Hyperlinks break when exporting pdf in InDesign 14.0.2

[kyelenak]

I was frustrated to discover that some of the hyperlinks I added in the hyperlinks panel did not work in my exported pdfs. The pattern seems to be that hyperlinks where the displayed text is the url itself work just fine, whereas when it's another word that is meant to go to a website, they are styled as hyperlinks, but are not actually interactive in the pdf.

I am exporting as Interactive pdf, and what's more, the hyperlinks panel actually shows them as working (little green dot).

The only solution I've found after scouring the forums is to downgrade to 14.0.1 and deleting and then relinking the text. A fix in the latest version would be very helpful so that I don't have to go through and hover over every hyperlink in a long exported pdf to check that they work correctly.

[Mike Witherell]

What is your recipe for exporting the PDF?

[kyelenak]

>> What is your recipe for exporting the PDF?

File > Export... > Export to Interactive PDF

Not sure what you mean by recipe.

Re: Hyperlinks break when exporting pdf in InDesign 14.0.2

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

"recipe" means method of making the Hyperlinks and PDF.

[Bill Silbert]

When you downgrade to 14.0.1 (which fixes the problem) are you doing that on the same computer? If you're downgrading on a different computer then maybe trashing preferences on the 14.0.2 computer will fix the problem. I tried doing what you described with 14.0.2 on a Mac running Mojave and it worked fine. What operating system are you using?

To trash preferences:

For Macintosh Users: The User Library folder in which InDesign’s preferences are stored is hidden by default on most Macintoshes. To access it make sure that InDesign is closed and click on the desktop to launch a Finder Window (Command-N). With this window in column view follow the path User>Home folder (it’s the folder with an icon that looks like a house—it may have the user’s name rather than “Home”) and click on the Home folder. With the Option Key pressed choose Library from the Finder Go Menu. “Library” will now appear within the Home folder. Within the Library folder find the folder called Preferences and within it find the folder called “Adobe InDesign” and the file called “com.adobe.InDesign.plist” and delete both that folder and that file. When InDesign is next launched it will create new preference files and the program will be restored to its defaults.

For Windows Users: You can try the quick way of resetting on a PC which is to hold down Ctrl + Alt + Shift when launching InDesign and respond affirmatively when asked if you want to reset. There have been some recent reports that the window asking if you want to reset is not popping up but that the prefs are being reset anyway. If this works great but if it doesn’t you may have to manually delete them.

To do so:

On Windows 7 and above the preference files are hidden. To find them go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options and then click the View tab. Then select “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\InDesign\<Version #>\<Language>. Make sure that InDesign is closed when you do this. When you relaunch the program it will create  new preference files and the program will be at its default settings.

The advantage of manually deleting preference files is that after you’ve reset up the program (make sure that no document window is open) to your liking, you can create copies of your personalized “mint” preference files (make sure that you quit the program before copying them—that finalizes your customization) and use them in the future to replace any corrupt versions you may need to delete.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

kyelenak​

I just tested various URL and email hyperlinks from InDesign CC:2019 ver 14.0.2 (Windows) and everything is created correctly in the hyperlinks panel and exports correctly in the PDF.

Recommended method of exporting:

Since you want interactive hyperlinks, then export to Adobe PDF (Interactive) so that all of your hyperlinks are converted correctly into the PDF.

Review of the hyperlinks panel's options:

1. Convert URLs to Hyperlinks automatically searches the document for http: or www. URL formats, as well as traditional email formats (whosie@me.com) and applies hyperlinks to them.

2. Hew Hyperlink from URL is semi-automatic: you select the URL text in your document and it will apply a hyperlink to it.

3. Is totally manual. Select text, graphics, or anything else and you can control what type of hyperlink is made.

As @Mike Witherell asked, what is your recipe or method of creating the hyperlinks and exporting to PDF?

[kyelenak]

To create the hyperlink, I highlight the word, go to Hyperlinks panel and click new hyperlink. Then I type the link in the hyperlink field.

Using Mojave on Mac.

I've just tried to recreate the problem by upgrading again to InDesign 14.0.2, but now that I've re-linked everything in the InDesign file, I can't recreate it on export.

[Mike Witherell]

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

So does that mean the hyperlinks are coming out correctly in the PDF?

And everything's working as expected?

[kyelenak]

Yup, everything works fine now.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

Great!

Glad to hear the good news <grin>

--Bevi