Word to PDF conversion - where'd my links go?

February 13, 2009 4:55 PM

How can I keep the embedded links in my Word doc when I convert to PDF? (MacOSX solutions preferred, though not required.)

I have a bundle of Word docs with embedded hyperlinks that I need to convert to PDF, and I need to have those links active. In converting to PDF, (save as PDF or print to PDF in Word) the links go away. I have a copy of Adobe Acrobat 5.0 - I know how to physically add all the links, and how to create web links from URLs in text. Unfortunately it's time consuming to add all the links to all the documents in Acrobat, and the "create web links" batch function in Acrobat 5.0 only works for addresses in http format.
Are there any workarounds? Can I do this in a scalable, batch-friendly way? Software I can use - bonus points for free? I am running MacOSX Leopard, with Word 2008 though I have Word 2004 at home. Windows solutions appreciated too, we have PCs at work. Thanks in advance!

posted by operating thetan to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

I don't know if this works on Macs as well, but at my old job I had this same problem and found a way around it. Instead of creating the PDFs from within Acrobat or using print to PDF, use the Adobe Acrobat toolbar from within word to create the PDF. No clue why this works, but it was the only thing that would -- I had to constantly update an online PDF that was created in Word and had hundreds of embedded links in the table of contents. Good luck!
posted by taraza at 5:45 PM on February 13, 2009

Best answer: OpenOffice.org is free, runs great on Leopard, reads Word documents and includes hyperlinks when exporting as PDF.
posted by roosterboy at 8:01 PM on February 13, 2009 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Open Office totally worked! Thank you much.
posted by operating thetan at 10:41 AM on February 17, 2009