How to Create a Link to a PDF in 2023

2023-02-10 15:06:19 · Filed to: Knowledge of PDF · Proven solutions

When you share a PDF file, which is too large to share as an attachment, in this case, creating a link for a PDF document is the best way to send your file. But how do you create link for  PDF? Where do you store the file, so there's unrestricted access for anyone who has the URL? If you're looking for a quick solution to these issues, don't worry, you will find answers about PDF link in this article. What's more, you can not only get the method to create a URL for PDF but also know how to create a URL in PDF document within PDFelement.

Part 1. How to Create a Link for a PDF in 3 Ways

Method 1. How to Make a PDF a Link with PDFelement

To create a URL or link for a PDF document, the document in question must first be saved in a location that allows multiple users to access it. This can be a public file-sharing service like Google Drive or a PDF service like Wondershare Document Cloud. The essence of the idea is to distribute the link rather than the file to either access and view the file online or download it to their own computers and mobile devices

PDFelement is a complete PDF solution that enables you to easily create a link to a PDF with Document Cloud, a cloud storage space where you can upload your PDF files and share them with others via a URL link. Everyone can access your PDF file via the link. PDFelement Here is how it work.

Step 1. Download and install PDFelement.

Step 2. Open your PDF file in the program and click the Share button. You will need to log in to Wondershare Document Cloud. Once you log in, you will be given 1GB free cloud storage.

create link for pdf

Step 3. Then you can save your PDF to Document Cloud and PDFelement will automatically create a link for your PDF.

create pdf link

Step 4. You can then copy the link and share it with anyone who needs to access the PDF.

open pdf via link

PDFelement also allows you to save your file to Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox to create a URL link. Just click File > Save to Cloud and authorize your account. Once you have saved the file, you can go to the cloud storage space and make a link to the uploaded PDF.

Tip: Create a Downloadable Link for a PDF Document

If you consider uploading it to your own website as a media file so that the link can be displayed on your site, and people can click it to view or download the PDF by simply clicking on it, here is what you should do:

The first step is to get your PDF document ready as well as open a file-sharing service. It can be an FTP program to upload it to your website or just a public cloud-based storage service like Drive or Dropbox. Once you're prepared, follow the steps below to create the URL for your PDF.

how to create a url for a pdf
  • 1. Change the name of your PDF to reflect the content inside. For example, you can call it create-URL-for-pdf.pdf or something like that.
  • 2. The second step is for you to upload the file via FTP or to a cloud service. You can do this by logging into website or your cloud storage account and having the upload location ready.
  • 3. You can now drag the newly renamed PDF file into the folder where you want it stored. If you're using a program provided by your website hosting service, you can use the file upload feature in that program.
  • 4. If you added it to your main website folder, your file's URL would now be: https://pdf.wondershare.com/create-url-for-pdf.pdf - You can also create a special folder for all PDF uploads, so it might also look like this: https://pdf.wondershare.com/pdfdownloads/create-url-for-pdf.pdf
  • 5. Now that you have the URL, you can paste it into an article or embed the URL in some graphical elements on your websites, such as an image or even a call to action button. If you're embedding it in HTML, it should look something like this:
create a url for a pdf

Alternatively, you can just paste the URL in an article as a naked link without any anchor text or object to go with it.


Method 2. How to Create a URL Link for a PDF Document Using Google Drive

Here is a clear explanation of how to create a URL link for a PDF document with Google Drive.

Step 1. Open Google Drive on your browser and sign in with your account, if required. Access the file that needs to be shared. Tap on the “Share” button after selecting the PDF document.

create url link for pdf google drive

Step 2. You have to change the option of “Restricted” to “Anyone” first. After that, tap on the option displaying “Copy Link” and select “Done.”

create a url for a pdf google drive

Step 3. You can now easily share the modified PDF link of the document. Any user who opens the shared link would easily download the PDF document across their device.

pdf to url link generator google drive


Method 3. How to Create URL for a PDF Document Using OneDrive

OneDrive is another proficient platform that can successfully understand how to make a PDF into a link. The steps that should be followed are featured as follows:

Step 1. You need to log into your OneDrive account across any browser. After successfully logging in, access the file that is to be shared.

how to create url for pdf onedrive

Step 2. As you select the specific PDF document, a “…” icon appears on the screen. Select it to open a drop-down menu. Select “Share” across the menu. Conversely, you can also tap on the “Share” icon on the top of the screen.

how to make a pdf a url onedrive

Step 3. Tap on the “Copy Link” option to share the shareable PDF with your colleagues or friends.

how to make a pdf a web link onedrive


Part 2. How to Hyperlink a PDF in 2 Ways

If you want to create a clickable link inside a PDF document, all you need is a solid PDF editor like PDFelement. It is a feature-rich software application that offers several different PDF functions. Here are the steps to create a URL link in a PDF file using PDFelement, and you can download it for a free trial. Or you can use Adobe Acrobat.

Method 1. How to Add Hyperlink to a PDF with PDFelement

Using PDFelement, you can create a link let you jump to other pages in the same PDF document, to other documents or media files, or to websites. Here's how it's done:

Step 1. Upload PDF File to Create Link

Launch PDFelement and click the "+" button to import the document where you want to insert the link. Or you can drag and drop the file into the program.

create url in pdf

Step 2. Access the Link Option

Go to the "Edit" tab at the top and click on the "Link" icon/text in the toolbar that you see below that.

how to create url from pdf

Step 3. Create Link in PDF

In the "Link" dialog window that opens up, pick "Open a File" as your option and click the "…" to choose the PDF file on your computer. You can also control several attributes of the link, such as the type of link to be displayed, its style, color, etc. Once done, please hit the "OK" button.

create a url to open a pdf file

What's more, if you need to open a web link, you can also select the "Open a web page" option under the Link tab to enter a web URL in PDF.

create a url to open a pdf file

Step 4. Check the Link

After creating a link in PDF, you can now re-position your link and get it where you want it to be shown. Don't forget to save the file when you're done.

how to create an url for a pdf


Method 2. How to Make Clickable Link in PDF with Acrobat

To create a URL or link for a PDF document, the document in question must first be saved in a location that allows multiple users to access it. This can be a public file-sharing service like Dropbox or Mega, or even restricted ones like cloud.adobe.com. The essence of the idea is to distribute the link rather than the file to either access and view the file online or download it to their own computers and mobile devices. For example, if you are using Adobe Document Could services, you can follow the steps here:

  • In the "Home" interface, click the "Upload a file" button.
  • Import the PDF you want to create a URL for.
  • Go to "Documents" > "Your documents." Check the PDF file and click "Share." And this will generate a URL for PDF.
how to make a pdf into a link adobe


FAQs about PDF Link

1. What is URL of PDF and Why Do You Need to Create a URL for PDF File?

A URL of PDF can be a link ending with .pdf, which a PDF file accessible and even downloadable to anyone who has the link.

Most of you would question the need to create a URL for a PDF file. Why is a URL required even if you have your file present across your device? The world has progressed beyond the point of printable and papered documents. The concept of paperless documents is promoted with the help of sharing platforms. However, when the question comes to why are links needed, a few of the reasons are provided as follows:

  • Users who have a large-sized PDF file can share it across an online platform to make it easy for other people to see the file.
  • If you consider sharing your file across any email platform or social media platform, you may usually face restrictions on file size. To counter that, it is advised to create a URL for a PDF that can be shared across any email platform, social platform, or other platforms with ease.
  • There are certain cases where you are required to share the document with multiple users. To save yourselves from the hassle of sharing the file with each user separately, you can easily create a URL for a PDF document and share it easily with multiple users, saving yourselves time.

2. How Do I Get a PDF to Open a URL?

If you need to open a URL in a PDF file, you need to create a clickable link in the PDF file, which can be done by a PDF editor like Wondershare PDFelement. You can add links on PDF pages point to other PDF pages, websites or media files.

Bonus. An All-in-One PDF Link Solution - PDFelement

There are numerous PDF managers and editors that co-exist in the market. While figuring out the best tool for covering most requirements, PDFelement is a very elegant tool that can be considered the go-to solution for managing all kinds of issues related to PDF. The following features show what users can do across the platform with ease.

Adding Hyperlink - PDFelement allows its users to easily add hyperlinks across their document without converting it into any other file format.

Compress PDFs - You can easily compress PDF files into smaller file sizes. PDFelement provides the opportunity to compress file sizes to either high, medium, or low. After the successful conversion, it even shows the statistics of the compressed file.

Email PDFs - The platform provides a direct route to share your PDFs via email. Users need to access the appropriate tool to share their PDFs across an email with ease.

Share With Cloud Platforms - Users are provided the opportunity to share their PDF files across different cloud platforms. They can share their PDF documents across platforms such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive.

Share With Document Cloud - PDFelement is integrated with a progressive cloud-based document management system. Document Cloud features a very proficient platform that improves your workflow tenfold. The tool offers cloud storage to its users to save their files online and utilize the electronic signature to legally bind their documents. Utilize different collaborative annotations and comments to review different documents across the platform and share the files through links and emails.

Free Download or Buy PDFelement right now!

Free Download or Buy PDFelement right now!

Buy PDFelement right now!

Buy PDFelement right now!


Elise Williams

chief Editor