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Word 2016 - Save as PDF with clickable Table of Contents

Anonymous
2019-04-04T16:31:06+00:00

I have a document saved in Word 2016 that has a Table of Contents (through headings). It works fine in Word but when I save as a PDF (to share with colleagues) the TOC no longer works. As soon as the PDF is opened, a Security Warning pops up stated “This document is trying to connect to [file path]. If you trust this site, choose Allow. If you do not trust this site, choose Block. When you click allow, the Word document opens.

How do I make the Table of Contents work in the PDF to share with colleagues? I want to share the PDF amongst colleagues. The main document will be on my harddrive which colleagues will not have access to. I know there has to be a way... I just don’t know how and can’t seem to find the answer through google searches. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I have tried saving the PDF with selecting options and “include non-printing information/create bookmarks using headings”

I am running Windows 7 Professional if that helps.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-07-02T10:15:19+00:00

    Don't expect any kind of expert knowledge from the MS admins; they just paste the same replies in to everyone, and close unanswered tickets.

    You want a clickable ToC in PDF files?

    1. Right-click on the ToC.
    2. Select "Edit Field".
    3. Select "TOC" from the list.
    4. Click the "Table of Contents" button.
    5. Check the "Use hyperlinks instead of page numbers" checkbox.
    6. Click the "OK" button.
    7. Click the "OK" button on the little window that pops up.
    8. Save.
    9. Save as PDF.
    10. Profit.

    149 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Charles Kenyon 165.4K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2019-04-04T17:12:58+00:00

    It does work, though.

    Exactly how are you creating the pdf (there are three ways)?

    I use File > Save As (or the F12 key). The table of contents is clickable.

    30 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Suzanne S Barnhill 276.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2019-07-02T13:29:51+00:00

    The TOC entries are not "clickable" in Word unless the box for "Use hyperlinks instead of page numbers" is checked. That option, which is enabled by default, adds the \h switch to the TOC field. This does not suppress the display of page numbers in Print Layout view, only in Web Layout.

    Even when this option is not enabled, page numbers in the TOC are still hyperlinked, but the entries are not. In dealing with a document intended for print only, it is often preferable to omit the \h switch because this makes it easier to modify the TOC styles (when the \h switch is included, all the entries display Hyperlink style instead of TOC 1, TOC 2, etc.).

    26 people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 322.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2019-07-02T11:57:08+00:00

    Don't expect any kind of expert knowledge from the MS admins; they just paste the same replies in to everyone, and close unanswered tickets.

    You want a clickable ToC in PDF files?

    1. Right-click on the ToC.
    2. Select "Edit Field".
    3. Select "TOC" from the list.
    4. Click the "Table of Contents" button.
    5. Check the "Use hyperlinks instead of page numbers" checkbox.
    6. Click the "OK" button.
    7. Click the "OK" button on the little window that pops up.
    8. Save.
    9. Save as PDF.
    10. Profit.

    It is NOT necessary to modify the Table of Contents so that it users hyperlinks instead of page numbers.  If the Table of Contents is "clickable" in Word, it will be "clickable" in pdf format if the file is saved as a pdf file, using that option when saving the document.

    18 people found this answer helpful.
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  5. Anonymous
    2019-04-04T16:53:06+00:00

    Thanks for your response. That is how I created the TOC in Word but it still doesn't work when saved as PDF.

    13 people found this answer helpful.
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