Skip to main content
K
KarenMinOR
Inspiring
July 10, 2023
Question

Prevent "hot" links to URLs in PDF?

  • July 10, 2023
  • 6 replies
  • 829 views

Hi y'all,

RoboHelp: 2022.2.22

I'm including sample URLs in my documentation that point to the example.com domain. Because these links don't actually work, I don't want them to be "hot" links in the PDF -- I want them treated like plain text. Is there some nifty/simple way to instruct RoboHelp not to make those URLs clickable? I don't want to have to edit them in Acrobat after generation. 

To be clear, they're typed as plain text in the source and don't have <a> tags, but the PDFs are generated with these URLs as clickable links anyway:

<p class="code">https://example.com/AbCdEfG</p>

Thanks!

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    6 replies

    A
    Community Expert
    AmebrCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 11, 2023

    I think that solution only fixes it for you, not for your audience (i.e. they would manually need to change that setting). Make sure you double-check with a colleague to be sure though.

    K
    KarenMinORAuthor
    Inspiring
    July 12, 2023

    Ugh. You're right. If I open it with Reader (without changing any settings), the links are hot by default. Dag nabbit!
    This seems like a bug to me. Acrobat/Reader shouldn't make such assumptions about embedded URLs, IMO, especially if the document's author doesn't want them hyperlinked. 😛

    Peter Grainge
    Community Expert
    Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 11, 2023

    It doesn't help but I am told the same happens if you generate from Word to PDF. That points a finger at Acrobat being the issue.

     

    Test that to confirm it is the same for you and maybe then try posting about Word to PDF in the Acrobat forum. Let us know if that helps.

    ________________________________________________________

    My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

     

    Use menu (bottom right) to mark as Best Answer or to Highlight particularly useful replies. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here.
    A
    Community Expert
    AmebrCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 10, 2023

    I did a quick test with RH2019 Classic and the following text was not converted to a link when I generated a PDF file:

    <p>https://www.google.com.</p>

     

    So I think it's something that Robohelp is doing, rather than a feature of Acrobat.

     

     

     

    frameexpert
    Community Expert
    frameexpertCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 11, 2023

    This is an Acrobat viewer setting. It's not something done on the creation end.

     

      A
      Community Expert
      AmebrCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 11, 2023

      I have that setting turned on and the plain text url is not converted to a link in Acrobat Reader or DC for me.

      Peter Grainge
      Community Expert
      Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 10, 2023

      I can't quickly find a solution but I have reached out to an Adobe contact. I will post back when I get a reply.

      ________________________________________________________

      My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

       

      Use menu (bottom right) to mark as Best Answer or to Highlight particularly useful replies. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here.
        Jeff_Coatsworth
        Community Expert
        Jeff_CoatsworthCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        July 10, 2023

        I don't know if you have much control over the PDF creation process from within RH; but that could be a spot to tinker with to turn that off.

        K
        KarenMinORAuthor
        Inspiring
        July 10, 2023

        Yah, I'm starting to wonder if it's just a built-in "feature" in Acrobat/Reader where any URL has a link even if there's no hotspot. In editing the document with Acrobat, the URLs don't even have links. I tried "removing all links" from the document, but the URLs are still clickable. It's like Acrobat is refusing to present any URL as plain text, no matter what the author wants. <pout>

        Jeff_Coatsworth
        Community Expert
        Jeff_CoatsworthCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        July 10, 2023

        Acrobat Reader wouldn't do anything for you - you'd need the Pro version.

        Peter Grainge
        Community Expert
        Peter GraingeCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        July 10, 2023

        What do they appear as if you click the topic in Preview or generate an online output? Am I correct in understanding they do not appear as links?

        ________________________________________________________

        My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

         

        Use menu (bottom right) to mark as Best Answer or to Highlight particularly useful replies. Found the answer elsewhere? Share it here.
        K
        KarenMinORAuthor
        Inspiring
        July 10, 2023

        Hi Peter,

        Correct -- in preview and in frameless HTML outputs, the URLs aren't clickable. They behave like plain text.

        Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
        Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices