ID5.5 > pdf Email links - sometimes work sometimes don't

[danm29668023]

Hi

I've created a pdf from ID5.5.

I'm finding that (without updating the file) the email links are sometimes working and sometimes not -  I've set them up properly and historically they have always worked in previous documents.

The pdf is being opened in a browser, Chrome seemed to be the most inconsistent.

Has anyone else come across this?

Thanks.

[Geоrge]

PDF in a browser is a Russian roulette.

You can't control this.

Use Adobe Reader to view your PDFs.

[danm29668023]

hmmm....that's not very helpful, If a pdf is published as a download on a website then it's going to have to adapt to the browser's native approach to opening them...

[BobLevine]

It is VERY helpful and it is a FACT!

Browsers are nothing but hit or miss as is any reader that is not Acrobat. When you export a PDF from InDesign you export an Adobe PDF. It would impossible for Adobe to support the myriad readers out there. This on the browser developer to fix. Contact them.

[Steve Werner · Accepted solution]

George and Bob are correct! Most PDF developers are lazy: They are only supporting the common things people need, like making a PDF of an email or a Word file. They don't fully support the PDF specification. They are flaky when it comes to hyperlinks, buttons, video or audio, form fields, and so on. It's not Adobe's fault. The fault is in relying on these browsers or third-party readers (also including Mac Preview) for handling more complex PDFs.

It's your responsibility as the PDF creator to ask your audience to use the free Adobe Reader to count on having these kinds of interactivity work.