I added a hyperlink to a PDF and it works fine on my laptop, but when I open the same file on my phone the link just isn’t clickable. Is there a trick to making PDF links work on mobile?
That is annoying, and it is usually the mobile PDF viewer rather than the link itself. Make sure the link is a proper PDF link annotation, not just blue underlined text, then test it in Adobe Acrobat Reader or the phone’s browser instead of the built-in preview. I mark up worksheets on my old laptop and find sending the actual PDF as a download, rather than opening it inside a messaging app, also helps.
Had the same thing last month with a report from the field. The hyperlinks worked fine on my laptop but the guys couldn’t tap them on their phones. What worked for me was opening the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader instead of the phone’s default viewer. I’m not sure if that’s the issue here but that’s what I’d try.
I hit that too. The file is usually fine, it’s the phone preview that ignores link annotations. I open those files in Chrome on my phone instead and the links work. Also check it’s a real link and not just a box you drew over the text.
I see this happen with my client contracts quite a bit. The default PDF viewers on mobiles can be really fussy about links. I usually run my files through PDFcap and use their link tool to set the hyperlink up properly. They always seem to stay clickable on phones after that. What type of phone are you using to view the file?
@henry2010 That’s a handy tip about setting the link up properly. At the library, I usually have people download the PDF and open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader before changing anything, just to rule out a fussy phone preview. Avoid flattening or printing the file back to PDF, since that can strip the clickable link. Learned that one the hard way with onboarding forms!
first check which PDF app your phone is using, since some mobile viewers ignore links inside PDFs. try opening the file in a browser or another PDF viewer. if you’re creating it, make sure the hyperlink is a real web link rather than plain text and export it again.