Creating a link from a polygon in Acrobat pro.

[edwardp46678866]

Hello, I'm drawing a polygon on a PDF and I'd like to create a link from that shape to another file. Once I draw the polygon, I don't see an option to create a link. Can anyone help? Is it possible to create an "irregularly-shaped" link? Thank you. 

[Tariq Ahmad]

Hi @edwardp46678866, 

Thanks for reaching out. You can insert an icon or image if you have and then hyperlink it. 

Not directly. While you can draw a polygon using the “Draw Polygon” tool, it is part of the Comment/Markup tools and does not support hyperlink actions.

Step 1: Insert an Image or Icon into a PDF

1. Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
2. Go to the Edit PDF tool (Tools > Edit PDF).
3. Click “Add Image” in the top toolbar.
4. Browse to select your image/icon (JPG, PNG, etc.) and click Open.
5. Click anywhere on the PDF to place the image, then resize or move it as needed

Step 2: Add a Hyperlink to a File

1. While still in Edit PDF mode:
2. Go to Link > Add/Edit Web or Document Link (you’ll find this in the toolbar or under the Edit PDF pane).
3. Draw a rectangle around the inserted image/icon.
4. In the dialog that appears:

• Link Type: Invisible Rectangle (or Visible if you want a border)

• Link Action: Choose “Open a file”

5. Click Next, and browse to select the file (e.g., another PDF, Excel sheet, etc.) that you want to link to.

6. Click Open, then OK to confirm.

Let us know how it works.

Best regards,
Tariq | Adobe Community Team

[edwardp46678866]

Thank you for your response. It sounds like the feature I'm looking for doesn't exist in Acrobat. I have a PDF of a map and I'd like to create links on certain areas of the map. These areas are irregularly shaped (as in, not a square or rectangle). It seems when creating a link one can only click and drag a rectangular shape. Perhaps I'll look at image-mapping in Photoshop if my client feels it's necessary.  Thank you. 

[Document Geek · Accepted solution]

The short answer is no. Links must be rectangular. Sorry!

[try67]

As mentioned, links are rectangular. However, you can achieve something similar by creating a group of links in different sizes, all leading to the same web-page when clicked. It won't be 100% perfect, but probably good enough for most intents and purposes.