How to Keep Hyperlinks When Converting PowerPoint to PDF?

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Trish Dixon

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Are you trying to convert a PowerPoint presentation to a PDF while preserving the hyperlinks? Many people run into the frustrating issue of hyperlinks not working after exporting a PowerPoint file to PDF format. Luckily, there are some simple steps you can follow to ensure your hyperlinks remain intact during the conversion process.

In this article, we’ll walk you through exactly how to keep hyperlinks when converting PowerPoint to PDF, so your links will work for anyone viewing the PDF file.

Table of contents

Before we get into the solution, it’s helpful to understand why hyperlinks often break during the PowerPoint to PDF conversion process. There are a few common reasons:

Incompatible Export Settings

By default, PowerPoint’s “Save As” or “Export” options are not configured to preserve hyperlinks when creating a PDF file. You have to manually adjust the settings to tell PowerPoint to include the hyperlinks.

Corrupt PowerPoint File

If your PowerPoint file has become corrupted or contains errors, this can lead to elements like hyperlinks, images, fonts, etc. not exporting properly to PDF format.

Unsupported PowerPoint Features

Rarely, if your PowerPoint presentation contains features or elements that are not supported in the PDF file format, then PowerPoint may skip or remove those elements, including hyperlinks, during the export process.

Now that you know some of the causes, let’s look at the steps to properly convert PowerPoint to PDF while keeping your hyperlinks working:

Step 1: Open Your PowerPoint Presentation

Open the PowerPoint presentation file that you want to convert to PDF. Make sure all your desired text, images, and hyperlinks are present and working correctly within PowerPoint.

Step 2: Click “File” then “Export”

In PowerPoint, click the “File” menu at the top-left of the screen. From the drop-down menu that appears, select “Export“.

Step 3: Create PDF/XPS Document

In the export options on the right side of the screen, click the “Create PDF/XPS Document” button, then click “Create PDF/XPS” from the submenu.

Step 4: Choose “Options”

In the “Publish as PDF or XPS” dialog box that appears, click the “Options” button at the bottom.

Step 5: Check “Document structure tags for accessibility”

In the Options dialog box, go to the “Include non-printing information” section and check the box next to “Document structure tags for accessibility“. This option ensures your hyperlinks are preserved. You can leave the other options at their default values.

Step 6: Choose PDF Format Settings

Click “OK” to close the Options box. Back in the “Publish as PDF or XPS” window, optionally choose your desired optimize settings for either Standard or Minimum Size.

SettingFile SizeQuality
StandardLargerHigher
Minimum SizeSmallerLower

The Standard setting will give you better quality but a larger file size. Minimum Size provides the smallest file size but may reduce the quality of images. Choose the option that best fits your needs.

Step 7: Choose Location to Save PDF

Click the “Publish” button. Choose the location where you want to save the PDF file, give it a name, and click “Save“.

Step 8: Open and Test Your PDF

Find the PDF file you just saved and open it. Test your hyperlinks and make sure they are clickable and working properly. If the links work, then you’re all done! If not, try repeating the steps above, as you may have missed enabling the “Document structure tags for accessibility” setting.

Here are a few extra tips to ensure your hyperlinks export properly to PDF:

  • Use Simple, Working Hyperlinks: Avoid using complex URLs or hyperlinks that redirect through multiple pages. Stick to direct, simple URL links to ensure compatibility.
  • Repair Corrupt PowerPoint Files: If you are having issues with hyperlinks or other elements not exporting properly, your PowerPoint file may be corrupt. Try repairing it before converting to PDF.
  • Keep PowerPoint and PDF Reader Updated: Make sure you have the latest versions of Microsoft PowerPoint and your PDF reader software installed. Newer versions often have better compatibility and stability.
  • Test Immediately After Exporting: Don’t wait to test your hyperlinks. Immediately open the PDF after exporting it and click each link to make sure it’s working. If there are issues, it’s easier to troubleshoot and re-export right away.

If you’ve followed all the steps above and your hyperlinks still aren’t working in the exported PDF, here are a few additional things to try:

In your original PowerPoint file, remove the existing hyperlinks and recreate them. In some cases, old or unnecessary formatting, aliases, or URL encodings in the hyperlink field can cause issues when exporting. Deleting and re-adding the hyperlinks freshly can resolve this.

Use Microsoft PDF Printer

PowerPoint has a built-in PDF printer that preserves hyperlinks. Rather than using the Export feature, try using this method instead:

  1. Go to “File” > “Print”
  2. Under “Printer”, choose “Microsoft Print to PDF”
  3. Click “Print” to export the PDF

This will open the “Save Print Output As” window where you can choose your options and location to save the PDF file. Hyperlinks should be included in the final PDF file.

Export PowerPoint as Web Page then Convert to PDF

Another workaround is to first export your PowerPoint presentation as a web page, then convert that web page to a PDF:

  1. Go to “File” > “Export” > “Create a Web Page”
  2. Save the presentation as a web page (.html file)
  3. Open the HTML file in your web browser
  4. Convert the web page to PDF (in Chrome, go to “Print” and choose “Save as PDF”)

Since web pages inherently support hyperlinks, this method preserves them when you then convert from web page to PDF format. The downside is that some of the formatting and layout of your slides may change slightly in the web page conversion.

There are many reasons why you’ll want to preserve hyperlinks when converting a PowerPoint presentation to PDF format:

  • Convenience for Viewers: Hyperlinks allow people viewing your PDF to quickly access linked websites or resources without having to manually type in URLs. This is much more convenient, especially for long web addresses.
  • Interactivity: Hyperlinks make your PDF more interactive and engaging. Instead of being a static document, viewers can click around and explore additional content. This is especially useful for educational content or business presentations.
  • SEO Benefits: Preserving hyperlinks in PDFs can also have search engine optimization (SEO) benefits. If the original hyperlinks contain anchor text keywords that you want associated with your brand, keeping these links intact in PDFs hosted on your website helps strengthen the association. The hyperlinks also direct viewers and search engine crawlers to other relevant pages on your website.
  • Professionalism: A PDF with broken or missing hyperlinks looks unprofessional and unfinished, as if there were errors in the conversion process. Keeping your hyperlinks intact helps your PDF content look polished and high-quality.

So, by taking a few extra steps to properly export your PowerPoint presentation and preserve the hyperlinks, you reap all these benefits for both your viewers and your SEO presence. It’s well worth the effort to create an engaging, interactive, and professional PDF document.

Final Thoughts

To recap, keeping hyperlinks in PDFs converted from PowerPoint is not difficult, but it does require following a specific set of steps and settings. The key is to select “Document structure tags for accessibility” in the Options menu during the PDF export process in PowerPoint. This setting ensures your hyperlinks are preserved in the PDF file.

If you encounter any issues with broken hyperlinks, try our additional troubleshooting tips like recreating the hyperlink in PowerPoint, using the Microsoft PDF printer option, or exporting PowerPoint to a web page first before converting to PDF.

FAQs

Hyperlinks often break during the PowerPoint to PDF conversion process due to incompatible export settings, corrupt PowerPoint files, or unsupported PowerPoint features.

To keep hyperlinks when converting PowerPoint to PDF, follow these steps: Open your PowerPoint presentation, click “File” then “Export”, choose “Create PDF/XPS Document”, click “Options”, check “Document structure tags for accessibility”, choose your desired PDF format settings, select a location to save the PDF, and open and test your PDF.

If your hyperlinks still don’t work in the PDF after following the above steps, try re-creating the hyperlinks in PowerPoint, using the Microsoft PDF printer, or exporting PowerPoint as a web page and then converting it to a PDF.

The key setting to preserve hyperlinks when exporting PowerPoint to PDF is to check the “Document structure tags for accessibility” option in the Options menu during the PDF export process.

If your PowerPoint file is corrupt and causing issues with hyperlinks, try repairing the file before converting it to PDF. You can also try re-creating the hyperlinks in the PowerPoint file before exporting.

Trish Dixon
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