Creating a Hyperlink that Opens the Linked Object

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 28, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Sivakumar has inserted an object (MyFile.pdf) in the second page of a Word document. He wants to create a hyperlink that, when clicked, opens the PDF file.

It would seem that there really is no way to do this in a Word document. While it is often helpful to insert a PDF file into a Word document (that way the file travels with the document when you send it to others), there is no way to open the embedded file without double-clicking on the icon for the file.

Perhaps a workaround is to not insert the PDF file into the Word document. You could, instead, place the PDF on a Web server somewhere—so it is always at a static location—and then insert a hyperlink to the file in the document. When someone clicks on the hyperlink, what happens next depends on how they have their browser configured. If it has the capability to open PDF files (many do, if not most), then the PDF will be opened.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (153) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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