Word 365 save as pdf does not convert hyperlinks

Anonymous
2021-10-08T15:06:03+00:00

Hyperlinks which work in Word do not work in PDF

  1. Word 365, Windows 10 home 21H1 (OS Build 19043.1237)
  2. Problem only started yesterday after years of proper functioning
  3. Links from previous version of same file continue to work perfectly in acrobat
  4. Creating an entirely new word file to test hyperlinks in pdf does not help
  5. Hyperlinks to bookmarks do not work
  6. Hyperlinks to Table of Contents do not work
  7. Links to web pages work
  8. Hyperlinks to not work in Edge, Chrome, as well as acrobat pro
  9. Word Export to PDF or XPS formats does not help
    1. Word Print to Adobe PDF or Microsoft print to PDF does not help
    2. Word : Options --> Advanced → link handling → "open supported hyperlinks to office files in office desktop apps"   CHECKED
    3. Acrobat : Edit --> Preferences --> General --> "Create links from URLs"  CHECKED
    4. Acrobat : Edit --> Preferences -->Convert to PDF--> Microsoft Office Word --> "Add links to Adobe PDF file"  CHECKED
    5. Restarted computer twice
    6. Closed all known new software e.g. Dropbox Capture
    7. Currently relying on Windows Defender Firewall and Windows security app for protection
Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For education | Windows

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Answer accepted by question author
Suzanne S Barnhill 279.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2021-10-12T11:04:33+00:00

Microsoft is aware of this problem and working on a solution.

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Anonymous
2021-10-20T19:49:55+00:00

I just noticed that the links are now working as before.

I'm running Version 2109 (Build 14430.20306).

I wonder if someone has the same experience.

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Stefan Blom 353.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2021-10-13T14:39:55+00:00

HI and thank for the update.... there is no work around in the meantime that anybody has tried? Thanks you.

A suggested workaround in this thread is to upload the Word document to OneDrive, open it in the web browser, and then download the document as a PDF (see for example the reply by LGonzalez). This appears to preserve hyperlinks in tables of contents and other locations.

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-10-16T23:24:28+00:00

    Another option is to upload the file to OneDrive and open it in Word Online and from that application, download it as a PDF file.

    I've been using OneDrive to convert to PDF since this started, but OneDrive does not have Advanced Options, so I cannot increase image resolution, embed fonts, etc.

    The resulting PDF through OneDrive is 1 MB, vs 4 MB for the ones I made in Word.

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  2. Charles Kenyon 171.1K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-10-14T20:12:42+00:00

    You don't mention which version of Acrobat you have. The only method that I know of to preserve bookmark hyperlinks and TOC hyperlinks is to use PDFMaker (included with the full version of Acrobat). PDFMaker is accessed from the Acrobat tab that appears in Word.

    Acrobat's PDF Maker gives the same result - no hyperlinks in the TOC. This is related to changes in Word, not to changes in Acrobat.

    I just checked Word 2010 and the problem is not present there. It would likely be only in Word 2016-2021 (365).

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