PDF hyperlinks from Word document are not working

ASA-ATL · 2026-09-16T08:19:00+00:00

My word doc saved to PDF by print to PDF messed up the hyperlinks. How do I either edit them or review them? They have a box and dropdown arrow. And the inspector tool is not identifying the links.

1 reply

neuroanatomist

Level 9 (72,871 points)

Sep 16, 2026 8:56 AM in response to ASA-ATL

I can replicate (on macOS 27 Golden Gate) that when a Word document with hyperlinks is exported to a PDF using the Print dialog option does not have clickable links.

In Word, rather than using the PDF pop-up menu at the bottom left of the Print dialog, use the following procedure to save the file as a PDF with active hyperlinks in the resulting file:

Select File menu > Save As
Set the format to PDF

Choose the Best for printing option (unless you want Microsoft reading your data; I don't)

With that method, you will get clickable URLs in the exported PDF.