Hyperlinks Disappear from PDF Version When using Word 2010

Question

I have a document with hyperlinks to other places in the document. I was previously using Office 365, and the hyperlinks worked correctly without any problems once I saved the document as a PDF. 

Since then, I'm having to use Word 2013 instead (not my choice, company decision). This hasn't been a major problem except that these same hyperlinks disappear as soon as I PDF the document. Is there some setting in Word somewhere I am missing that enables the hyperlinks?

These hyperlinks are set up via a text box and linked to other locations in the document using bookmarks.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

How are you creating the PDF.  If using the Save As PDF facility, after selecting to save in that format, click on the Options button and check the box for Create bookmarks using: and select Word Bookmarks and see if that restores the functionality.

Thanks for the reply, Doug. I saw that checkbox in the options, but it still removes my bookmarked hyperlinks. Other hyperlinks in the document (e.g. email address) remain functional, just not the ones created from a bookmark.

Answer 2

Thanks for the follow-up. Could you try a third-party converter that installs itself as a PDF "printer" (converter) and lets you print a document to PDF. Does that make a difference?

Answer 3

Are you referring to hyperlinks that display in the so-called bookmark pane in Adobe Reader (which I believe is what Doug is talking about) or are you referring to manually created hyperlinks in a converted document?

If you convert the document by some other means, for example by using a third-party PDF converter/printer such as PrimoPDF, does that work around the problem?

No, im not referring to the adobe bookmark panels. I basically created “button” hyperlinks using Bookmarks in Word at the top of the document to launch to various sections throughout the document instead of scrolling. 

These bookmark links work correctly in the Word document, and if I convert/Save as PDF from Word 2016. However, if i do the same steps using Word 2010 or 2013, the bookmark links disappear and are non-functional (while other website/email links remain intact).

Answer 4

Are you referring to hyperlinks that display in the so-called bookmark pane in Adobe Reader (which I believe is what Doug is talking about) or are you referring to manually created hyperlinks in a converted document?

If you convert the document by some other means, for example by using a third-party PDF converter/printer such as PrimoPDF, does that work around the problem?

Answer 5

How are you creating the PDF.  If using the Save As PDF facility, after selecting to save in that format, click on the Options button and check the box for Create bookmarks using: and select Word Bookmarks and see if that restores the functionality.