Linking up with Acrobat

2. Choose whether to generate links on all pages or in a range of pages. Acrobat sifts through the pages you specify, searching for URLs, which it converts to web links. Unfortunately, this process will often miss URLs in the text, so you should go through and make sure all the links were successfully created.

Set web link properties

To set the properties of a web link:

1. Using the Link tool, select a web link (Figure 6).

   

   Figure 6: The outline of the link appears when you click on the link with the Link tool.

2. Right-click/Control-click to activate the contextual menu.

3. Choose Properties. The Link Properties dialog box appears.

4. To change the appearance of the web link, click the Appearance tab and select Visible Rectangle from the Link Type, or make any other changes you want.

5. Click the Close button to accept these changes (Figure 7).

   

   Figure 7: The changes will show after you click the Close button.

Set a link’s appearance

To set a link’s appearance:

1. With the Link tool, right-click/Control-click the link and choose Properties from the contextual menu. This brings up the link's Properties dialog box.

2. Choose Visible Rectangle from the Link Type pop-up menu.

3. Choose Inset from the Highlight Style pop-up menu.

4. Click the Close button to activate these settings. Use the Hand tool to see the link, which now looks something like a button (Figure 8).

   

   Figure 8: Make your link look like a button.

Activate a web link

To activate a web link:

1. Open the document containing the links.

2. Using the Hand tool, click the web link. The first time you click any web link, you’ll see the Specify Weblink Behavior dialog box (Figure 9).

   

   Figure 9: Choose how you want to open a Web link.

3. Specify whether you want to open web links in Acrobat or in your web browser. If you choose the In Acrobat radio button, Acrobat attempts to download the web pages at the URL, convert them to PDF, and append them to the current document. If you choose the In Web Browser radio button, your default browser will open and display the web page when the link is clicked. It's safer to choose Web Browser so that you don't find yourself adding thousands of pages to your document.

Edit links

After you set a link, you may decide that it should have a different appearance or should perform a different action. And of course, if it's a web link, it's quite likely (given the fluid nature of the web) that the site will change or disappear at some point. Fortunately, editing or deleting a link is as easy as setting it up.

To edit an existing link:

1. With the document open to the page that contains the link, choose the Link tool from the Advanced Editing toolbar.

2. Double-click an existing link, or Right click/Control-click the link and choose Properties from the contextual menu. The outline of the link is displayed along with the Link Properties dialog box (Figure 10).

   

   Figure 10: The outline of the link appears, along with the Link Properties dialog box.

3. Change options using the pop-up menus in the Appearance tab or the Actions tab (Figure 11).

   

   Figure 11: Alter the appearance of actions of the link by using the Link Properties dialog box.

   In the Actions tab, click the Open a Web Link with the URL you want to change, and then choose the Edit button. This brings up the Edit URL dialog box. Enter a new address and click OK, then close the Properties dialog box for the changes to take effect.

   In the Appearance section, choose the appearance you want your link to have, whether a rectangle that stands out from the surrounding text, or no distinguishing features whatsoever.

   In the Actions tab you can select Open a Web Link, Go to a Page, Play a Sound, and Submit a Form, among other actions.

4. Click OK to set the link changes.

Delete a link

To delete a link:

1. Choose the Link tool from the Advanced Editing toolbox.

2. Click the link you want to delete. The outline of the link is displayed. removing your web links.

3. Press the Backspace or Delete key, or Choose Edit > Delete. The link is removed.

Delete all web links

To delete all web links:

1. Choose Advanced > Links > Remove All

2. Web Links from Document. The Remove Web Links dialog box appears.

3. Specify whether to delete web links from all pages or a range of pages.

4. Click OK.

Excerpted from “Adobe Acrobat 7 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide” by Jennifer Alspach © 2005. Published by Pearson Education, Inc. and Adobe Press. To buy this book, visit www.peachpit.com.

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