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Cross-reference links (e.g., table of content, table of figures) not clickable when export/save as PDF in Word 2019 (Windows 10)

Anonymous
2021-10-13T04:43:34+00:00

Hi,

Converting a Word file to a well-formatted PDF with functional cross-reference links was easy in the past. The built-in function "export-create PDF/XPS" or "save as PDF" works well until this month (Oct. 2021). I used to export PDF documents on regular basis, however, I found the built-in export/save as function stops creating PDF with clickable cross-reference links any more. The table of content (TOC) becomes plain texts along with all the cross-references embedded. On the contrary, the http hyperlinks pointing to websites still work.

When I check my previous PDFs, I found that as late as Aug. 2021, the export/save as function still produced a PDF with clickable TOC. As a control test, I opend the very same Word file (the August one) and try export it again. Guess what? The cross-reference links broke just like any other files. This indicates that this phenomenon seems to be related to an update of Word (or Windows) within the past 2 months.

I'm looking for a solution to get this function back to normal. Anyone bumps into the same issue like mine? How do you fix it?

My environment:

Word version 2019 (build 14430.20270 Click-to-Run)

Windows 10 Pro 20H2 19042.1237 (Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.3530.0)

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | Other | Windows

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  1. Charles Kenyon 166.2K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-10-21T03:02:56+00:00

    As of this evening, Doug Robbins reported that it is working. I can confirm.

    Here, the links in the pdf are working when the document is saved as a pdf from Word Version 2109 (Build 14430.20306 Click-to-Run) Current Channel.

    Same for me, same release, in Office 365, 32-bit version. (Doug is using the 64-bit version.)

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  1. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 322.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2021-10-13T21:50:28+00:00

    As a workaround, upload the document to OneDrive and open it in Word Online and then from there, download it as a pdf.

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-11-29T17:07:50+00:00

    Please let me know how the issue was resolved. I am using Microsoft® Word for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2109 Build 16.0.14430.20154) 32-bit and the TOC links are not working in the PDF generated from Word.

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  3. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 322.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2021-10-13T08:04:40+00:00

    The issue has been reported to the Word Product Team at Microsoft and they are investigating the problem.

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  4. Charles Kenyon 166.2K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-10-14T19:40:00+00:00

    This is also a recent problem using Adobe Acrobat's Save as Adobe PDF in Word. It must be something in the structure used for the TOC/TOF. Ordinary hyperlinks do function.

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