I’ve got a PDF report full of clickable links, and I want them gone before I send it to my manager, because some of them point to internal pages. I’m on a Windows work laptop where I can’t install anything, so is there a way to do this?
I had the same issue on a work laptop, and printing the PDF to a new file with Windows “Microsoft Print to PDF” removed the clickable links. Open it in Edge, choose Print, select Microsoft Print to PDF, then check the new file before sending it.
Easiest thing I’d try first: open the PDF in Edge and print it to Microsoft Print to PDF. That gives you a fresh copy with the links flattened, so they’re not clickable any more. Keep a backup of the original before you do it, just in case the layout shifts a bit. If the report came from PowerPoint, exporting a fresh PDF with links turned off might be cleaner.
If you have Word, try opening the PDF in Word (it will convert it), then select all and use Ctrl+Shift+F9 to remove links, then save as PDF again. What Word version do you have on that laptop?
- Open the PDF in your web browser.
- Press Ctrl+P to bring up the print menu.
- Choose Microsoft Print to PDF as your printer and save a new copy.
Printing to a new PDF flattens the document and removes all active hyperlinks automatically.
I run into this on work laptops a lot. Open pdfcap.com, upload the PDF, and flatten it so the links disappear.
Avoid covering them with boxes, the clicks can still work. Not sure if it’s the same on Mac.
If you only need to prevent the links being clickable, try printing the PDF to “Microsoft Print to PDF” and save the new file. That usually flattens the document and removes link annotations.
Check the new copy afterward, since forms, bookmarks, and some layout details can change. Keep the original in case you need to go back.
Had the same thing with a tax report last month. Open the PDF in Edge, choose Print, then select “Microsoft Print to PDF” and save a new copy. That usually removes clickable link annotations without installing anything, though it may also remove bookmarks and form fields. Check the new file carefully before sending, and avoid online PDF tools if the report contains internal information.
if you can’t install anything, the print to pdf trick works. open the file, hit print, pick microsoft print to pdf as the printer and save it as a new file. links get flattened out since it’s just rendering the page. downside is the text isn’t selectable as links anymore but that’s kind of the point here.
@distracted_hunter I ran into this exact thing with my thesis drafts. My old laptop struggles with uploads, so I just open the file in Chrome instead. I use the browser print option and save as a new PDF. It flattens the links locally without needing any sites or an internet connection. This is the best way to handle internal documents.
@distracted_hunter honestly i’d avoid uploading work reports to random sites.
- open it in edge
- print using microsoft print to pdf
that flattens the links locally so you keep everything safe.
Yeah that’s basically my go to too, print to pdf is free and does the job for link cleanup. One thing I’d add, @chess_addict, double check tables after flattening since they can shift columns if the original had weird margins. Worth the extra minute before it goes to a manager.