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J
JGMJGM
Participating Frequently
August 30, 2018
Question

Copy/Paste links not available

  • August 30, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 10534 views

I used to create links, then select them, copy and paste them elsewhere and just change their properties. It was over all faster like that than creating each link individually.

But now, I can't copy or paste the links I create. I can only resize them and delete them.

OK, I just had a flash and did a quick test.

If I select some text with the edit text tool, right click on that text and select "Create Link..." and create a link that way, then those links cannot be copied/pasted. How are those links different from when I draw them with the Insert Link tool?

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

J
jenn8587
Participant
April 30, 2020

Hi,

I know this is older, but I had this exact same problem (Cut and Copy being grayed out when trying to copy and paste links elsewhere in a document). I went line by line and realized it was because one of the links in my group was "dead" (i.e., had linked to a place in the document that no longer existed). Once I deleted that link, I was able to select my whole group of links and Cut/Copy and Paste them again. Just a thought for anyone experiencing this issue to confirm that all of your links are working 🙂

    C
    congenialAnimal
    Participant
    May 17, 2020

    I've struggled with this issue a bit as well.  It seems a little unclear what steps are needed to be able to copy a link from one page to another.

     

    I found the following steps seemed to work consistently.

     

    1)  Copy the link I want on multiple pages.

    2)  Move to the page I want the link on.

    3)  Select Add/Edit Web or Document link from links menu

    4)  Paste the link (works with shortcut or menu).

    5)  Position the link.

    6)  Close edit mode.

    7)  Test link.

    😎  Move to next page I want the link on.

    9) In edit mode, choosing add/edit ... paste and position.

    10) repeat steps 3 through 7.

     

    Yet to find another way of working but this did the job ...

    J
    jsimmons2020
    Participant
    May 20, 2020

    I have a question about page-to-page links within a pdf file.

    I can change visible links to invisible links one at a time.

    Is there a way to change all visible links to invisible links within a pdf file at one time?

    try67
    Community Expert
    try67Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 30, 2018

    Go to the Properties of the link you added and make sure that the Locked box is not ticked. If it is, untick it and then close Properties, right-click the link and select "Use Current Appearance an New Default".

    J
    JGMJGMAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    August 30, 2018

    Good thinking, but no, the "Locked" checkbox isn't ticked in any of my links, regardless of how I created them.

    I'm thinking that when I use "Create Link" from the contextual menu when text is selected, it invokes a procedure that is slightly different from the one invoked when I draw the link on the page with the Link tool.


    Acrobat is weird like this, there are always little things that confuse...

    J
    JGMJGMAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    August 31, 2018

    PDF links may look as if they are text-based, but they are all rectangular shapes that sit above your artwork/text.  Perhaps this is where the confusion of functionality comes in.  If you activate the Link tool in the Edit PDF toolset, you'll see all the rectangles on which one clicks - not the text.

    I hope this is helpful.

    My best,

    Dave


    Thanks, but it's not about how they look, it's about what you can do in Edit mode with a link once it's created.

    Acrobat definitely uses a different algorithm to insert links when you use the contextual menu from selected text while in Edit Text mode as opposed to drawing a frame over a specific area on a page while in Edit Link mode. Both link function the same way (they take you to a destination elsewhere in the PDF document), but I do not think that they are instantiated in a similar fashion. That is why, I think, I cannot copy/paste/move a link that was created with the "Create Link..." right-click menu option when in "Edit Text" mode; that link is somehow bound to the text, even if you see the same outline over the text when you switch to the Edit Link tool after you create it.

    Have you ever tried to create a link while some text is selected (using the Text tool) instead of drawing a frame over an area on the page (using the Link tool)?

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