Customizing Tooltips in Adobe Acrobat Pro

[mary_n_fingerlakes]

Hi --

I can't seem to find an answer on how to customize tooltips in a PDF. 

My source document is in Adobe FrameMaker (2022 release - version 17.0.4.628) and I'm using Adobe Acrobat Pro (Version 2025.001.20756).

In FrameMaker, I created hotspots on three graphics. I saved my FrameMaker file as a PDF and opened it in Adobe Acrobat Pro. When I click any of the three graphics in the PDF, they function as intended: a corresponding link opens the correct PDF document. However, the tooltips, which I also configured in FrameMaker, are not there. All I see is the full URL for each link.

In Adobe Acrobat Pro, I also created three clickable text links in the PDF. Again, the links work as intended: if I click any of the links, they open a the correct document. But, there seems to be no option in Adobe Acrobat Pro where I can change the default tooltip (full URL) to a more user-friendly label.

I would greatly appreciate any help. Thank you and happy Friday everyone!

Mary

[Tariq Ahmad]

Hi @mary_n_fingerlakes,

Great question. By default, Acrobat/Reader shows the link destination (URL or file path) as the tooltip when you hover over a link. Unfortunately, Acrobat Pro doesn’t provide a direct option to change that text to something more user-friendly.

A couple of things you can try:

• Form fields with tooltips: Instead of a standard link annotation, you can create a button form field over the graphic or text, set its action to open the file/URL, and then use the Tooltip property in the field’s settings. That way, the tooltip text is whatever you choose.

• FrameMaker: The custom tooltips you created there won’t survive the PDF export, since FrameMaker exports them as link annotations, which Acrobat translates into URL tooltips only. To have user-defined tooltips, you’d need to post-process the PDF in Acrobat by replacing those links with form buttons as described above.

• Scripting (advanced): With JavaScript in Acrobat, you can sometimes simulate richer hover text or messages, but this is more involved and not always reader-friendly.

So, the short answer:

• Tooltips for links = always show the destination.

• Tooltips you can fully customize = only available on form fields (like buttons).

If your use case is primarily for navigation within a course document, replacing the hotspots with button fields is the most reliable way to get meaningful tooltips.

Best regards,
Tariq | Adobe Community Team

[mary_n_fingerlakes]

Hi Tariq -- Thank you for the speedy reply and the details. I will try to customize the tooltips like buttons and go from there. I appreciate the great explanation.