Update Hyperlinks - Link Manager for Make

PDF4me Update Hyperlinks is a Make module that searches existing PDF hyperlinks by text or URL and replaces them in bulk, without touching the rest of the document. Use it to fix broken links, migrate URLs after a website restructure, or update branding across a batch of PDFs.

What this module does

PDF4me Update Hyperlinks searches a PDF's existing hyperlinks by their visible text or their URL, then replaces matches in bulk. Each Hyperlinks item can target text or URL, replace a partial or full value, and optionally treat the search value as a regular expression for pattern-based matching across many links at once.

How Do I Authenticate My Make Scenario?

Every PDF4me module in Make requires a valid Connection. Create or select one that holds your PDF4me API key so the scenario can authenticate hyperlink update requests securely.

Get your API Key

Important Facts You Should Not Miss

Search On chooses text or URL

Each Hyperlinks item searches either the visible link text or the underlying URL value, never both at once. Add separate items for each dimension you need to update.

Blank Text Current Value replaces the whole match

Leave Text Current Value empty to replace the entire matched text or URL with Text New Value, instead of substituting only part of it.

Is Expression enables regex matching

Set Is Expression to Yes to treat Search Value as a regular expression, useful for matching a family of URLs (e.g. an old domain with varying paths) in one item instead of listing each one.

Make PDF4me PDF - Update Hyperlinks module configured with Connection, File set to Map with File name and Document / public file URL mapped, and a Hyperlinks item showing Search On, Text Current Value Prince, Text New Value Queen, Search Value Drylab, and Is Expression set to No — Set File to Map, wire File name and Document / public file URL, then add one Hyperlinks item per link pattern to update.

Parameters

Required: Connection, File Name, Document / public file URL, and at least one Hyperlinks item with Search On and Search Value must be provided. Text Current Value, Text New Value, and Is Expression are optional per item.

Parameter	Required	What it does	Example
Connection	Required	PDF4me API connection. Click Add and paste your API key if connecting for the first time.	`My PDF4me connection`
File Name	Required	Filename of the source PDF including extension, used for output file identification.	`brochure.pdf`
Document / public file URL	Required	Binary PDF content mapped from a preceding module, or a public URL to the file.	`[Buffer from Get File]`
Hyperlinks > Search On	Required	Whether this item searches the hyperlink text or the URL value.	`Text`
Hyperlinks > Text Current Value	Optional	The text or URL substring to replace. Leave blank to replace the entire matched value.	`Prince`
Hyperlinks > Text New Value	Optional	The new text or URL value to set in place of the match.	`Queen`
Hyperlinks > Search Value	Required	The hyperlink text or URL value to search for in the document.	`Drylab`
Hyperlinks > Is Expression	Optional	Yes evaluates Search Value as a regular expression instead of a literal match. Defaults to No.	`No`

Output Fields

Field	Type	What it contains
`Name`	String	Output PDF filename with updated hyperlinks.
`Doc Data`	Buffer	The PDF document with modified links, in buffer format, ready to upload or attach.

How Do I Set Up Update Hyperlinks in Make?

Add PDF4me → PDF - Update Hyperlinks to your Make scenario.
Select Connection (or click Add to create one with your PDF4me API key).
Under File, choose Map and wire File Name and Document / public file URL from a previous module.
Click Add item under Hyperlinks for each link pattern you want to update.
Set Search On to Text or URL, then fill Search Value with what to find.
Set Text Current Value (or leave blank to replace the whole match) and Text New Value with the replacement.
Set Is Expression to Yes if Search Value is a regular expression, then run the scenario. The updated PDF returns as a buffer.

Typical Setups

Workflow ExamplesCommon Make scenario patterns using Update Hyperlinks.

Scheduled broken-link cleanup

A scheduled trigger fires monthly to review published PDFs.
Get File retrieves each PDF from Dropbox or Google Drive in an Iterator loop.
Update Hyperlinks replaces known broken or redirected URLs using one Hyperlinks item per known-bad link.
The corrected PDF is uploaded back to storage, replacing the previous version.

Domain migration after a website restructure

A scenario triggers after the marketing team confirms the new site structure is live.
An Iterator processes every PDF that references the old domain.
Update Hyperlinks sets Search On to URL, Is Expression to Yes, and matches the old domain pattern to the new one in a single item.
Updated PDFs are saved to the document library and the search index is refreshed.

Rebranding marketing materials

A rebranding project triggers a batch pass over all marketing PDFs.
Update Hyperlinks runs multiple items: one for the domain change, one for the social media handle, one for the contact email link text.
Each PDF is processed through the same Hyperlinks configuration in an Iterator.
Rebranded PDFs are uploaded to the updated materials folder ready for distribution.

Practical Tips

Search On decides text vs URL, not both

One Hyperlinks item cannot search text and URL simultaneously. Add a separate item for each dimension if you need to update both.

Blank Text Current Value replaces everything

If Text Current Value is left empty, the entire matched hyperlink text or URL is replaced with Text New Value, not just a substring.

Regex needs Is Expression set to Yes

Search Value is treated as a literal string unless Is Expression is Yes. Forgetting this toggle is the most common reason a regex-style Search Value fails to match.

One item per link pattern, not per link instance

A single Hyperlinks item updates every matching link in the document, you do not need one item per occurrence, only per distinct search pattern.

This module edits links, it does not add them

Update Hyperlinks only modifies hyperlinks that already exist in the PDF. To insert brand-new links, use the PDF4me Create Hyperlinks module.

Test with one item before batching many PDFs

Run the scenario against a single sample PDF first to confirm Search On and Search Value match as expected before applying it to a large batch.

Cheat Sheet

Field	Value
Module	`PDF - Update Hyperlinks`
Connection	`PDF4me API key`
Search On options	`Text or URL`
Blank Text Current Value	`Replaces the entire matched value`
Is Expression	`Yes = regex match, No = literal match (default)`
Multiple updates	`Add one Hyperlinks item per link pattern`
Output	`Name + Doc Data buffer`

Common Questions

Can I search by link text or by URL?+

Yes. Set Search On to target either the visible hyperlink text or the underlying URL value. Each Hyperlinks item searches on one dimension at a time, add a separate item if you need to match both.

How do I replace only part of a link’s text?+

Set Text Current Value to the substring you want to find and Text New Value to its replacement. Leave Text Current Value blank to replace the entire matched value instead of a partial substitution.

What does the Is Expression option do?+

When Is Expression is set to Yes, Search Value is evaluated as a regular expression instead of a literal string match. This is useful for matching a whole family of similar URLs (for example an old domain with varying paths) in a single item. See <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Regular_expressions" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MDN's regular expressions guide</a> for pattern syntax.

Can I update multiple different links in one run?+

Yes. Add one Hyperlinks item per distinct link pattern you want to update. Each item runs independently against the same document, so a single module call can fix several unrelated links at once.

Does it insert new hyperlinks or only modify existing ones?+

Update Hyperlinks only modifies links that already exist in the PDF. To add brand-new hyperlinks to a document, use the PDF4me Create Hyperlinks module instead, which is documented under the <a href="https://www.iso.org/standard/75839.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PDF 32000-2:2020 link annotation specification</a>.