Pick of the Week - Nov 10 [Show all picks]
Path Finder 5 - A feature-laden Finder replacement
Submit Hint • Search • The Forums • Links • Stats • Polls • FAQ • Headlines • RSS
12,000 hints and counting!

Create PDFs with embedded URLs from Word documents Apps
Tue, Sep 12 2006 at 7:30AM PDT • Contributed by: mubarak
When I submit documents, I like to do so as PDFs. I try to avoid proprietary formats, even though Microsoft Word is my preferred word processor. But any URLs in a Word document will not translate into real links in the PDF created via the built-in Mac OS X PDF printer. Yes, the links will be blue and underlined, but non-functional.

I found the workaround by accident. Amazingly simple:
  1. Open the document with Pages 2.0.
  2. Select File: Print, click the PDF drop-down and choose Save as PDF.
Bingo, that's it -- you've got a document with functional embedded links. Opening the document with TextEdit or Pages 1.0 and printing to PDF does not work -- it only creates the same kind of PDF output that Word gives. Not to mention that TextEdit's document conversion leaves a lot to be desired. Now Pages 2.0 is my preferred word processor for simple documents!
    •    
  • Currently 0.00 / 5
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  (0 votes cast)  
[6,664 views]  

Hint Options


Create PDFs with embedded URLs from Word documents | 15 comments | Create New Account
Click here to return to the 'Create PDFs with embedded URLs from Word documents' hint
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Create PDFs with embedded URLs from Word documents
Authored by: mikeskates7 on Tue, Sep 12 2006 at 8:41AM PDT
That sounds cool, but you can't actually open PDFs in Pages right? I've tried with no luck.

[ Reply to This | # ]
Footnotes in pages
Authored by: SOX on Tue, Sep 12 2006 at 9:28AM PDT
Pages is such a good editor and pages2.0 is amazingly compatible with word Now. Much better than pages 1.0.

What stops me from simply moving over is one simple thing: no Endnote compatibility. So you can generate your footnotes using endnote. (yeah you can do this song and dance of exporting to RTF then re-importing. But that's a kludge)

Anyone have a hint?


[ Reply to This | # ]
Create PDFs with embedded URLs from Word documents
Authored by: doctype on Tue, Sep 12 2006 at 10:02AM PDT
You could also use NeoOffice 2, the Aqua-native port of OpenOffice.org 2.0. NeoOffice opens any MS Word Document and exports even to "structured" PDF's: If you have structured your document with Heading Styles, the exported PDF has Bookmarks / a Table of Contents.

[ Reply to This | # ]
Create PDFs with embedded URLs from Word documents
Authored by: jcooper11 on Tue, Sep 12 2006 at 10:54AM PDT
Huh? Embedded URLs ARE live for me, printing to PDF from Word 2004, reading w/ Reader 7, OS 10.4.7.

[ Reply to This | # ]
URL recognition built into Adobe Reader 7.x
Authored by: theorik on Wed, Sep 13 2006 at 6:01AM PDT
Adobe Reader 7.x has a feature to recognise what might be URLs (you can even switch it off in Preferences -> General) – just try to PDF unlinked plain text URLs from Word – AR will recognise them and make them clickable; viewers relying only on PDF links, like Preview, XPDF etc. don't.

To sum up: Those "links" aren't links, they're recognisable URLs.

So if you use links that aren't URLs (<a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatstd/">like this</a>) it shouldn't work in AR, either.

Cheers,
Theorík

[ Reply to This | # ]
Create PDFs with embedded URLs from Word documents
Authored by: fairfact on Tue, Sep 12 2006 at 11:58AM PDT
I concur with "Huh?"
I create PDFs—with fully functional hyperlinks—from Word docs all the time using "save as PDF" in the print menu of OS X. No special procedure or work around is needed.

[ Reply to This | # ]
my test results
Authored by: sr105 on Tue, Sep 12 2006 at 12:45PM PDT
I tried creating a simple word doc with a url and used the Save As PDF from the Print dialog. The URL is blue and clickable under Acrobat, but only blue and NOT clickable under Preview. Maybe it's a preview bug? Or perhaps Acrobat is automatically creating the link based on the recognizable pattern. I also just checked Acrobat Reader 5 and it doesn't work.

Summary:

Preview - NO
Acrobat Reader 5 - NO
Acrobat 7 - YES

Now, is there any way to do this without Pages, a program that I don't have.

[ Reply to This | # ]
my test results
Authored by: fairfact on Tue, Sep 12 2006 at 1:23PM PDT
I avoid Preview like the plague. The whole idea behind a PDF is to create a universal document that can be opened on all platforms with the free Adobe reader. Yes, non-owners of the Preview app can open PDFs created with Preview, using Adobe reader, but if you're in business, sending a readily recognizable PDF, i.e. Adobe is preferable. Plus in my opinion, Adobe PDF is much easier to read, magnify, find and copy text and graphics than Preview. Sometimes, Apple does not have the better idea, like the mighty (dreadful) mouse.

[ Reply to This | # ]
my test results
Authored by: fairfact on Tue, Sep 12 2006 at 1:32PM PDT
I avoid Preview like the plague. The whole idea behind a PDF is to create a universal document that can be opened on all platforms with the free Adobe reader. Yes, non-owners of the Preview app can open PDFs created with Preview, using Adobe reader, but if you're in business, sending a readily recognizable PDF, i.e. Adobe is preferable. Plus on the MAC, Adobe PDF is much easier to read, scroll, magnify, find and copy text and graphics than Preview. Sometimes, Apple does not have the better idea, like their mighty (dreadful) mouse. BTW, when using "save as PDF" in the OS X print menu, the hyperlinks should open in Word, too. Also, Word allows you to link directly to selected text without all the http://www.....

[ Reply to This | # ]
my test results
Authored by: DavidRavenMoon on Wed, Sep 13 2006 at 7:56AM PDT
I like the Mighty Mouse. I don't have one, but my father-in-law does. I think it's a cool mouse.

---
G4/Digital Audio/1GHz, 1 GB, Mac OS X 10.4.7 • www.david-schwab.com

[ Reply to This | # ]
my test results
Authored by: MattHaffner on Wed, Sep 13 2006 at 8:15AM PDT
Uh,

"The whole idea behind a PDF is to create a universal document that can be opened on all platforms [...]." PERIOD.

Unlike Word documents, the PDF specification is public. Anyone can create a PDF reading and/or writing application. There is nothing special about reading your PDF file with Acrobat Reader. The current version of Preview has no problem with rendering PDF files correctly. I personally ditched Reader a few versions back since it was slower and extremely cluttered compared to Preview. I haven't had a single file I've had to re-install Reader for over Preview.

[ Reply to This | # ]
my test results
Authored by: dudemac on Tue, Sep 12 2006 at 5:06PM PDT
yes there is. Neo office J (http://www.neooffice.org)

Just use the PDF button. This will use all your created links.

thedude

[ Reply to This | # ]
Create PDFs with embedded URLs from Word documents
Authored by: Whiterock on Tue, Sep 12 2006 at 1:23PM PDT
Most links functioning in Word work in pdf with Adobe reader - but not all.

---
Whiterock

[ Reply to This | # ]
Create PDFs with embedded URLs from Word documents
Authored by: gwneufeld on Sun, Oct 22 2006 at 3:12PM PDT
I have had the same problem with "Save as PDF" - using AcroRead 7 does not help (Preview also does work). I have been using Pages 2.0 but it is VERY buggy. The last document I created (5 pages about 12 footnotes), crashes everytime I try to do the EXPORT to PDF. I tried NeoOffice and that worked great. Unless there is some reliable way to save and preserve the URL with "Save as PDF" I think I will stick with NeoOffice.

[ Reply to This | # ]
Create PDFs with embedded URLs from Word documents
Authored by: g3ski on Tue, Sep 11 2007 at 1:48PM PDT
NeoOffice did not help me. Same results as MS Word 2004.

Can't link from any embedded URLs

---
"I want my two dollars!"

[ Reply to This | # ]

Search

Advanced

From our Sponsor...

User Functions





Don't have an account yet? Sign up as a New User
Lost your password?

What's New:

Hints

No new hints

Comments last 2 days


Links last 2 weeks

No recent new links

What's New in the Forums?

The Editor's Corner...

Here are some of my (robg) other projects...

•  The Robservatory
My blog - Macs, tech, etc.
•  Mac OS X Power Hound
The best of Hints in print
•  Inside iWork
An iWork training DVD
•  Macworld
Column, features, online...

Hints by Topic

 

News from Macworld

The macosxhints Poll

What version of OS X are you running as your main OS?

What version of OS X are you running as your main OS?

  •  10.6
  •  10.5
  •  10.4
  •  10.3
  •  10.2
  •  10.1
  •  10.0
  •  10.0 Public Beta
This poll has 0 more questions.
Results
Other polls | 11,398 votes | 42 comments
Copyright © 2009 Mac Publishing LLC (Privacy Policy) Contact Us
All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners.

Visit other IDG sites:


Powered by Geeklog Created this page in 0.32 seconds