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Create and manage hyperlinks

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Learn how to create, style, edit, and manage hyperlinks.

You can create hyperlinks so a viewer can select a link to jump to other locations in the same document, other documents, or websites. Export your InDesign document to an Adobe Interactive PDF, ePub, or HTML to view and select hyperlinks.

Try the app!

Follow along with any project to learn how to create and work with hyperlinks.

Open InDesign

Before you proceed, here are some common terminology and information to get you started:

  • Source: Hyperlinked text, text frame, or graphics frame.
  • Destination: URL, file, email address, page text anchor, or shared destination that opens on selecting the hyperlink.
  • A source can jump to only one destination, but any number of sources can jump to the same destination.
  • If you want to generate the source text from the destination text, insert a cross-reference.

You can create hyperlinks to pages, URLs, text anchors, email addresses, and files. If you create a hyperlink to a page or text anchor in a different document, exported the InDesign files to the same folder.

Hyperlink to an external location

You can hyperlink to an external location like a URL, File, or Email. When you specify a URL, you can use any valid Internet resource protocol: http://, file://, ftp://, or mailto://.

When you create a hyperlink to a file, selecting the hyperlink in the exported Adobe Interactive PDF, ePub, or HTML file opens the file in its native application. Ensure you share the specified file with the exported PDF, ePub, or HTML file.

  1. Select some text, frame, or graphic.

  2. Select Type > Hyperlinks & Cross-References > New Hyperlink.

  3. Follow the steps in the New Hyperlink panel:

    URL

    • Link To: Select URL from the drop-down.
    • Destination: Enter the URL.

    You can also use Buttons to link to web pages.

    File

    • Link To: Select File from the drop-down.
    • Path: Enter the file location.

    Email

    • Link To: Select Email from the drop-down.
    • Address: Enter the email address.
    • Subject Line: Enter the subject for the email.

  4. Select Shared Hyperlink Destination if you want to save the URL, File, or Email in the Hyperlinks panel for easy reuse.

    You can set or change the formatting of your hyperlink text in the Appearance tab and provide the alternate text in the Accessibility tab.

  5. Select OK.

Hyperlink to a section in the document

  1. Select some text, frame, or graphic.

  2. Select Type > Hyperlinks & Cross-References > New Hyperlink.

  3. Follow the steps in the New Hyperlink panel:

    Page

    • Document: Select the document from the drop-down.
    • Page: Enter the page number.
    • Zoom Setting: Select from Fixed, Fit View, Fit in Window, Fit Width, Fit Height, Fit Visible, or Inherit Zoom.

    You can also use Buttons to link to web pages.

    Text Anchor

    • Document: Select the document from the drop-down.
    • Text Anchor: Select an anchor from the drop-down.

    Shared Destination

    • Document: Select the document from the drop-down.
    • Name: Select an anchor or any saved URL, file, or email from the drop-down.

  4. Select Shared Hyperlink Destination if you want to save the URL, File, or Email in the Hyperlinks panel for easy reuse.

    You can set or change the formatting of your hyperlink text in the Appearance tab and provide the alternate text in the Accessibility tab.

  5. Select OK.

Do you want to style hyperlink text? You can change the hyperlink or cross-reference source appearance in the exported PDF ePub, or HTML file.

Character Style: Select a character style to apply to the hyperlink source. By default, InDesign applies the Hyperlink style to the selected text or object. You can easily select a style from the Style drop-down in the New Hyperlink dialog box for text. For a non-text object, InDesign applies a design time visual identifier to the links – a dotted line around the object with the color inherited from layer color.

You can also specify the following options to further customize the appearance of your hyperlink source:

Type

Select Visible Rectangle or Invisible Rectangle.

Highlight

Select Invert, Outline, Inset, or None. These options determine the hyperlink’s appearance when you select it in the PDF, ePub, or HTML file.

Color

Select a color for the visible hyperlink rectangle.

Width

Select Thin, Medium, or Thick to determine the thickness of the hyperlink rectangle.

Style

Select Solid or Dashed to determine the style of the hyperlink rectangle.

You can find and convert URLs in your document to hyperlinks.

  1. Select Type > Hyperlinks & Cross-References > Convert URLs To Hyperlinks.

  2. Set the following options in the Convert URLs to Hyperlinks panel:

    • Scope: Indicate whether your want to convert URLs in the Document, Story, or Selection.
    • Apply to Hyperlink: Check and select the Character Style from the drop-down.

  3. Select Find to locate the next URL and then select Convert or Convert All.

Use the Hyperlinks panel to edit, delete, reset, or locate hyperlinks. In InCopy, you can manage hyperlinks only if the story is checked out for editing.

  1. Select Window > Interactive > Hyperlinks to view the Hyperlinks panel.

  2. Select any hyperlink source from the list and select the Hyperlinks panel menu   icon > Edit Hyperlink.

  3. Make changes to the Destination, Appearance, or Accessibility sections, then select OK.

  1. Select Window > Interactive > Hyperlinks to view the Hyperlinks panel.

  2. Select the item or items you want to remove, and then select the Delete   icon.

    When you remove a hyperlink, the source text or graphic remains.

Renaming the hyperlink source changes the way it appears in the Hyperlinks panel.

  1. Select Window > Interactive > Hyperlinks to view the Hyperlinks panel.

  2. Select any hyperlink source from the list and select the Hyperlinks panel menu   icon > Rename Hyperlink.

  3. Enter the new name in the Rename Hyperlink dialog.

  1. Select Window > Interactive > Hyperlinks to view the Hyperlinks panel.

  2. Select any hyperlink source from the list and select the Hyperlinks panel menu   icon > Hyperlink Destination Options.

  3. Update the Destination and Type from the dropdown, and enter the Name to edit the hyperlink destination.

    Select Delete or Delete Unused to delete the hyperlink destination.

You can include additional text, text frame, or graphics frame to an existing hyperlink.

  1. Select the range of text, the text frame, or the graphic frame that will act as the new hyperlink source.

  2. Select Window > Interactive > Hyperlinks to view the Hyperlinks panel.

  3. Select any hyperlink source from the list and select the Hyperlinks panel menu   icon.

    • Select Reset Hyperlink to hyperlink all the selected text.

    • Select Update Hyperlink to update hyperlinks to external documents.

  1. Select Window > Interactive > Hyperlinks to view the Hyperlinks panel.

  2. Select any hyperlink source from the list and select the Hyperlinks panel menu   icon.

    • Select Go to Source to find the hyperlink text in the document.

    • Select Go to Destination:

      • You'll jump to the location if the destination is a Page or Text Anchor if the destination is within the document
      • If the Destination is external, InDesign starts or switches to your web browser to display the destination.

When you import a Microsoft Word document with hyperlinks into InDesign, you'll view a box or border around the hyperlink URLs. The InDesign document inherits a blue swatch and the document inherits a Hyperlink character style that underlines the text and applies the blue color.

You can delete individual swatches and replace them with different ones.

Do you want to delete the box around the hyperlinks imported from Microsoft Word?

  1. Select Window > Interactive > Hyperlinks to view the Hyperlinks panel.

  2. Select any hyperlink source from the list and select the Hyperlinks panel menu   icon > Edit Hyperlink.

  3. Select the Appearance tab, and select Invisible Rectangle from the Type drop-down.

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