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vkubat
vkubat
Participant
June 16, 2026
Answered

Endnote hyperlinks not working in exported PDF - InDesign 2025 & 2026

  • June 16, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 60 views

Hi everyone,

I am experiencing a persistent issue where endnote hyperlinks do not work in the exported PDF, whereas all other standard hyperlinks in the document work perfectly. Inside InDesign, the endnote links appear normal and intact.

Here are the details of my environment and what I have already tried:

  • Versions Tested: I have tested this on both InDesign 2025 and InDesign 2026 versions, but the issue persists in both.

  • Export Settings: Tried exporting as both Adobe PDF (Interactive) and Adobe PDF (Print) (making sure the "Hyperlinks" checkbox is checked in the General settings). Still, endnotes remain unclickable in the PDF.

  • Troubleshooting Done:

    1. Updated and synced all links.

    2. Exported the document as an IDML file to clear any potential corruption, re-opened it, and re-exported to PDF.

    3. Copied the text/content into a brand-new InDesign document and tried exporting again.

None of these steps resolved the issue. Since it occurs across both 2025 and 2026 versions, I suspect it might be a specific bug related to how recent updates handle dynamic endnote structures during PDF generation.

Has anyone encountered this recently, or is there a known workaround for this bug?

Any help or insights from the community or Adobe team would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

    Correct answer Abhishek Rao

    Hi ​@vkubat,

     

    Thanks for reporting this issue, and I'm sorry for the trouble you're experiencing.

    I did some testing on InDesign 19.5.5, 20.5.3, and 21.4 using both Adobe PDF (Interactive) and Adobe PDF (Print) exports. In my tests, the endnote hyperlinks remained clickable in the exported PDF when Create Tagged PDF was enabled. However, when Create Tagged PDF was disabled, the endnote links were no longer clickable.

    Could you please try exporting the PDF again with both Hyperlinks and Create Tagged PDF enabled in the export settings, and let us know whether that changes the behavior on your end?

    In parallel, I'm also checking this behavior with the product team to confirm whether it is expected by design or if there are any additional considerations involved. I'll share an update here as soon as I hear back.

     

    Looking forward to your update.

    Abhishek

    2 replies

    vkubat
    vkubatAuthor
    Participant
    June 23, 2026

    Quick update on this: I have tried the common workarounds suggested in the community, but unfortunately, none of them changed the outcome.

    Even when converting the structure or trying alternative export pipelines, the endnote hyperlinks remain completely dead in the generated PDF across both InDesign 2025 and 2026.

    This confirms it is a deep-seated structural export bug rather than a document-specific glitch. Is anyone else experiencing this absolute roadblock, or has anyone from the Adobe team acknowledged this issue yet?

    Any further workarounds or official updates would be highly appreciated.

    Peter Kahrel
    Community Expert
    Peter KahrelCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    June 23, 2026

    Can you show us a screenshot of the PDF Export window so we can see the settings you use?

    Abhishek Rao
    Community Manager
    Abhishek RaoCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
    Community Manager
    June 16, 2026

    Hi ​@vkubat,

     

    Thanks for reporting this issue, and I'm sorry for the trouble you're experiencing.

    I did some testing on InDesign 19.5.5, 20.5.3, and 21.4 using both Adobe PDF (Interactive) and Adobe PDF (Print) exports. In my tests, the endnote hyperlinks remained clickable in the exported PDF when Create Tagged PDF was enabled. However, when Create Tagged PDF was disabled, the endnote links were no longer clickable.

    Could you please try exporting the PDF again with both Hyperlinks and Create Tagged PDF enabled in the export settings, and let us know whether that changes the behavior on your end?

    In parallel, I'm also checking this behavior with the product team to confirm whether it is expected by design or if there are any additional considerations involved. I'll share an update here as soon as I hear back.

     

    Looking forward to your update.

    Abhishek

    Abhishek Rao
    Community Manager
    Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    June 23, 2026

    Hi ​@vkubat,

     

    I wanted to share a quick update after checking this further.

    Based on my testing and discussions with the team, the current behavior appears to be expected. Native endnote navigation in exported PDFs relies on the tagged PDF structure, which means Create Tagged PDF needs to be enabled during export for the endnote links to remain clickable. Regular hyperlinks can continue to work without this setting, which is why you may see other links functioning correctly while endnote links do not.

    Could you please confirm whether you tested the export with both Hyperlinks and Create Tagged PDF enabled? If so, and the endnote links are still not working, please share a screenshot of your PDF export settings so we can take a closer look.

     

    Looking forward to your update.

    Best,
    Abhishek

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