Hyperlinks in a typeset URL that breaks at the end of a line

[Wenamun]

Hi, folks! This is a bit complicated. I hope I can explain it properly.

I have a document in which URLs must sometimes break at the end of a line because they are too long. The problem I describe happens no matter how the break is created (either automatically by InDesign or if I insert hard line breaks). No hyphenation is inserted at these breaks.

The hyperlinks of the "line-broken" URLs do not export properly in a PDF (for print), even if I have manually created each one in the text (Type > Hyperlinks & Cross References > New Hyperlink). So, for example, if I have to break "en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_InDesign" after the ".org/", the hyperlink goes to the Wikipedia homepage, not the Adobe InDesign entry. I have tried inserting a hard line break (return key) and aassigning each segment a complete-URL hyperlink, but that doesn't solve the problem. I have even tried copying and pasting the "broken" segments of an URL from a plain-text document onto separate lines of text and assigning each one its own complete-URL hyperlink. InDesign still "links them together" with an incomplete URL.

They do, however, export correctly if I export as an interactive PDF. But the interactive PDF results in a spread rather than single pages, and it remains a spread even when I specify "single page" view in Adobe Acrobat (or Preview). The document must be single pages.

(Tinyurls are not a suitable workaround. And this happens whether or not the typeset text begins with "http".)

Can you suggest either how to get the broken-line hyperlinks to behave correctly in a "print" PDF or how to export an interactive PDF in which each "single page" is a spread?

[BobLevine · Accepted solution]

Just uncheck spreads by selecting pages in the interactive PDF export.

[Wenamun]

Thank you, Bob, but I don't know where to find what you show me. I had thought there would be such settings somewhere, but I don't have them in the Adobe PDF Presets menu, which is offering only some print-oriented PDFs and the Blurb PDF export, and I don't see them anywhere else (e.g.,  Preferences menu). (I'm on 16.3.2.) 

[Wenamun]

Oh! D'oh. I have found it. It's only Thursday and it's already been a long week! Thank you!

[BobLevine]

Glad you got it sorted.

[David W. Goodrich]

The original post sounds like what happens when Acrobat/Reader "make up" URLs they think they see in the text (an Acrobat setting I always turn off). Are you sure your URLs were getting into the PDF for print? This needs to be turned on -- here's a screenshot from IDCS6.

David

[Wenamun]

Thank you, David! I will keep an eye on that setting, too, if this happens in the future.

[angelicaarsmith]

It's best for hyperlinks to stay intact so I would stop the line break from happening in the first place. InDesign often automatically applies a hyperlink character style to URLs (if not, create one and apply it to all your hyperlinks). Now go into the style options and check No Break 🙂

[Willi Adelberger]

Instead to apply a non-break property via character style I prefer to apply a no-language property. As I have often URLs longer than one line, I have to have a line break, with no language applied, the breaks can only apply after / or other no-language-character and without breaking and adding a hyphenation.