Save as pdf breaks endnote links

When a document is saved in PDF format, endnote & footnote references cease to act as hyperlinks.

The following macro replicates the endnote & footnote references (which become hidden text) with bookmarked hyperlinks. The second macro (KillEndNoteFootNoteHyperLinks) reverses the process.

Sub HyperlinkEndNotesFootNotes()
Dim SBar As Boolean           ' Status Bar flag
Dim TrkStatus As Boolean      ' Track Changes flag
Dim Rng1 As Range, Rng2 As Range, StrRef As String, i As Long
' Store current Status Bar status, then switch on
SBar = Application.DisplayStatusBar
Application.DisplayStatusBar = True
' Store current Track Changes status, then switch off
With ActiveDocument
  TrkStatus = .TrackRevisions
  .TrackRevisions = False
End With
' Turn Off Screen Updating
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
With ActiveDocument

 'Process all endnotes
  For i = 1 To .Endnotes.Count
    'Update the statusbar
    StatusBar = "Processing Endnote " & i
    'Define two ranges: one to the endnote reference the other to the endnote content
    Set Rng1 = .Endnotes(i).Reference
    Set Rng2 = .Endnotes(i).Range.Paragraphs.First.Range
    With Rng1
      'Format the endnote reference as hidden text
      .Font.Hidden = True
      'Insert a number before the endnote reference and bookmark it
      .Collapse wdCollapseStart
      'To get the actual reference text, we need to cross-reference it!
      .InsertCrossReference wdRefTypeEndnote, wdEndnoteNumber, i, False, False
      .End = .End + 1
      StrRef = .Fields(1).Result
      .Fields(1).Delete
      .Text = StrRef
      .Style = "Endnote Reference"
      .Bookmarks.Add Name:="_ERef" & i, Range:=Rng1
    End With
    'Insert a number before the endnote content and bookmark it
    With Rng2
      'Format the endnote reference as hidden text
      With .Words.First
        If .Characters.Last Like "[ " & vbTab & "]" Then .End = .End - 1
        .Font.Hidden = True
      End With
      'Insert a number before the endnote reference and bookmark it
      .Collapse wdCollapseStart
      .Text = StrRef
      .Style = " Endnote Reference"
      .Bookmarks.Add Name:="_ENum" & i, Range:=Rng2
    End With
    'Insert hyperlinks between the endnote references
    .Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=Rng1, SubAddress:="_ENum" & i
    .Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=Rng2, SubAddress:="_ERef" & i
    'Restore the Rng1 endnote reference bookmark
    .Bookmarks.Add Name:="_ERef" & i, Range:=Rng1
  Next
    'Give Word a chance to do its housekeeping
    DoEvents
  'Process all footnotes
  For i = 1 To .Footnotes.Count
    'Update the statusbar
    StatusBar = "Processing Footnote " & i
    'Define two ranges: one to the footnote reference the other to the footnote content
    Set Rng1 = .Footnotes(i).Reference
    Set Rng2 = .Footnotes(i).Range.Paragraphs.First.Range
    With Rng1
      'Format the footnote reference as hidden text
      .Font.Hidden = True
      'Insert a number before the footnote reference and bookmark it
      .Collapse wdCollapseStart
      'To get the actual reference text, we need to cross-reference it!
      .InsertCrossReference wdRefTypeFootnote, wdFootnoteNumber, i, False, False
      .End = .End + 1
      StrRef = .Fields(1).Result
      .Fields(1).Delete
      .Text = StrRef
      .Text = i
      .Style = "Footnote Reference"
      .Bookmarks.Add Name:="_FRef" & i, Range:=Rng1
    End With
    'Insert a number before the footnote content and bookmark it
    With Rng2
      'Format the footnote reference as hidden text
      With .Words.First
        If .Characters.Last Like "[ " & vbTab & "]" Then .End = .End - 1
        .Font.Hidden = True
      End With
      'Insert a number before the footnote reference and bookmark it
      .Collapse wdCollapseStart
      .Text = StrRef
      .Style = " Footnote Reference"
      .Bookmarks.Add Name:="_FNum" & i, Range:=Rng2
    End With
    'Insert hyperlinks between the footnote references
    .Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=Rng1, SubAddress:="_FNum" & i
    .Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=Rng2, SubAddress:="_FRef" & i
    'Restore the Rng1 footnote reference bookmark
    .Bookmarks.Add Name:="_FRef" & i, Range:=Rng1
  Next
 
 'Update the statusbar
  StatusBar = "Finished Processing " & .Endnotes.Count & " Endnotes" & .Footnotes.Count & " Footnotes"
End With
Set Rng1 = Nothing: Set Rng2 = Nothing
' Restore original Status Bar status
Application.DisplayStatusBar = SBar
' Restore original Track Changes status
ActiveDocument.TrackRevisions = TrkStatus
' Restore Screen Updating
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

Sub KillEndNoteFootNoteHyperLinks()
Dim SBar As Boolean           ' Status Bar flag
Dim TrkStatus As Boolean      ' Track Changes flag
Dim Rng1 As Range, Rng2 As Range, i As Long
' Store current Status Bar status, then switch on
SBar = Application.DisplayStatusBar
Application.DisplayStatusBar = True
' Store current Track Changes status, then switch off
With ActiveDocument
  TrkStatus = .TrackRevisions
  .TrackRevisions = False
End With
' Turn Off Screen Updating
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
With ActiveDocument

  'Delete endnote/footnote hyperlinks from the MainStory
  For i = .Hyperlinks.Count To 1 Step -1
    With .Hyperlinks(i)
      StatusBar = "Processing Hyperlink " & i
      If .SubAddress Like "_ENum*" Then
        .Range.Delete
      ElseIf .SubAddress Like "_FNum*" Then
        .Range.Delete
      End If
    End With
  Next i

  'Delete endnote hyperlinks from the EndnotesStory
  If .Endnotes.Count > 0 Then
    With .StoryRanges(wdEndnotesStory)
      For i = .Hyperlinks.Count To 1 Step -1
        StatusBar = "Processing Endnote Hyperlink " & i
        With .Hyperlinks(i)
          If .SubAddress Like "_ERef*" Then .Range.Delete
        End With
      Next i
    End With
  End If

  'Delete footnote hyperlinks from the FootnotesStory
  If .Footnotes.Count > 0 Then
    With .StoryRanges(wdFootnotesStory)
      For i = .Hyperlinks.Count To 1 Step -1
        StatusBar = "Processing Footnote Hyperlink " & i
        With .Hyperlinks(i)
          If .SubAddress Like "_FRef*" Then .Range.Delete
        End With
      Next i
    End With
  End If

  'Process all endnotes
  For i = 1 To .Endnotes.Count
    'Update the statusbar
    StatusBar = "Processing Endnote " & i
    'Define two ranges: one to the endnote reference the other to the endnote content
    Set Rng1 = .Endnotes(i).Reference
    Set Rng2 = .Endnotes(i).Range.Paragraphs.First.Range
    'Format the endnote reference as visible text
    Rng1.Font.Hidden = False
    Rng2.Words.First.Font.Hidden = False
  Next

  'Process all footnotes
  For i = 1 To .Footnotes.Count
    'Update the statusbar
    StatusBar = "Processing Footnote " & i
    'Define two ranges: one to the footnote reference the other to the footnote content
    Set Rng1 = .Footnotes(i).Reference
    Set Rng2 = .Footnotes(i).Range.Paragraphs.First.Range
    'Format the footnote reference as visible text
    Rng1.Font.Hidden = False
    Rng2.Words.First.Font.Hidden = False
  Next

  'Update the statusbar
  StatusBar = "Finished Processing " & .Endnotes.Count & " Endnotes" & .Footnotes.Count & " Footnotes"
End With
Set Rng1 = Nothing: Set Rng2 = Nothing
' Restore original Status Bar status
Application.DisplayStatusBar = SBar
' Restore original Track Changes status
ActiveDocument.TrackRevisions = TrkStatus
' Restore Screen Updating
Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

Hello David,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Office Community.

Unfortunately, link to Endnote is not preserved when you save a Word document in PDF format.

If you think this feature is important and want Microsoft to include it, you may provide your feedback through the following link.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-US/suggestions.aspx?origin=FX101741961&CTT=114

If you have any other queries related to Office products, feel free to reply and I'll be happy to further assist you.

Thank you.