Word to PDF cross referencing errors
April 2, 2018 6:56 PM Subscribe
I need to convert a fairly long (350 page) Word document to pdf. Because it’s a large document and page numbers/Figure numbers sometimes need to be repaginated on editing, I’ve been used the Word cross referencing tool throughout the document. It’s causing problems.
When I convert to a pdf (using Adobe), the cross referencing within the document does not carry over - the reference changes to {REF _Ref50554\h} instead of Fig 2.1 or whatever the cross reference should have been.
How do I stop this happening? I can just go through typing the correct text into the final document, but it will take a while. I’d rather use a shortcut if there is one.
When I convert to a pdf (using Adobe), the cross referencing within the document does not carry over - the reference changes to {REF _Ref50554\h} instead of Fig 2.1 or whatever the cross reference should have been.
How do I stop this happening? I can just go through typing the correct text into the final document, but it will take a while. I’d rather use a shortcut if there is one.
Best answer: This is a known problem; there may not be a fix.
Adobe forums (expert users, not official reps) says it's been a problem for years. Microsoft suggests making sure you convert with bookmarks, but that's probably not enough.
Adobe's official help files have instructions for cross references, but I think they mean "make them from scratch in the PDF," rather than dealing with conversions.
Try a few different conversion methods: Save as PDF, Convert to PDF, and Print to PDF sometimes get three different types of results.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 8:15 PM on April 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
Adobe forums (expert users, not official reps) says it's been a problem for years. Microsoft suggests making sure you convert with bookmarks, but that's probably not enough.
Adobe's official help files have instructions for cross references, but I think they mean "make them from scratch in the PDF," rather than dealing with conversions.
Try a few different conversion methods: Save as PDF, Convert to PDF, and Print to PDF sometimes get three different types of results.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 8:15 PM on April 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Hmm that’s interesting... save to pdf and print to pdf do both give very different results! Who knew?
Neither are perfect, but Save seems to keep the majority of it the same so the remaining edits should be manageable (I don’t need the links to even work because this is going to a publisher, I just want the text not to change!)
posted by tinkletown at 8:39 PM on April 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
Neither are perfect, but Save seems to keep the majority of it the same so the remaining edits should be manageable (I don’t need the links to even work because this is going to a publisher, I just want the text not to change!)
posted by tinkletown at 8:39 PM on April 2, 2018 [1 favorite]
...save to pdf and print to pdf do both give very different results! Who knew?
"Save to PDF" is usually keyed to the page and margin layout of the working document, while "Print to PDF" is often defaulted to a specific printer and its margin settings. Therein differences can occur.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:25 AM on April 3, 2018
"Save to PDF" is usually keyed to the page and margin layout of the working document, while "Print to PDF" is often defaulted to a specific printer and its margin settings. Therein differences can occur.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:25 AM on April 3, 2018
Response by poster: Ok I can understand the logic behind that - why is “Convert to PDF” a dog’s dinner in comparison?
posted by tinkletown at 6:04 AM on April 3, 2018
posted by tinkletown at 6:04 AM on April 3, 2018
One of them uses Acrobat's Distiller software; one uses whatever crossover software they've contracted with Microsoft. They react differently to Microsoft's code.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:25 AM on April 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 9:25 AM on April 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
You might consider converting all of your cross-references (fields) into text before you do your PDF conversion. You can do this by selecting all text (Ctrl + A) and then pressing Ctrl + Shift + F9.
posted by Pfardentrott at 4:51 PM on April 4, 2018
posted by Pfardentrott at 4:51 PM on April 4, 2018
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