How to Create In-Text Links to Attached PDFs in Adobe Acrobat

[@erinwrightwriting]

All the steps shown in this video are listed on my blog at erinwrightwriting.com/how-to-create-in-text-links-to-attached-pdfs-in-adobe-acrobat-pro-dc/. Thank you for watching!

[@jimbarrett151]

I don't do this often enough to remember how. I think I've watched this video twice a year for the past 2 years! Still love it.

[@erinwrightwriting]

I am always delighted to hear from a return viewer. Thank you for watching!

[@dentalofficesupport]

Wow, maybe the most helpful tutorial I've watched - great job, Erin!

[@erinwrightwriting]

That is so kind of you to say! Thank you for watching!

[@dsanchez5276]

Check this out! The finishing touch to this process is making links in your attached / child PDF that says "click here to to return to main page" This takes you back to your main / parent PDF and it really works smoothly. You can insert multiple links in the attached PDF if it’s really long. This way you can easily return to the parent PDF no matter how you have your settings set for opening cross-document links. (Same window vs separate window) I’m imagine you already know this, but it’s not in your videos!

[@erinwrightwriting]

Great suggestion! Thank you for watching!

[@balakumarappavoo8321]

Do you have a referral link to check this? That would be more helpful.

[@ed_10]

THIS!!! Once the link is made you can't go back to the original PDF file :/

[@dariosalado55]

Thank for this videos..it helps me a lot...thank you very much Erin...God Bless you more!

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for your kind comment. I appreciate your support!

[@Nicontrast]

This was exactly what I needed and very well explained. You saved the day, thank you!

[@erinwrightwriting]

I am delighted to hear that. Thank you for watching!

[@aglua25ahs36ez5pf]

In PDF X-Change Editor, you can create links to go to a page and a section of a page in embedded pdfs in a new window (right-click on the selected text or image > Add Link > Add Custom Link > Go to a Page in Embedded Document). You can even open any attachments in PDFs using Javascript: this.exportDataObject this.exportDataObject({cName: "FILENAME + ITS EXTENSION", nLaunch: 2});

[@traceyreed5282]

Awesome. that was so easy to follow!!! Thank you so much.

[@erinwrightwriting]

I am delighted to hear that! Thank you for watching!

[@user-vi9uq3dz1z]

so helpful, big thanks

[@erinwrightwriting]

I am glad it was helpful! Thank you so much for watching!

[@mictory22]

you're awesome! this has been incredibly helpful

[@erinwrightwriting]

I'm so glad to hear it was helpful. Thank you for watching!

[@asoteico9528]

Great...!!! Love it...!!! Subscribed already...!!!!

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you very much!

[@raviv1321]

Thank you so much

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching!

[@ModernPindawale]

Could you please one series of eBook creation 👍

[@mdsadiq2011]

Thank you

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching!

[@amardoss]

Hi Erin, I followed the steps all the way through and it works perfectly well for myself, however when I email this to a colleague they are unable to view the linked file. I don't believe this would be due to any antivirus. Are there any other reasons you can think of as to why this is happening?

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching my video. Unfortunately, I don't have any suggestions. The settings for how links open are stored in the software rather than in the PDF, so your colleague may need to contact Adobe for help. Best of luck!

[@Burke708]

Love this. Question: When a user clicks the link to a file the original file closes. Is there a way for the original pdf to remain open?

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching! The link actions are set by the reader’s software rather than a setting saved in the PDF. To make your links open as separate tabs, go to Edit > Preferences > General > and then make sure “Open documents as new tabs in the same window” is selected. Best of luck!

[@johngladden4544]

@@erinwrightwriting in case anybody cares - i had same issue as Kevin Burke where when i hit the link i was not able to return to original document without having to go back an open it. the "Open documents as new tabs in the same window" was checked. i used Edit>Preferences>Documents> and unchecked "Open-cross-document links in same window". When i did that, the linked file opened in a separate Acrobat tab rather than the same tab as the source document.

[@erinwrightwriting]

@@johngladden4544 Thank you for the information!

[@akyfong]

Neither way seem to work for me. Whether the "Open documents as new tabs in the same window" is checked or not, the original file still closes when I click the link.

[@Dgtl.-ls9vg]

Hi Erin, for me the everything works until "Go to page view": when i select that the pop up for "Create go to view" does not appear?

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching! I wasn't able to replicate your issue, so I'm afraid you may be experiencing a software glitch. I encourage you to report the issue to Adobe in case it is a known problem other users are also experiencing. I'm sorry I can't provide more information!

[@johntobin9404]

Thanks, that's great Erin. What I needed. However, I'm not sure what you meant when talking about emailing PDF and attachments getting stripped by AV software. Specifically you said: "the removal process is reversible on the recipient's end. What did you mean by this? I'm thinking too about corporate environments where the recipient might not have the admin rights to disable AV software.

[@erinwrightwriting]

Hi, John. Thank you for watching my video. If the recipient's AV software strips the attachments, he or she can tell the AV to return the PDF to its original state. Unfortunately, I can't provide instructions on how to do that because it's different for each AV. And you're correct that this can be a real problem in corporate environments. The best solution, in my opinion, is to avoid emailing the PDF with attachments and instead email a link to it within cloud storage.

[@dianajhuntsman1]

Question for you, I need to hyperlink a word doc (eventually pdf) to specific pages within multiple pdfs. This tutorial was awesome to share how I can do that AFTER I have the word document finished and converted to a pdf (it will have internal hyperlinks like a TOC, some to documents in google drive etc.). However, is there a way to insert hyperlinks in the word document to in-page locations in various pdfs, as I prepare the word doc?

[@erinwrightwriting]

That's a great question! If you convert the destination PDF to a Word file and then add a bookmark, you can connect the hyperlink from the first Word file to that bookmark. You should (in theory) be able to convert the destination Word file back to a PDF and the bookmark should stay intact. I don't have a tutorial on that yet, but here is an article I found that you might find helpful: wordribbon.tips.net/T009857_Creating_a_Hyperlink_to_a_Specific_Page. Best of luck!

[@dianajhuntsman1]

@@erinwrightwriting Thanks so much!!

[@ModernPindawale]

Hi Erin. I am happy to subscribe your channel. And could you please create a new tutorial on flip-flop ebook formatting

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching and subscribing! I appreciate your ebook suggestion and will be adding it to my list of future tutorials.

[@ModernPindawale]

@@erinwrightwriting Thank you Erin. I am waiting for ebook formatting. As you can👍👍.

[@aqleemj204]

Hi Erin ... once I click the link, attached files opens in the same tab sheet as main document .... how can i open attached file in a new tab?

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you so much for watching! I have a separate tutorial showing how to open links in separate tabs: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zp2Qd6WPoMqFgdU.

[@natalienewton3915]

Hello Erin, I find your videos very helpful. I have a question in that when I add a hyperlink in my PDF it seems that it alphabetize them but I need them to go in a specific order as to how the document appears in the PDF any help?

[@erinwrightwriting]

Hello, Natalie. Thank you for watching my video! I'm afraid I'm a bit confused by your issue: the in-text links described in this tutorial should remain where you place them in the text. If you don't mind my asking, where are they becoming alphabetized in your PDF?

[@Nate-oi4uh]

Thanks for the video! Is is possible to attach an excel file in the same way?

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching! You can attach an Excel file to a PDF. (You may find my other tutorial "How to Attach Files to PDFs in Adobe Acrobat" helpful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5eydp5_ltGbqNk). However, it's currently only possible to create in-text links to PDF attachments. Best of luck!

[@dianajhuntsman1]

This seems helpful. However, after I save it, the hyperlinks are opening in new windows instead of new folders. I followed everything carefully, but . . .

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching! The way links open in Acrobat is determined by your software rather than a setting within the PDF. You may find my tutorial on opening links in separate tabs helpful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zp2Qd6WPoMqFgdU. Best of luck!

[@assenort]

Thank you again. Do you have a tutorial on how to add a sticky note/notes in PDF file? I saw this some years back, but do not remember how the author of the file did it. The sticky note look like a small icon, and when clicked on displays a simple text paragraph. It is useful to provide some clarification to the main text in the PDF file without cluttering it. Please help.

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching my video! My older video about how to use comment and mark-up tools in Acrobat shows the sticky note: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b33Im5Rqeq6NqdE

[@assenort]

@@erinwrightwriting Thank you kindly, madam.

[@sanjanabasrur3882]

Thank you for this video! Does this also work for an excel file attachment to the PDF, I can't seem to establish that link.

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching my video! The in-text links described in this tutorial are only for attached PDFs. However, if your Excel is stored in a location accessible to your readers (e.g., cloud storage, etc.), you can create an external link (as shown in my other tutorial: kzbin.info/www/bejne/imjWha2rfMh-nc0) by choosing "Open a file," "Open a web page" or "Custom link," depending on the situation. Alternatively, you might consider converting your Excel file to a PDF, attaching it to your main PDF, and then following the normal process shown here. Best of luck!

[@sanjanabasrur3882]

@@erinwrightwriting I'll try that, thanks a million!

[@TheCupitorVeritatis]

Erin...for some reason inside Adobe everything works as your tutorial says but when I email it to people none of the links work properly...any ideas for a fix? Thanks you're the best.

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching! Unfortunately, I don't have any solutions. However, I would like to dig into it a bit further. By chance, are your recipients reading your emailed PDF on their browser rather than Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader? Several months ago, I read something about a known issue where Acrobat links weren't working on browsers.

[@TheCupitorVeritatis]

@@erinwrightwriting yes but the weird thing is even when I email it to myself it doesn't correctly sometimes. it is very odd because when I first created it the way you instructed it worked correctly within Adobe but after it didn't work properly; any ideas? Thanks.

[@erinwrightwriting]

@@TheCupitorVeritatis Sadly, I don't have any ideas. Because it sounds like the links did work for you sometimes when you emailed it to yourself, I am thinking it could be a software glitch. I encourage you to report the issue to Adobe in case others are having the same issue.

[@SageOftheSubway]

When I click on the a link to the attachment, the attachment opens up in the same window as my original document. I've checked the 'Open documents in tab' selection in Preferences, but still getting the same results. Any thoughts?

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching! I think Adobe may have recently changed the tab opening process because another viewer just pointed out to me that another way to control how links open is to go to Edit > Preferences > Document and then uncheck "Open cross-document links in the same window." Perhaps that will work for you? Best of luck!

[@GrimmReaper7873]

Can this be done on a portfolio? Link one area to a different document in the portfolio? Thanks

[@erinwrightwriting]

Yes, you can create links to a page view between PDFs in a portfolio. First, open the portfolio. Then, open the PDF you want to link from and start to create the link as shown in this tutorial. When the Create Go to View dialog box appears, go back to the portfolio tab and open the destination PDF and set the page view. Best of luck!

[@jillcarabelas]

I find that when I open "Edit PDF" all the texts appears to be in text boxes in the PDF. When I go through the steps you list, the final link shows up like it is a link, but doesn't work. It seems this text box is the problem. The original Word document did not use text boxes, so not sure what to change.

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching! Just to clarify, other links above the last one do work after converting your Word document to a PDF?

[@jillcarabelas]

@@erinwrightwriting I'm not creating links in Word, but in the PDF to attached documents (to the PDF). If I were to create links in Word, they would work but not to attached documents (I don't think that is an option in Word).

[@jillcarabelas]

Now it seems to be working--I had to save it after setting the link. 🙃

[@erinwrightwriting]

@@jillcarabelas Glad to hear it!

[@user-me9nm2fq5u]

I cannot go back to the original PDF file

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching! Just to clarify, after you create the link to the attachment, the original PDF isn't in another tab after clicking the link?

[@bubaby7867]

The document I'm working on is a PDF form that will have 13 links of information. The first link I put in my form came up in a tab but I noticed that the tab for my form was no longer listed. How can I have the form stay open but still have people access the links of information. I did this years ago but forgot how to do it. Maybe you can tell me what step or steps I may have forgotten to create this form. Thank you.

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching my tutorial! I have another tutorial explaining how to open links in separate tabs in Acrobat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zp2Qd6WPoMqFgdU. Best of luck!

[@bubaby7867]

@@erinwrightwriting Thanks for responding. But I have this problem. I attached a PDF file to my main PDF document and a link to access the attached PDF file. What I noticed is that the attached PDF file comes up in it's own tab but the tab with my main PDF is no longer listed. How can I have the main PDF tab stay listed? Thanks.

[@bubaby7867]

Never mind, I figured it out. The problem was in the Preferences.

[@heatherthompson1616]

After the link is created and selected, it doesn't open as a new page and instead opens over the current PDF. Is there an option to have it open as a new page allowing the other PDF to remain open as well?

[@erinwrightwriting]

Hello, Heather. Thank you for watching my video! Unfortunately, the way the links open is controlled by the reader's software (Acrobat, Reader, or a browser), rather than a setting in the PDF. If you want the internal links to open in a separate browser in your Acrobat, go to the Edit tab > Preferences > and then deselect "Open cross-document links in same window." Best of luck!

[@heatherthompson1616]

@@erinwrightwriting My options weren't quite the same as what you mentioned, but through trial and error in that general vicinity, I was able to get it to work! Thanks for your help!!!

[@matthewhoang1486]

@@heatherthompson1616 Any chance you can post how you solved this problem. I can't figure it out. Many thanks.

[@MrJakstaShoe]

Hi Erin, is there a way to use this method to link back and forth? like an interactive PDF. I am able to link to attachments, but when i try to link it back to the original page, it loses the other links...

[@erinwrightwriting]

Hello, Jack, I have had that question myself for some time now. I have gotten it to work, but like you, have encountered some glitches. If I stumble upon a stable solution, I definitely plan to make a tutorial. Thank you so much for watching!

[@MrJakstaShoe]

@@erinwrightwriting do you have a tutorial on showing how to link buttons on a PDF page to toggle layer visibility? I have read this might be a solution

[@erinwrightwriting]

@@MrJakstaShoe I don't have a tutorial on that topic yet, but I just added it to my list. Thank you for the great suggestion!

[@MrJakstaShoe]

@@erinwrightwriting I have figured it out! Let me know if you want me to send you my example!

[@nickhallman496]

Is it just me or does this effectively close the original document? Why does this not open as a separate tab? This defeats the purpose of attaching and linking to the documents.

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching! The way links open is determined by settings in your software rather than settings in the PDF. I have a separate tutorial about opening links in separate tabs, which you may find helpful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zp2Qd6WPoMqFgdU.

[@hmrmx]

EREN JEAGER finally we found you

[@erinwrightwriting]

I'm glad you found me!