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jason_beta
jason_beta
Participant
February 17, 2026
Answered

Cross-document hyperlinks do not work after combining PDFs in Acrobat.

  • February 17, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 4 views

The cross-document hyperlinks from our InDesign documents do not work after the exported PDFs are combined into a single PDF. (Some of the hyperlinks are already not working before the file combination, while others are. All are created the same way within InDesign.) The original design documents are InDesign Docs A, B and C. All software is current and up-to-date.

The structure is basically: Links 1 and 2 are in Document A, Links 3 and 4 are in Doc B and Links 5 and 6 are in Doc C.

In the PDF of Doc A, Links 1, 2, 3 and 4 all work, but 5 and 6 do not. In PDF Doc B, only 3 and 4 work, and in PDF Doc C, only 5 and 6 work. In the combined PDF of A, B and C, only Links 1 and 2 work.

      Correct answer Dave Creamer of IDEAS

      I would combine the InDesign documents into a Book file, double-check your links so they are all inter-document, and output a single PDF from the Book file. 

      1 reply

      Dave Creamer of IDEAS
      Community Expert
      Dave Creamer of IDEASCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
      Community Expert
      February 17, 2026

      I would combine the InDesign documents into a Book file, double-check your links so they are all inter-document, and output a single PDF from the Book file. 

      David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
        jason_beta
        jason_betaAuthor
        Participant
        February 17, 2026

        That resolved it! Thank you, Dave :)

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