Hyperlinks are not correctly show when plotting to PDF

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone!

The context: i am drawing a complete town map, with each parcel as a block. Each parcel is made with closed polylines, hatches attached to these polylines, a text with its parcel number, measures, a visible attribute with its plan number and some invisible attributes. It also has an hyperlink to a PDF with its plan.

My issue: i am tryng to plot or export in PDF mantaining hyperlinks. They work perfect in the dwg file, but in PDF they are not in the same place or even have the same form. Seems like they do not adopt the shape of the block, they simply take the form of a 90 degree rectangle containing the block (like if they were created with points generated via VLA-GETBOUNDINGBOX). Also they are a little displaced to south-east, arround 10 units.

Tryed attaching the hyperlinks to the hatchs inside the block instead of the block himself, but got the same result.

Also tryed to attach them to the parcel numbers, my intention was having a "hyperlink box" aroud the text, even if it wasnt what i wanted at the begining. But it did not. The hyperlinks had the right size and form, but were displaced a little bit to the south-east; that displacement is not important if i manage to give the hlink the right shape, but if i attach the hyperlinks to the text they end being hard to find by users. 

Anyone knows how to fix this? Or at least if its possible to do?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Also, i was trying to make the PDF show me a custom text instead of the hyperlink destination when i place my mouse on it, any help is welcome.

Thanks!

[ChicagoLooper]

You have two options:

1. You can do this in Civil 3D or Map 3D because it has an 'Extended Data' tab in the Properties palette. Vanilla Cad does not. In Civil/Map, click an object, any object, it doesn't have to be text, it can be a line, polygon, block, etc. Then go to  Extended Data tab in properties palette and enter your link on the Hyperlink line. On your PDF, when you hover on your 'object' your cursor will change appearance which indicates the object is a clickable entity. Clicking will take you to the link. Since Extended Data isn't available in Vanilla Cad, I don't believe a link can be created when going from dwg to PDF.

Extended Data tab Civil3D/Map3D, Properties palette.Autocad Properties palette.

2. You can do it using Adobe Acrobat Pro. (I run Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, so your procedure may vary.)

Open your PDF. Open the Edit PDF toolbar. If it's not open already, then Main Menu go to View=>Tools=>Edit PDF=>Open. (A) Click the 'Link' icon then (B) highlight your text. (C) Select your options when presented with a menu or a dialog box. Since the link is created by Acrobat, you don't need to perform any link functions or commands in Cad.

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. The Edit PDF toolbar and link icon.  

If you have neither Civil/Map or Adobe Acro Pro, then you'll have to exercise third option to get what you want.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply!

Im not sure if i explained well or im not understanding something... Vanilla cad is able to put hyperlinks in PDF, but they have not the same shape as the object when printed.

Anyways, Im very interested in both ways. I have Map 2018 in some friend's laptop, so i can get t from there. Actually tryed to migrate my database to Maps but didnt fully understand the software and was losing valuable time trying to do so... Also i have access to the same database but in a ArcGIS format, so if i can unify those shapefiles with my data i would be great.

But the Adobe Acrobat option seems to be better. ArcGIS is not able to print Hyperlinks in PDFs, but is very powerful in managing lots of data (i have almost 50.000 parcels, hard work in CAD even with programming knowledge). So my question is, if i export a map from ArcGIS with an hyperlink attribute for each parcel, is Acrobat able to link each parcel to its plan using that attribute? If so, im moving my curiosity to ArcGIS forums. I looked for info about this there but no luck yet.

Again, thanks!

[ChicagoLooper]

You're right, you didn't explain it well.

What exactly is your GIS database? is it a geodatabase? What do you mean by ArcGIS format? Shapefiles? More importantly, what does "hyperlink to a PDF with its plan" mean as you said in the last sentence of the first paragraph of your original post? Does a proposed site plan show up on your monitor?

[ChicagoLooper]

Wrong tool for your map. And your parcels, you've unnecessarily turned them into blocks. Should move your post to Map 3D forum with a sample of your parcel block and sample of your PDF with the funny shapes and be totally openminded to another workflow. 

You didn't explain the source of your database (exlanation is critical). Sounds like you've already downloaded parcel shapefiles. If you have, then you need to leverage the data to get what you need.

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> if i manage to give the hlink the right shape

It's irritating for me as a hyperlink is nothing else than a text which shows an address to a site or document in the www (or maybe to a local path).

A hyperlink does not have a shape.

Can you please show a bit of data and screenshots and describe what you mean by "hyperlink as a shape"? ... or what you expect to be plotted when you plot a hyperlink?

- alfred -

[Anonymous]

Yes, is the wrong tool, i know. But Autocad i what i have to use, according to my boss "because its what we have always used". Anyways im seriously thinking about changing to Maps, maybe he can change his mind if i do a very good job...

And, probably im not explaining right about "hyperlink shapes", i do my best but im not an english speaker so i make mistakes, sorry... Here's a dwg and a pdf to show what im saying. 

There i show those hyperlink shapes i was talking about, i wanted those dashed rectangles to have the same shape as the colored parcels.

[cadffm]

Thats how it works.

Each PDF-Object (where had a hyperlink attached in CAD) get the hyperlink-information,

but PDF-Object HAVE rectangle shape! Open PDF with an PDF-Editor and you will see the

rectangle shape of all single objects in the pdf.

[cadffm]

One Circle for example, selected in a PDF:

(And in my PDF-Editor, it is only possible too - to create rectangle hyperlinks. I dont know if other Editors can more..)

[ChicagoLooper]

You can use your PDF maker to create a hyperlink. Here's a video that shows demonstrates how a PDF can be linked to a web page by clicking the hyperlink.

Click >>HERE<< to watch how. 

The video shows a 'link' being created onto a text object in the map. The link is a rectangle that's positioned conveniently around the abbreviation, or label, for Kentucky. When the cursor hovers over the box, it changes from an arrow to a hand, indicating the object is clickable. The link to 'KY' connects to the Kentucky Tourism web page.

This in not a Cad function. It's merely an alternative to generating a link. In this case, it's more important to get to your destination--the 'journey' is secondary--who cares how you get there, just get there.

[ChicagoLooper]

You can create a hyperlink to link to an external document. This video demonstrates how to create a link in your PDF maker which opens a spreadsheet.

Click >>HERE<< to watch.

The hyperlink opens a spreadsheet on a local hard drive. You can also link it to a server. As long as your reader has access to the server, the spreadsheet will open. If your reader doesn't then you'll have to be creative and figure out another way.

This is not a Cad function. It's merely an alternative to presenting an external doc by way of a hyperlink in a PDF.

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> There i show those hyperlink shapes i was talking about,

Thanks for explenation!

My method in that case would be to place the hyperlink onto the text of the parcel number, could that be working for you?

- alfred -

[ChicagoLooper]

You can create a 'clickable' hyperlink  on a PDF using Map 3D. 

1. Create mtext with the URL as the mtext itself. (the text will be clickable in the final, deliverable PDF.)
2. Select the mtext the shows the hyperlink.
3. Go to Properties Palette=>>Extended Data tab=>>Hyperlink. 
4. In the Edit Hyperlink dialog box, enter, or Paste, the same URL in the 'Type the file or Web page' area.
5. check the box 'Convert DWG hyperlinks to DWF' then OK to close the dialog.
6. Plot to PDF.

Click >>HERE<<to watch video.

This hyperlink was created in Map 3D using extended data. There are both advantages and disadvantages of doing it this way. Advantage: when the dwg is printed to PDF, the link is maintained in the PDF as evidenced in cursor when it hovers over the link. The link itself shown must be text of the URL itself. Disadvantage: you must use text as the clickable link. You can't use a line, polygon, block or any other type of drawing object.

[cadffm]

Hey, it was never the question how create hyperlinks. Thats a basic function for all Autocad versions and verticals (command hyperlink).

The Op only like to have the hyperlink in the PDF available at the geometric form of the object where the hyperlinks attached in Autocad.

In AutoCAD the hyperlink is only reachable near the object geometric, in PDF at the whole bounding-box of a object.

A hyperlink in AutoCAD ACAD LT or vertical is everytime attached to a object as "extended data" (xdata of the internal application PE_URL)

[ChicagoLooper]

Hey, try this.

[cadffm]

See my attached picture, perhaps you can understand the issue now:

At my marked location, "you" (the TO and others) don't want the access to the hyperlink of the red area.

In Acad it works and in pdf it is differently (because the pdf is linked to th object and in PDF the Object boundary is rectangle (similar to the bounding box of the object in acad) - see my image and answer above.

[Anonymous]

Thats right my issue! I finally managed to solve it today.

I wrote a little piece of code that cycles for each parcel block:

♣Creates an auxiliar little  rectangle lying totally inside the block,

♣Scale the rectangle until it "touches" the block's polyline

♣Use it to create a hatch

♣Apply the hyperlink to that hatch.

♣Erase auxiliar rectangle

I tryed to use directly the rectangle to create the hyperlink but the result was a 1 pixel hyperlink in each corner of it (dont know why)

Its a little messy but works... I did this because i investigated a little and seems that its impossible to do what i wanted to do....

Thank you all! Its good to know there is a good community around here 🙂