How to create external links to specified pages

[JungleJim]

I have a 150 page document and want to send to users or publish online hyperlinks that will open the document at the specified page e.g page 75. A link could be sent for any of the 150 pages. What is the easiest way to achieve this please?

[Willy Van Nuffel]

In case it goes about a hyperlink on a HTML page or in an e-mail, and the PDF will be opened in the browser, than it should be sufficient to add #page=[pagenumber] at the end of the hyperlink.

Example: http://www.example.com/myfile.pdf#page=4

More info here:
https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/link-html-pdf-page-acrobat.html

Sorry, I did not immediately find that information in the Knowledge Base of Tracker Software:
https://www.pdf-xchange.com/knowledgebase

Best regards.

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hi, All

Willy is correct, simply adding the #page=[number] suffix to the web address would be enough. And do not worry Willy, I refer people there myself since it is a function universal to PDF, not something specific to our software, we also do not have a KB article explicitly for this brief explanation, though perhaps I should consider making one..

I should also note, our Editor does offer the ability to open documents directly from a hyperlink, so if you have a file formatted like Willy suggested, you can copy the link, open our software and use "File > open > open from URL" to directly open the document.
Note that by default we remember the last used position in a document, and thus will ignore the "page" suffix for future open operations. This can be changed through the Editor preferences.

Kind regards,

[JungleJim]

Just tried this in Edge Chromium and it does not work. Using the method above does work if using 'Open from URL' within Editor but this is no use for widespread distribution to users who may not be using Editor.

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hi, JungleJim

Edge is a not a great browser to benchmark test with, as it is not only an application with limited PDF handling capability, it is also one of the least used major browsers (as of October this year less than 3% of all browsers in uses reported being Edge). Though in my tests with them, both the old and new versions of Edge seem to be capable of handling the #page=[number] addition. Perhaps there is an issue in your settings causing this to occur locally. have you tried on another device yet?
Please also note that this may be case sensitive, the entire word "page" should be lower case.

Following that, please try with another browser, such as Google Chrome, which is both fairly capable as a PDF viewing application, and in very widespread use currently. It appears that Chrome holds nearly 70% of all market use, from what this site reports: https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share

Kind regards,

[JungleJim]

I have just tried this on a completely different device with different browser (Safari) and it does not work. Sadly I cannot dictate what browser or device users will access the document on but that is two different browsers on two different devices do not work

[Willy Van Nuffel]

Hi JungleJim,

Can we ask you from where you are trying the hyperlink to your PDF files?

Do you put the hyperlink on a HTML page, or is it incorporated in a mail, a (Word-)document, or in another PDF?

Please try this:
- Copy/paste the hyperlink here below into the address bar of one of your browsers (even in the new Edge-Chromium)
https://help.pdf-xchange.com/sysadmin/sysadmin_MAN.pdf#page=150
- Press ENTER

Does it go to page 150 " in the PDF-XChange SysAdmin manual, with the screenshot of the "Advanced Print Options" ?

Best regards.

[JungleJim]

Thank you Willy for your help much appreciated. I tried this earlier with Destinations instead of page numbers in Edge Chromium and it did not work. I have just tried your link on an iPad with Safari and it does not work and tried it on my mobile phone using the Samsung browser and it does not work.

[Willy Van Nuffel]

Thank you JungleJim for your feedback.

At this moment I can only say that using the #page addition in a hyperlink in HTML text should work on a Windows PC with browsers like Google Chrome, Edge-Chromium, Internet Explorer, ...

I will run a similar test with 'destination' on a Windows PC, and some other tests with Safari on my iPhone (tomorrow).

May I still repeat my question from where you are clicking your hyperlinks to specific pages in PDF files ?

Best regards.

[Willy Van Nuffel]

To me, it seems like Safari on iPhone does NOT support the #page= addition in a hyperlink.
It only opens the PDF on its first page.

@JungleJim : Do you have an online PDF example file with some 'destinations' that you share with us for some testing ?

[BobM]

I can confirm the method works in Chrome but not IE11. Not able to test in Edge as it's blocked here.

Interestingly whilst it also works in PDFXE, it downloads the file everytime for different pages of the same document (ie it doesn't cache the already downloaded file). This could be really tedious for anyone accessiing multiple (ie many) page links in a large file. Maybe warrants a bug report as the swicth to a new page should be instant rather than several seconds later, depending on the users' internet connection speed?

The suffix doesn't work when part of a pathname to a local or network drive in PDFXE but I don't know if it's supposed or whether that's a bug.

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hi, BobM

Downloading a new copy may be intended, for the reason I will detail below, but I am not certain if it is and will discuss it with the dev team to be sure. As for other software's not using these links, as i mentioned before, this is something that should eb global to PDF (and a few other formats for that matter). If another application is not adhering to this, it is an issue within their software. You will want to contact them about what they can do to help in this situation, and perhaps they will ensure that a new version of their software resolves it.

Now as for why re-downloading may be intended. The Editor, per its default settings, will remember the last view of a document and restore it when re-opening the file. This mean that, if we decided to reuse the same file by default, a user who had not changed this option would always return to the last page they were looking at, regardless of where the link actually points, effectively ignoring the intended page number.
This would undoubtedly detract from the usefulness of the function. Perhaps there is a way we can detect this and offer a prompt to users on opening a second link to the same document, but I cannot make any promises at this time.

Also, when pathing a "web link" to a local resource, do note you may need to prefix the address with "file:///"
Like so:
file:///C:/Path/To/File/doc.pdf

Kind regards,

[JungleJim]

To me, it seems like Safari on iPhone does NOT support the #page= addition in a hyperlink.
It only opens the PDF on its first page.

@JungleJim : Do you have an online PDF example file with some 'destinations' that you share with us for some testing ?

How can I send you the link please? I would rather not post it here for public consumption.

[Willy Van Nuffel]

@JungleJim : I've sent you a personal message.

Regards.

[Willy Van Nuffel]

Results from testing with your example PDF-document:

Hyperlinks with suffix #destination and #nameddest=destination have both been tested in two manners:
- pasting the hyperlink in the address-bar of the browser and pressing ENTER
- clicking the hyperlink from within a (HTML) email message

Correctly working with following browsers on PC with Windows 10 version 1909:
- Internet Explorer 11 (with PDF-XChange add-on)
- Google Chrome
- Microsoft Edge-Chromium
- Firefox

Not working - opens on the first page of the PDF:
- on iPhone with iOS 14.1 and Safari browser

Still to test on Android.

[JungleJim]

Fantastic thank you Willy that is reassuring I will try again next week maybe clearing the cache first but if this is working as you have found this will not be an issue for most users

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hi, JungleJim

Glad to hear it will be all right for you, and Willy, thank you very much for testing

Both of you, have an excellent day!

[BobM]

Now as for why re-downloading may be intended. The Editor, per its default settings, will remember the last view of a document and restore it when re-opening the file. This mean that, if we decided to reuse the same file by default, a user who had not changed this option would always return to the last page they were looking at, regardless of where the link actually points, effectively ignoring the intended page number.
This would undoubtedly detract from the usefulness of the function. Perhaps there is a way we can detect this and offer a prompt to users on opening a second link to the same document, but I cannot make any promises at this time.

Also, when pathing a "web link" to a local resource, do note you may need to prefix the address with "file:///"
Like so:
file:///C:/Path/To/File/doc.pdf

Kind regards,

Hopefully, PDFXE can be updated to cache at file level and subsequently use the suffix appropriately - that would be superb. I know of a use case where there is a need to create web links (probably in a Word or PDF file) to multiple pages (paragraphs actually, but pages would suffice) in a second PDF for speedy requirements traceability.

On the other point about file path prefixes, I was using the File > Open > Browse option not the web link. Regardless, I've never understood why PDFXE doesn't just have one menu option for opening files and automatically figure out if the address is a URL (ie HTTP) or something else (ie a local drive or network drive) and open it accordingly. Presumably there are only these two possibilities - if there are others I'm unaware of, then PDFXE could offer the user the chance to define the type, but this latter case would be the exception rather than the rule.

[Willy Van Nuffel]

Additional info:

URL's with #page= suffix do not work on a Samsung tablet with Android and default Samsung internet browser.

@JungleJim:

What about putting a kind of short index, with one or more internal hyperlinks, on the first page of your PDF for in case you need one or more specific destinations ? Internal hyperlinks are normally supported in all browsers on all platforms.
In that way, you would not necessarily need to add a suffix to your hyperlinks.

@Tracker Software Support:

Maybe a question that is a little bit out of the scope:
PDF's can be optimized (with Adobe Acrobat Reader - via Save As) for "Fast Web View".
Would this help in case of using #page= or #nameddest= suffixes (to speed up the download and/or just downloading the specific page) ? Sorry to ask this, but I did not find a useful answer to this question by searching the internet.

Regards.

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hi, Willy Van Nuffel

We do not offer a "fast web view" option ourselves yet, so my knowledge of its functionality is limited. As far as I can recall though, this function effectively reduces the resolution of images and other page content. In some cases doing things like flattening all page content into an image and the applying a simple invisible text layer (in a universal font, like Arial) for selection and searching. All in an effort to drastically reduce the amount of data that needs to be downloaded to mobile devices.

This may make the process of downloading the document faster, but should not have any impact on how #page= and the like work in the file. It may even come with some demerits, like mentioned above, so I would hesitate to recommend it before confirming exactly what it does for certain.

Kind regards,

[Willy Van Nuffel]

Thanks Daniel.

So, Fast Web View is not something to be recommended.

Kind regards.

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hi, Willy Van Nuffel

Not in this case at least, It certainly does have its merits in specific situations.

Kind regards,

[choudhury]

Hi, All

I should also note, our Editor does offer the ability to open documents directly from a hyperlink, so if you have a file formatted like Willy suggested, you can copy the link, open our software and use "File > open > open from URL" to directly open the document.
Note that by default we remember the last used position in a document, and thus will ignore the "page" suffix for future open operations. This can be changed through the Editor preferences.

Kind regards,

It is unhelpful that the Editor ignores the url suffix (#page or #) in a "File > open > open from URL". My employer has a company wide license for PDF-XChange and PDF files are open in the editor by default. This means if I circulate a link to particular destination on a large file (e.g. FAQ or process guide), users will not get to the right section unless they open the file in a web browser / Acrobat Reader or change editor preference to open a single file. Both options are not feasible and counter productive.

Can a feature be added please to "forget" last page opened if a suffix is present in the url?

[Paul - Tracker Supp]

Hi choudhury,

I may need to check into this further, but I was under the impression that the Editor option "Respect document's settings" would give you what you need. :

Can you test and confirm if it does or not?

please and thanks