How to Fix Broken PDF Links When Using the Adobe PDF Printer
Question details
Users experience broken or incorrectly encoded URLs in PDFs created via the Adobe PDF virtual printer.
- Product
- Adobe PDF Printer
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Creating a PDF file from a document containing hyperlinks using the standard print function.
- Observed behavior
- The generated PDF displays the correct text, but the underlying hyperlinks are broken due to unusual character encoding, such as replacing hyphens with %E2%80%90.
Ensure you have access to the original source document containing the correctly formatted hyperlinks before attempting to recreate the PDF.
Use the PDF Creation Add-in Instead of Printing
Using the application's built-in PDF creation add-in preserves hyperlink formatting much more reliably than a virtual printer.
When you use a virtual printer to generate a PDF, the process often flattens interactive elements and relies on text rendering that can misinterpret special characters in URLs. Using native export features bypasses this issue entirely.
Launch the original document in your authoring application, such as Microsoft Word.
Navigate to the 'File' menu and select 'Create Adobe PDF' or 'Save as Adobe PDF' rather than 'Print'.
Choose your destination folder and save the file. The native export process will preserve all active hyperlinks and encoding exactly as they appear in the source.
Disable 'Rely on System Fonts' in Printer Preferences
If you must use the Adobe PDF Printer, adjusting the font settings can prevent URL encoding errors.
Create PDFs with Working Links Using WPS Office
Avoid virtual printer encoding issues altogether. WPS Office features a powerful, built-in PDF exporter that natively converts your documents into high-quality PDFs while perfectly preserving all hyperlinks, formatting, and images.
- 1. Open your document: Launch WPS Office and open the Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document containing your hyperlinks.
- 2. Access the PDF export tool: Click on the 'Tools' tab in the top ribbon menu and select the 'Export to PDF' button.
- 3. Export the file: Verify your export settings, click 'Export', and open the resulting PDF to verify your links are fully functional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my PDF hyperlink show %E2%80%90 instead of a hyphen?
This happens due to URL encoding during the virtual print process. The Adobe PDF printer sometimes misinterprets standard hyphens and converts them into their UTF-8 hex equivalent (%E2%80%90), which renders the web address invalid.
Is it better to 'Print to PDF' or 'Save as PDF'?
It is almost always better to 'Save as PDF' or use native PDF export add-ins. 'Printing to PDF' essentially creates a digital printout, which strips interactive elements, flattens formatting, and frequently corrupts active hyperlinks.
Will unchecking 'Rely on system fonts' change my document's appearance?
No, it actually improves accuracy. Unchecking this option forces the Adobe PDF printer to embed the exact fonts used in your document rather than substituting them with standard system fonts, ensuring layout consistency and correct URL mapping.
