Converting Word to PDF : Tips to Preserve Hyperlinks

Turning your Microsoft Word document into a PDF is ideal for portability-it's easy to email and open on just about any computer. But sometimes when you convert Word to PDF format you lose the hyperlinks that you've created in your original document. So instead of a clickable link you get static text. This is a problem if you're trying to convert an eBook that contains links.

While there's no guarantee that every single document you convert will preserve links when converted to PDF, there are a few precautions you can take to assure that you preserve these clickable hyperlinks after performing a conversion:

1. Check your hyperlink settings in Microsoft Word to assure that you've typed out the entire URL including the "http://" at the beginning. If you type a partial URL, that could cause problems during the conversion depending on the PDF conversion software you're using. Select the text then right-click it and select "Hyperlink..." to view your hyperlink settings.

2. Type out the full URL address for the hyperlink as a way to assure that you preserve the links when you convert to PDF. For instance, instead of creating a link to a word or phrase like "dog beds," type out the entire link like "http://www.dogbeds.com" in your original document.

3. Try opening the document you want to convert directly in Adobe Acrobat (the original PDF converter program) if you're having problems with hyperlink conversion. Adobe's built-in PDFMaker function is specifically designed to facilitate conversion of embedded elements, like hyperlinks. Adobe Acrobat offers a free trial for new users.

4. Use the "Convert to Adobe PDF" tool (comes with Acrobat) within Microsoft Word as another option to convert links. Avoid using the Adobe PDF Printer tool in the Print Dialog box, as that might not preserve hyperlinks.

5. Examine the preferences or options in your PDF software of choice before you perform a conversion of a Word document. Depending on the PDF conversion program, you may have to specifically select an option to include or convert hyperlinks in order to get them to show up in your PDF document. So check your preferences thoroughly before converting if you want to preserve hyperlinks you set in your original Word document.

Source:

http://www.utd.uscourts.gov/judges/Hyperlinks_Conversion.htm