Dead Link Debugger
Audit every link in a PDF, flag dead or malformed targets, and rewrite or remove them — without the source file.
About Dead Link Debugger
Fix a Published PDF Without the Source File
The InDesign file is gone, the colleague who made the catalog left, and the PDF on your website still links to a domain you no longer own. Dead Link Debugger exists for exactly that situation: it reads the link annotations embedded in the PDF itself, lists every one with its page and target, and lets you type a replacement or remove the link outright.
Only the link targets change. The visible text, layout, and images are untouched — a reader sees the same document, but the clicks go where you want them to.
What the Audit Catches
Every link annotation is checked twice: once against URL syntax rules (offline, always on) and optionally against the live web.
Malformed URLs
Empty targets, missing schemes like example.com instead of https://example.com, and strings no browser can parse are flagged before you ship.
Dead and Redirected Links
Opt in to an online check and each http(s) link is probed for 404s, 410s, and redirects — so you can point it at the final destination directly.
Rewrite or Remove
Type a replacement URL to retarget a link, or mark it for removal. Internal page-jump links are listed too, so nothing hides.
Audit Report
Download a Markdown report of every link, its status, and the fix applied — useful for sign-off or a changelog.
Honest Limits of a Browser Check
The online check is off by default and only runs when you tick the consent box and press Check links. Your PDF is never uploaded — only the URL strings are contacted, each to its own server.
Browsers restrict cross-origin requests, so some sites refuse to answer a check even though the link works fine. Those come back as 'unverifiable' rather than 'dead' — a link is only called dead when a real 404 or 410 response comes back. Syntax problems, on the other hand, are caught offline with certainty.
How It Compares
Most PDF editors can add links; few can audit and repair the ones already inside a finished file.
| Feature | OxygenPDF | Adobe Acrobat | Online PDF editors |
|---|---|---|---|
| List every link with its page | Rarely | ||
| Rewrite link targets in place | Paid | ||
| Remove links without touching text | |||
| Offline syntax validation | |||
| Optional live reachability check | Paid | ||
| Markdown audit report | |||
| No file upload required | Desktop only |
Your Document Stays on Your Device
Link auditing reads the PDF's annotation dictionaries — work that happens entirely in your browser. The file is never sent anywhere. The only network activity is the optional per-URL reachability probe, which is disabled until you explicitly turn it on.
That matters for the documents this tool is built for: contracts, manuals, and catalogs that often aren't public yet. Fixing a link shouldn't mean handing the whole document to a third party.
Dead Link Debugger: Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this tool and how it works.
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