How to Use Images and Logos as Clickable Links in a PDF
Question details
The user needs to learn how to keep image links, such as YouTube buttons and Spotify logos, functional when converting a Microsoft Word document to a PDF.
- Product
- PDF Editor / Microsoft Word
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Exporting a Word document containing hyperlinked images or logos to a PDF format while ensuring the links remain clickable for readers.
- Observed behavior
- Image-based hyperlinks often lose their clickable functionality or are flattened into static graphics after the document is exported or saved as a PDF.
Verify that your word processor has built-in PDF export capabilities rather than just a 'Print to PDF' feature, and have your target URLs ready for linking.
Format Images as Inline Objects with Surrounding Spaces
Adjust the image layout in your Word document before exporting to force the PDF conversion engine to recognize the hyperlink.
Standard PDF converters sometimes fail to translate floating images with hyperlinks. By changing the graphic to an inline layout and attaching the hyperlink to adjacent spaces along with the image, the converter treats the graphic as part of a continuous linked text string, greatly improving hyperlink preservation.
Select the logo or image in your document. Navigate to the layout options and change the text wrapping style to 'In Line with Text'.
Place your cursor right before the image and type a single space. Then place your cursor immediately after the image and type another space.
Highlight the space, the image, and the trailing space together. Right-click the selection, choose 'Link' or 'Hyperlink', enter your target URL, and click 'OK'.
Use the 'Save As' or 'Export' function to save the document as a PDF. Open the resulting PDF in a dedicated reader like Acrobat to test if the logo is clickable.
Add Clickable Areas Using a PDF Editor After Exporting
If native export options fail to preserve links, you can manually overlay clickable regions on your images directly within a PDF editor.
Easily Preserve and Add Image Links with WPS Office
WPS Office provides seamless Word to PDF conversion that accurately preserves hyperlinked text and images. If you need to fix a broken logo link in an existing document, the built-in WPS PDF editor allows you to draw clickable hyperlinks over any graphic instantly.
- 1. Export with preserved links: Open your Word document in WPS Writer, click 'Menu', and select 'Export to PDF'. Ensure the option to retain hyperlinks is checked.
- 2. Open PDF editor: To add a link manually, open your PDF file using the WPS PDF tool.
- 3. Select the link tool: Go to the 'Edit' tab on the top ribbon and click the 'Link' button.
- 4. Draw and configure: Draw a selection box over your logo or image, choose 'Open URL', paste the web address, and save the document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do my image links disappear when saving a Word document to PDF?
This frequently occurs if you use a 'Print to PDF' virtual printer, which flattens the document and removes interactive elements like hyperlinks. To preserve links, always use the native 'Export to PDF' or 'Save As PDF' functionality in your word processor.
Do all PDF readers support clickable images?
No, some basic or built-in web browser PDF viewers struggle with image-based hyperlinks. It is best practice to test your exported PDF in a standard, dedicated PDF reader. Adding a text-based link near the image is a great fallback.
Can I make a logo in a PDF link to an email address instead of a webpage?
Yes. When you configure the hyperlink in your word processor or PDF editor, type 'mailto:' followed immediately by the email address (e.g., mailto:contact@example.com). When clicked, this will open the reader's default email client.
