Acrobat Resources

TIP #96

Linking Content in a Document

Which is better? A link or a button? The truth is that you often use them in much the same way. The fundamental difference is related to appear­ance and the extent of the actions you can apply (Figure 96a). 

Figure 96a Are these links or buttons? For simple navigation processes, you can choose either method.

Whether you use links or buttons depends on how you have con­structed your source document and what types of navigation you need. For example, if you are building a large report, you can easily link accessory material to any part of the document using a link from some of the text in the document, in which case you don’t need to do any advanced preparation.

Follow these steps to add a link to your document:

1. Choose Tools > Advanced Editing > Show Advanced Editing Toolbar to display the tools. You can certainly just click the tool on the menu, but it’s simpler to open the toolbar if you are working with several editing functions.

2. Click the Link tool to select it and then drag a marquee around the text you want to associate with the link. The Create Link dialog opens (Figure 96b).

Figure 96b Choose settings for the link’s appearance and common actions from the Create Link dialog.

3. Choose whether you want the link to be visible or invisible, and specify characteristics for the link’s frame. You can draw a dashed or solid box around the text, as in Figure 96a, or underline the text.

4. Choose an action by clicking one of the radio buttons at the bottom of the dialog and click Next. The next dialog that appears depends on the option you choose:

• Go to a page view opens the Create Go to View dialog in place of the Create Link dialog, instructing you to set the target view, which is the magnification, page, and location you want using the scroll bars and Zoom tools. Once you have the view set, click Set Link to close the dialog and finish the link.

• Open a file replaces the Create Link dialog with a browse dialog for you to select the file you want to display. If you choose a PDF document, the dialog closes and another one opens for you to choose a window open preference (see the sidebar). Click OK to close the dialog and finish the link. If you choose a file that is not a PDF document, when you click Select the dialog closes and the link is finished.

• Open a web page replaces the Create Link dialog with the Edit URL dialog. Type the Web address you want to open from the link and click OK to close the dialog and finish the link.

• Custom link replaces the Create Link dialog with the two-tab Link Properties dialog. Click Actions to display the tab, and choose an option from the Select Action pull-down list (Fig­ure 96c). Configure the action, which is displayed in the bottom area of the dialog. Links have only one state—that is, the action occurs when the link is clicked.

Figure 96c You can choose from a wide range of actions to apply to a link.

5. Click the Hand tool on the Basic toolbar to deselect the Link tool—you can’t see your link in action as long as the tool is selected. Test the link.

This tip was excerpted from:
Adobe Acrobat 7 Tips and Tricks: The 150 Best by Donna Baker.
Copyright © 2005 Donna Baker.
Used with permission of Pearson Education, Inc. and Adobe Press.

<< Back to Books on Acrobat