You open a report and notice some bits of text are blue and underlined. Click one and your browser pops open. They're hyperlinks — the same kind you see on the web, just sitting inside a PDF.
How PDF links work
A PDF link is two things glued together: visible styling (the blue underline is convention, not magic) and an invisible clickable region pointing to a URL or another page. The styling and the link aren't the same — you can have a blue underlined bit of text with no link, or a perfectly black line of text that's actually clickable. To check, hover over it in a desktop viewer; the URL appears at the bottom.
Adding your own links
When you export from Word, Pages, or Google Docs, hyperlinks usually carry over automatically. If you're typing text directly into a PDF using Flint's edit-pdf, you can wrap a clickable link around any phrase. Useful for invoices ('pay here'), CVs ('portfolio'), or reports linking back to source data. Test the link before sending — typos in URLs aren't always obvious.
Removing or fixing links
If a PDF you're sharing contains broken or outdated links — old pricing pages, dead campaigns, embarrassing drafts — you'll want to clean them up. Open the file in Flint and delete the link target while keeping the visible text, or replace the URL with the new one. For sensitive documents, also check the redact tool doesn't miss any link metadata under the visible text.
FAQ
Why is some blue text not clickable?
Either the link was styled but never attached, or the link region got stripped during a save. Run the file through an editor and re-add the link — it's usually a 30-second fix.
Do PDF links work on phones?
Yes — most mobile PDF viewers handle taps on hyperlinks correctly. Long URLs sometimes wrap awkwardly on small screens, but the link itself still opens.
Can a PDF link contain malware?
The link itself can't, but the destination can. Be cautious clicking links in PDFs from unknown senders — same rules as suspicious emails. Hover to inspect the URL before clicking.
Blue underlined text is just a convention for 'click me'. To add or fix your own, pop the PDF into Flint and edit the link inline.