Adding a clickable link to a PDF is useful for digital documents that will be read on screen — reports with source citations, proposals referencing external resources, or guides that point readers to websites. The link appears as clickable text or a button that opens a URL when tapped or clicked in any PDF viewer.
How to Add a Link to a PDF in Adobe Acrobat
In Adobe Acrobat Pro, go to Tools > Edit PDF. Click the Link tool in the toolbar. Draw a rectangle over the text or area you want to make clickable. A dialog opens — choose Open a web page and enter the URL. Click Next, then set the link appearance (visible rectangle or invisible). Click OK. The selected area is now a clickable hyperlink in the PDF.
Acrobat also lets you link to other pages within the same PDF — useful for creating a table of contents with clickable entries that jump to each section. Choose Go to a page view instead of Open a web page, then navigate to the destination page to set the link target.
Adding a Link to a PDF Online
WukongPDF's PDF Editor includes a link insertion tool. Upload your PDF, select the link tool, draw over the area to be linked, enter the URL, and save. The link is embedded in the downloaded PDF and works in any standard viewer. This is the most accessible option if you don't have Acrobat Pro.
Adding Links When Creating the PDF From Word
The easiest time to add hyperlinks is before the PDF is created — in the source document. In Microsoft Word, select the text you want to link, press Ctrl/Cmd + K, and enter the URL. When you export the Word document to PDF, the hyperlinks are automatically preserved as clickable PDF links. This avoids any post-export editing and produces the cleanest result.
The same applies to Google Docs, Pages, and PowerPoint — hyperlinks in the source document carry over to the exported PDF automatically. If links are missing after export, check that the PDF export settings don't have a option that strips interactive elements.
Linking to a Specific Page Within a PDF
Internal links — ones that jump to another page in the same document — make long PDFs much more navigable. In Acrobat, use the Link tool and choose Go to a page view as the link action, then navigate to the destination page while the dialog waits. When you confirm, Acrobat records that page as the link destination.
For a table of contents, add an internal link for each entry pointing to the relevant section. This transforms a static list of headings into a functional navigation system — readers can jump directly to any chapter rather than scrolling through the entire document.
Do PDF Links Work on All Devices?
Clickable links in PDFs work in all major viewers — Adobe Acrobat, Chrome, Edge, Preview on Mac, and mobile PDF apps. They don't work when the PDF is printed or viewed as a static image. If a document will be shared in both digital and print forms, consider placing the full URL as visible text alongside the link so printed readers can still access the resource manually.
After adding links, open the PDF in a viewer and test each one before distributing. A broken link in a published report or client proposal is easy to miss in editing but immediately noticeable to recipients. WukongPDF's PDF Editor lets you update or remove links after the fact if any need correction.