Convert Powerpoint to PDF on Mac with ***clickable links***?

September 4, 2013 9:25 AM

This one should be easy - if you've done it before :) Convert a PowerPoint file to PDF on a Mac with ***clickable links***. Difficulty: the built-in PDF tool doesn't do it.

FWIW, it's tried OpenOffice for Mac (which didn't seem to recognize the links in the first place and inserted bullet points instead)... Programs, settings, options, or ideas all welcome.

posted by chrisinseoul to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

You tried printing to PDF? Did you also try exporting to PDF?
posted by oceanjesse at 9:30 AM on September 4, 2013

Response by poster: PowerPoint has no 'Export' function, and the built-in tool doesn't work.

(Respectfully, I've tried most of the obvious noob and non-noob solutions, which is why I'm trying the question here :) )
posted by chrisinseoul at 9:54 AM on September 4, 2013

Best answer: This caught me by surprise right before a presentation where I needed that clickable PDF. I ended up opening the PPT in Keynote, saving in Keynote, and then Keynote was able to save as a PDF with clickable links.

On preview: this is certainly a noob solution, so possibly not of any help, particularly if you don't have Keynote. Unless there a trial version of Keynote you could use to generate the clickable link PDF?
posted by lillygog at 9:57 AM on September 4, 2013

Response by poster: .....aannd NOW i feel like a noob - because Keynote imported the file perfectly, exported it to PDF perfectly, and links function perfectly. Truth be told, I forgot this computer even had it.

Thanks lillygog :)
posted by chrisinseoul at 10:08 AM on September 4, 2013

If it's any consolation, it took me about an hour to realize I could do it that way, even though the actual implementation is only about five minutes :)
posted by lillygog at 2:40 PM on September 5, 2013