Why Are My PDF Links Not Clickable?
A PDF with dead links is frustrating. Here are the usual causes and how to get clickable links back.
Quick answer: links break when a PDF is scanned (no real text/links), flattened after signing, or exported without preserving annotations.
AdSense slot — configure js/ads.js
Common causes
- Scanned page: it's an image, so there is no link to click.
- Flattened: signing or stamping can bake links into a picture.
- Bad source: the original export dropped the links.
Fixes
- Go back to the source app and re-export with links on.
- Avoid flattening if you need live links.
- For text you can reuse, extract with PDF to Word and re-link.
FAQ
Will compressing kill my links?
Our browser compression keeps text pages, so links usually survive; heavily image-based pages may not.
Can I add links to a scanned PDF?
Not as true links — convert the page to an image and overlay, or re-create from source.