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Converting MS Word documents with bookmarked headings to PDF while keeping the links/cross-references functional

Anonymous
2022-09-26T07:07:53+00:00

The following question has been posted in the Acrobat forum, but no-one seems to have a waterproof method to make this work.

We have a set of documents comprising in excess of 1000 documents. Approximately 160 of these documents are multi-page text documents prepared in MS Word (2019); the other are mostly single-page illustrations and diagrams prepared in a variety of graphic applications such as CAD. To maintain the integrity of the Word and graphic documents, all these documents are converted to PDF for internal publication on the company LAN in a single folder.

The text documents contain hyperlinks (created in Word) to bookmarks within the other text documents of this set and also to the illustration documents,

When converted to PDFs (using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC), the hyperlinks to bookmarks in the other other text documents in the set do not function correctly. It opens the document in which the bookmark is, but does not go to the actual bookmark. I experimentd by changing the hyperlink code in the Word document from (pseudo) I-0.docx#II_1_2 to I-0.pdf#II_1_2 (that is, just replacing the docx with pdf), but to no avail.

How can I make the hyperlink go to the actual bookmark location?

Many years ago, while working with previous versions of Word and Acrobat, we obtained an intermediate software application named PDFLINKS from a company in the Netherlands, which worked beautifully. Recent attempts to contact this company proved unsuccessful.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-09-28T11:14:56+00:00

    Hi JohannSwart,

    Thank you so much for uploading the requested samples.

    We received the sample files, and checked the issue, took time and did a couple of tests to see if we can reproduce the same issue in our environment, but the hyperlinks to bookmarks work fine on our side.

    Due to this situation, I think this issue is related to Professional Plus 2019 product! We would also really love to work with you and solve your problem, but to avoid giving inconsistent information, and to make sure you get proper and expert help, please post a new question to Microsoft Q & A Community via this link: Microsoft Q & A Community. This is a channel that has Expert Engineers who focus on Office 2019 related issues, and I am sure they will focus on your question and help you out.

    Thanks for your kind understanding, cooperation and patience. I hope your issue gets addressed quickly! Good luck.

    Sincerely,

    Edwine | Microsoft Community Moderator

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-09-27T10:34:34+00:00

    I have uploaded 2x Word docs as well as their PDF versions, i.e. 4 files.

    Before I produced the PDF version of I-0.docx, I change the hyperlink code from "II-0.docx#II_1_2" to "II-0.pdf#II_1_2".

    You'll see that when you click on the hyperlink in I-0.pdf it opens II-0.pdf, but not to the II-1.2 heading.

    I thank you again for taking the time and effort to help me solve this enigma.

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-09-27T09:50:11+00:00

    Hi JohannSwart,

    Thanks for posting back with the requested version information and more clarification.

    Please allow me request for one more thing. Could you please create a sample file, and upload it here via this link: Converting MS Word documents with bookmarked headings to PDF while keeping the links cross-references functional, so that we can do further tests and see if we can reproduce this issue, and then see how we can help solve it?

    Thank you for your cooperation and patience.

    Sincerely,

    Edwine | Microsoft Community Moderator

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-09-27T05:39:51+00:00

    Hi Edwine,

    Thank you for your reply to my query.

    I include three screenshots: (i) Windows detail, (ii) Word detail, and (iii) Acrobat detail.

    Image

    Forgive me if I repeat myself; I just want to make 100% sure that my problem is understood.

    The user(s) of this set of documents only has access to the PDF versions of the the relevant documents. That means, when clicking on a link in one PDF document, he is supposed to be taken to a specific heading within another PDF document.

    May I again express my sincere gratitude for your willingness to assist with this problem.

    [PII Masked by MSFT Moderator, to protect your privacy]

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  5. Anonymous
    2022-09-27T02:23:53+00:00

    Dear JohannSwart,

    Good day! Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community. We are happy to help you.

    First of all, I apologize for late reply! Thanks.

    I carefully went through your question and please don't worry. Together we can solve the issue.

    I did a couple of tests and from the test results, I cannot reproduce the same issue that you are encountering! The hyperlinks to bookmarks function properly.

    Now, please allow me collect more information from your side so that we can clearly understand the situation and find a solution together:

    1. Could you please upload a sample File so that we and other community members can check it and find out the cause of this issue?
    2. As our category handles Office 365 issues, I tested from the latest version of Office 365 to see if I can meet the same issue, and I didn't. From your description, you mentioned you Office 2019. Can you please go to Word > File > Account and take a screenshot of that page so that we can test from the same environment, or if the issue is related to the other team, we can help determine and help you out.
    3. What is the version of your operating system?

    Meanwhile, there are expert MVPs and other Community members who have got rich Ideas, and I would also like to welcome them to contribute so that we can find a solution to this issue together.

    Please understand that the initial reply may not instantly help solve issues, but we can work together and come to a conclusion.

    We apologize for the inconvenience. Thanks for your kind understanding, cooperation and patience.

    With Sincerest Regards,

    Edwine | Microsoft Community Moderator

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