Hyperlink to embedded PDF file with interactive PDF created by Indesign

Forum|Forum|10 months ago
May 12, 2025
3 replies
2014 views

I want to be able to click on a box in indesign and for it to open a PDF file.

I need to be able to do this so that the PDF file is embedded and saved with the interactive PDF I create as the document will frequently being used offline so I cannot host the PDF online and link to it that way.

Is there a way of doing this? I'm desperate!

How to

Correct answer Jeffrey_Smith

Yes you can do this in Acrobat. The first thing you need to do is "attach" the second PDF/file into the first interactive PDF. Then you need to create a link to the newly attached PDF. Open the attached PDF from the Attachment Window, you will have both PDFs open. From the interactive document, select the open button's properties. Set the action to "Go to page view" > Add. Then go to the attached PDF, and "Set Link". This action will open the attached PDF. See example.

J

Jeffrey_Smith

Correct answer

Community Expert

Yes you can do this in Acrobat. The first thing you need to do is "attach" the second PDF/file into the first interactive PDF. Then you need to create a link to the newly attached PDF. Open the attached PDF from the Attachment Window, you will have both PDFs open. From the interactive document, select the open button's properties. Set the action to "Go to page view" > Add. Then go to the attached PDF, and "Set Link". This action will open the attached PDF. See example.

master.pdf

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davidr68366894Author

Participant

You are a genius! This would be perfect for what I need to do. If you have time could you run through briefly how to do it in Acrobat. I'd really appreciate it.

Derek Cross

Community Expert

You state you want to be able to click in a box in InDesign and open a PDF – you will need a final output format to be able to distribute the document.

Have a look at the InDesign Publish Online feature.

What kind of interactivity do you want your PDF to have?

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davidr68366894Author

Participant

Hi there! I want to create an interactive PDF which is self contained. The people using the PDF won't always have access to the internet so the document needs to be self contained. The publish online feature would be great - except it needs access to the internet to work. I noticed that you can hyperlink to files so assumed there must be a way to embed a file into your indesign file and then hyperlink to it - making everything self contained. It seems that you can only hyperlink to a file that is stored remotely (ie hosted on the internet somewhere) which doesn;t work for me. The PDFs I want to link to are forms with editable fields so they need to be seperate files so they can be filled in and emailed back seperately from the original interactive PDF.