What is the add-hyperlinks-to-PDF tool?
This free tool adds clickable hyperlinks to an existing PDF. It auto-detects the URLs and email addresses written in the text and links them all at once, links every occurrence of a phrase you specify, or turns any area you drag on a page into a clickable link. No installation and no sign-up: everything happens in the browser.
When you export a PDF from Word or PowerPoint, URLs often end up as plain text that cannot be clicked. The classic fix is the "Add link" feature in the paid version of Adobe Acrobat, but if all you need is to add links, this tool does the job.
Which of the three modes to use
| Mode | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Auto | Detects URLs and email addresses in the text and links them in one pass | A document where none of the URLs are clickable |
| Text | Links every occurrence of a phrase to one URL | Linking "Learn more", a company name, or a product name |
| Area | Turns a box you drag on the page into a link | Images, buttons, logos, banners, anything that is not text |
When it comes in handy
- You sent a sales deck or company profile as a PDF and someone told you the URLs cannot be clicked
- You want the "Contact us" line at the end of a seminar handout to open an email compose window
- You want each work image in a portfolio PDF to open its published page
- You want the CTA button image in a whitepaper to point at the sign-up page
How to use
- Drop or select a PDF. URLs and email addresses in the text are detected as soon as it loads.
- Review the detected candidates in the list and as highlights on the page, and untick the ones you do not want.
- Optionally use the Text mode to link a phrase to a URL everywhere it appears, or the Area mode to drag a box on the page and enter its URL.
- Press "Add links & download" to get the PDF with the links embedded.
Example: if a line reads See https://example.com/docs for details, auto-detection turns https://example.com/docs into a clickable link. An email address such as [email protected] becomes a mailto: link that opens an email compose window when clicked.
Notes
- Only external links (URLs and email addresses) can be added; jumping to another page is not supported. For a clickable table of contents, use the PDF bookmark editor.
- Auto-detection and text matching do not work on scanned PDFs whose pages are images with no text layer. Use the Area mode there instead.
- Spots that are already clickable are excluded from auto-detection and kept as they are. To edit or delete existing links, use the PDF link list & edit tool.
- Links are added as invisible clickable areas, so the text color and underlining do not change. To make a link visually stand out, combine it with the PDF annotate tool.
