How to add a hyperlink to PDF files.

A woman in an office uses a computer to add a hyperlink to a PDF file.

Learn how to add a hyperlink to any PDF in seconds.

The internet is a critical part of nearly everyone’s workday. From emails and websites to online banking and virtual coursework, it’s no wonder that plenty of information sharing takes place online.

For this reason, you may find you need to add a link to a PDF. Need to learn how to hyperlink in PDF documents? Let’s dive into a couple of ways you can work with PDF hyperlinks.

When you are working with a PDF file, you can hyperlink almost anything. Adobe Acrobat makes it possible and easy for you to hyperlink to an online website, a different section within the same PDF document, and a different PDF file.

No, it’s not. Although a hyperlink and a link are not exactly the same, the main difference between the two is what you see on the screen. A hyperlink will show you the anchor text, meaning some text on the current webpage or document you’re using that relates to the content of the linked resource. A link will show you the address of the linked page or resource instead.

Adding a hyperlink in PDF files to somewhere in the document is possible, and you can do that using Adobe Acrobat editing software or the Acrobat online editor. Click on the hyperlinks, which will take you to each individual section of the guide.

  1. Go to Adobe’s online free converter to convert the PDF file to a Word document.
  2. Select or drag and drop the PDF file you want to convert.
  3. Once it is uploaded, click Convert to DOCX.
  4. After it is converted to a Word document, you can click Download and open Word on your computer.
  5. Select the word or text you want to hyperlink, and then click Insert > Hyperlink > This Document > Headings.
  6. Choose the heading to which you want to hyperlink.
  7. After you are done adding hyperlinks, you can save the edited Word document to your computer.
  8. Then, you can use Adobe’s online free tool to convert the Word document to a PDF.
  9. Drag and drop or select the Word document with the hyperlinks you previously added.
  10. Click Download and save the PDF — now with hyperlinks that link to somewhere within the PDF file — to your computer.
  1. Open the Adobe Acrobat editor.
  2. Choose Tools > Edit PDF > Add or Edit. The pointer becomes a crosshair, and any existing links in the document — including invisible links — are temporarily visible.
  3. Drag a rectangle where you want to create a link. This will be the area in which the link is active.
  4. In the Create Link dialog box that appears, choose your link appearance. Make it invisible, or choose the link type and highlight style, as well as the line type, thickness, and color.
  5. Select the destination for your hyperlink. Since you want a hyperlink that links to a page view, click Next to set the page number and view magnification for the current document or another document (such as a file attachment), and then click Set Link.

A hyperlink in a PDF lets viewers travel outside your document: for example, to a different document that’s hosted online or to a website. Links also let viewers jump around inside a document. Here’s how to add hyperlinks to any PDF:

  1. Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat.
  2. Select Edit PDF from the toolbar.
  3. Choose Link > Add or Edit.

You’ll notice your mouse or cursor turns into a crosshair. Use the crosshair pointer to highlight the part of your document (images, text, and so on) that you want to add your link to.

When you want to add a hyperlink to a PDF, there are three different types to choose from:

If these link settings don’t work for you, choose Custom Link to explore more advanced options.

Other ways to work within your PDF files.

Now that you’ve learned how to add links to PDF files, here are additional ways to work with your document:

Discover what more you can do with Acrobat to add PDF hyperlinks.