tested before saving . Both times the URL was live. A Mailto also works.

I tested as you said create alink from some word using the insert Links. Command.

And as you said. its shows blue but not clickable so only thed link that is converted automatically is the only way it works. Now adobe get off you duff and find out how to fix so all of it works.

Maybe the problem lies inAdobe's use of non standard Javascript. They use their own version instead of the accepted version used by everyone else.

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11. LoriAUC,

Jan 9, 2013 10:39 AM in reply to Phillip Jones

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It's actually Acrobat recognizing the URLs within the PDFs -- they're not explictly written that way during the conversion process. You just need to make sure you have following set under Preferences > General category and check "Create links from URLs". If you don't wan to rely on everyone having the preference set you can run the command under Tools > Document Processing > Create links from URLs. This only create links from explicit URLs that start with http or www.

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12. Phillip Jones,

Jan 9, 2013 12:56 PM in reply to LoriAUC

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That's what the issue seem to be. Acrobat accepts links written as http:// or as mailto:.

But when you want not to show the link in http and mailto format even though Mac Word has a wizzard to create. You highlight the word you wnt to make a Link. then go to Insert menu > Links the wizard opens The word is highlighted in field, and either the Weblink or Mailto Typed.

Should work either way. But they don't.

Here is the way it works

http://www.screencast.com/t/RO3IsQtt
seems like it wouldn't be all that complex to fix this problem that's been bugging Mac Users for 15 years.

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13. Sue the teacher,

Jan 10, 2013 10:09 PM in reply to matthew L2014

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I had no idea I was sending out resumes & cover letters in pdf format with links that do not work until tonight!!!! Arghhh!!! Tonight I figured out a work around for any doc or docx file created in Word for Mac that's relatively simple. Upload the .doc or .docx to Google Drive . Right click and open with Google Docs. Under the file menu select Download as pdf. All the links will work.

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14. matthew L2014,

Jan 14, 2013 1:36 PM in reply to Sue the teacher

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leave it to a teacher, eh?

thanks Sue

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15. matthew L2014,

Jan 14, 2013 1:45 PM in reply to matthew L2014

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just to note that it seems for more complex documents with non-standard fonts, photos and tables embeded, the option Sue describes has the potential to mess with the formatting.

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16. Phillip Jones,

Jan 14, 2013 5:23 PM in reply to matthew L2014

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On a Mac You can do the same in Apple's iWork Pages.

open the word docment directly in Pages. and Create the PDF within Pages. All links works. Again another proof it’s a Problem with Adobe not, Word. 15 years we've had Adobe dance around this subject.

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Why do I lose all my html links when converting to pdf

Jan 7, 2013 5:51 AM

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