Skip to main content
C
Communication23580736mxzr
Participant
October 20, 2022
Question

Hyperlinks keep messing up when exporting from InDesign to PDF Interactive

  • October 20, 2022
  • 2 replies
  • 193 views

I am being driven crazy by hyperlinks that continue to get messed up in my InDesign document. Every time I go to export Interactive PDF, InDesign somehow messes up my hyperlinks and gets them all confused. So they are always the wrong one (usually the one from above or below). No matter how many times I have tried to correct this, the export to Interactive PDF continuously messes this up. 

 

There are multiple ways to express the hyperlink and different boxes to check or uncheck. I am using Adobe InDesign 2023. Are there settings I need to use to correct this or is it a bug in this version? Thanks for your help!

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

C
Communication23580736mxzrAuthor
Participant
October 24, 2022

Hi everyone, thank you for your help. It appears the problem were corrupted hyperlinks. So, a bug in the latest version of InDesign for PC. When I packaged the file and sent it to the latest version of InDesign for Mac, Adobe opened the file, thought for a while and then brought up a notice saying 'InDesign has found 3 corrupted hyperlinks and removed them'. That was cool. I wish my PC version had done that!

    Bill Silbert
    Community Expert
    Bill SilbertCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 21, 2022

    If you are using hyperlinks rather than buttons then try exporting the pdf as a Print pdf. One advantage of this is that more pdf viewers will recognize the interactivity than with an Interactive pdf. Interactive pdfs are only guaranteed to work correctly with Acrobat 9 or above.

      Steve Werner
      Community Expert
      Steve WernerCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 21, 2022

      I agree for Bill. Most PDF readers don't recognize buttons and other forms of interactivity. Many people use their browsers or low quality PDF readers. Hyperlinks from Print PDF is the way to go.

        Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
        Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
        Legend
        October 21, 2022

        I disagree with the advice to use Print to PDF because it kills all accessibility for 1/3 of the world's population with a disability. Their assistive technologies need accessible PDFs in order to read, use, and interactive with the file.

        Printing to a PDF creates a dead file that they can't even read, let alone interact with it like clicking a hyperlink.

         

        Our recommended method is to use the Hyperlinks panel in InDesign. However, when setting up the hyperlink, UNcheck the option to make a shared destination. It tends to mess up the hyperlink, similar to what the original poster described.

         

        InDesign's handling of hyperlinks has several shortcomings, one of which is it's difficult to thoroughly strip out all hyperlinks and rebuild them. I've tried scripts but nothing corrects the residual code once a hyperlink is created and then deleted. Sigh.

         

        Access to digital files is a civil right in most industrialized countries. Please don't use Print to PDF for files intended for digital use. Find better ways to correct InDesign's bugs.

         

        Thanks for your patience!

         

        |    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
        Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
        Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices