Hyperlinks on master pages not working in published version

[defaultucvcuur7rtn5]

Hyperlinks on master pages are not working after the InDesign document is published. These same hyperlinks do work in an exported interactive pdf file. Can anyone suggest a fix for this?

[Michael Bullo]

Can you please be more specific about what you mean by "published"?
- Publish Online
- epub
- etc...

[defaultucvcuur7rtn5]

I'm referring to Publish Online in InDesign.

[Derek Cross]

Do you mean the PDF hyperlinks work on a computer but don't work on a smart phone or tablet?

[defaultucvcuur7rtn5]

My PDF hyperlinks work flawlessly. The problem is when I Publish Online and go to this URL. Hyperlinks on individual pages work, but the hyperlinks on Master pages do not work. I have tried this in both the Safari and the Chrome browser.

[Alexandre Becquet]

Hello, on my side all is working, hyperlinks working.

Can you tell us more about the Indesign version, if you're on Mac or PC with the version of the Os.

[defaultucvcuur7rtn5]

I'm in Mac OS Catalina 10.15.7 and I believe my InDesign is the most recent version, 17.0.1.

[J E L]

Hi @defaultucvcuur7rtn5, In addition to the other questions, do your hyperlinks show status as green and the URLs have the correct destinations?

[defaultucvcuur7rtn5]

My hyperlink destinations are Page Numbers, as opposed to URLs. Page Number hyperlink destinations don't show a status indicator as URL destinations do.

[J E L]

Okay, that helps. Is the hyperlink going to a text anchor, chapter title, text frame or a shared destination? Where is the user supposed to land on clicking the link? How are you placing the links on the parent pages? Are you using defined variables? Do you have something like a footer with a destination link that shows up on all the pages to take the reader to a specific page in the document, like the TOC or an end section? Maybe if we knew more about what the links are designed to do we could help figure out why Publish Online isn't rendering them correctly.

Also, would it work using cross-references? Cross-references can be set to page numbers and do show a status indicator like hyperlinks.

[defaultucvcuur7rtn5]

On A-Master, I have a home icon surrounded by a hyperlink rectangle that goes to Page 1 (the contents page). A-Master is the parent for a number of Child Master pages on which I have an arrow which is a Button, whose action is "Go to Next Page." These work perfectly in an exported Interactive PDF file, but not when the document is Published Online in InDesign. The only hyperlinks that work once the InDesign document is published online are those that are on regular document pages, not master pages.

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@J E L wrote:

Okay, that helps. Is the hyperlink going to a text anchor, chapter title, text frame or a shared destination? Where is the user supposed to land on clicking the link? How are you placing the links on the parent pages? Are you using defined variables? Do you have something like a footer with a destination link that shows up on all the pages to take the reader to a specific page in the document, like the TOC or an end section? Maybe if we knew more about what the links are designed to do we could help figure out why Publish Online isn't rendering them correctly.

Also, would it work using cross-references? Cross-references can be set to page numbers and do show a status indicator like hyperlinks.

---

[J E L]

It's possible there is a bug with parent page actions like you describe with Publish Online. Are the go-to-the-next-page arrow buttons made using Window > Interactive > Buttons and Forms? If so, what is the event that will trigger the desired action?

Use the Preview panel (Window > Interactive > EPUB Interactivity Preview / SWF Preview) to test the button before you export the document to Publish Online. Does it work?

[defaultucvcuur7rtn5]

Your suggestion of confirming the interactivity with EPUB Interactivity Preview was very helpful. I realized that the hyperlinks in the published version were not working because the master page hyperlinks were beneath the items placed on the document pages. Once I created a layer for master page items and another layer for the document's items, the hyperlinks worked properly in the Publish Online version. Thank you very much!

Unfortunately the downloadable file from the published version shows the buttons, but doesn't include their interactivity. I'm gathering this is a limitation of pdfs downloaded from pulished files, with no fix. Do you have any ideas about this?

[J E L]

You're welcome! I'm glad looking at the EPUB preview sorted it out for you!

I'm not sure about retaining the type of interactivity you've set up or if it will stick in the conversion back to PDF via download from Publish Online. I'd have to test that out with your particular document. In the General tab of the Publish Online dialog box, there are some options you might want to check. If you select "allow viewers to download the document as a PDF (Print)" maybe it literally means "print only" and the process strips away button functions. Maybe someone else will have a workaround for that.

[Diane Burns]

To add to others' replies, if you are talking about Publish Online, hyperlinks on the Master pages should work just fine. Perhaps you could provide a file sample? Images not necessary.

[Steve Werner]

If you're attaching a PDF to download from Publish Online, remember to turn on the Hyperlink option in the Export PDF dialog when creating the PDF:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/hyperlinks-not-working-in-pdf-downloaded-from-in...

[defaultucvcuur7rtn5]

Thank you for posting this link. I have found this very helpful. I can now successfully "Publish Online" with interactivity. However, the downloadable pdf file only shows my buttons. It doesn't include their interactivity. I'm gathering from another posting of yours that this may not be fixable. If you have any suggestions to the contrary I would be very interested.

When I export to pdf from InDesign the buttons are interactive in both Mac Preview and Acrobat. However, when I "Share a link to this file" with Acrobat, the buttons are not interactive.

[Willi Adelberger]

The publish online link is based on a PDF preset for print. You have to create first a specific PDF preset where you activate the option to export hyperlinks. This option is deactivated by default with all preinstalled presets for print.

[defaultucvcuur7rtn5]

I have succcessfully created a PDF preset with activated hyperlinks. And while the hyperlinks are active on the downloadable PDF from the Published Online URL, the buttons are not active.

[Jeffrey_Smith]

Is https (as opposed to http) specified in link, where site is not a secure site?

[defaultucvcuur7rtn5]

Yes, the URL generated by Publish Online is an https link.