/t5/acrobat-discussions/copy-paste-links-not-available/td-p/10021569Aug 30, 2018
Aug 30, 2018
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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?
/t5/acrobat-discussions/copy-paste-links-not-available/m-p/10021570#M112406Aug 30, 2018
Aug 30, 2018
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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".
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...
I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what you mean and what to do with this vague reply.
I know we can copy/paste all kinds of links. I was referring specifically to the links you add by right clicking on some selected text and choosing "Create Link..." from the contextual menu that pops up. Those links I cannot copy/paste, and was wondering why.
My bad, I guess I should have been totally explicit.
When I said in my first post that I cannot copy those specific links, it wasn't because I was unaware of how to do it, it was because it is impossible to do so. After I create a ink using the method I described above (select some text, right-click on it, use "Create Link..."), if I select that link and right-click on it with the Edit Link tool, the Editoptions Copy, Cut, Paste are greyed out, only Delete is available.
If you have Acrobat DC, I suggest you replicate this and see if you see the same behaviour. I have tried on two machines with Acrobat DC, and I've observed the same behaviour.
Why are links inserted via Edit Text mode behaving differently than links you draw on the page with the Edit Link tool?
I did, otherwise I couldn't have right clicked on the link, they don't appear until you switch to Edit Link mode.
Please, if you Have Acrobat Pro DC, try it. It will take you only 30 seconds.
Take any multiple-page PDF document. Activate the Edit Text mode and select some words on the first page. Right click and select Create Link... Establish a link to some other page.
When you are done with this, switch to Edit Link mode. Select the link you just created. Right click on it.
I checked on one of the other machines I used, one has the latest version (18.011.20058).
So, if I get the same behaviour on all machines I try, and you do not get the behaviour, either all my machines are jinxed, or you are not accurately reproducing the procedure I outlined.
Now that I think about it, this could be "by design". A link created while text is selected could be "bound" to that text, so it cannot be copied, pasted or moved, unlike a link that was created as a drawn frame. The two types of link could reside on different layers, so behave differently.
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.
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)?
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 🙂
You can do this if you select multiple links at once. Once you are under the Edit function and have selected "Add/Edit Web or Document Links" under the Link section, you can use the CTRL key (on a windows machine) and click the border of each link box to select all of the links that you would like to change. From there, you will right click and then go to Properties at the bottom of the menu list to be greeted with the Link Properties menu. If you change the link type and click enter when multiple links are selected, it will chage them across the board.
If you want to change ALL of the links, you can also use CTRL+A / "Select All" when you've activated the "Add/Edit Web or Document Links" function instead of having to click one at a time.
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