DocForensic

PDF Link Extractor

Extract every hyperlink, plain-text URL, internal cross-reference and email address from a PDF, and optionally check external links for broken or suspicious destinations.

Reads a PDF's explicit hyperlink annotations plus plain-text URLs and email addresses that were typed rather than hyperlinked, classifies each as external, internal, or mailto, and can check each unique external destination's live HTTP status. A link whose visible text shows one destination but actually points somewhere else, or that goes through a known URL-shortening service, is flagged as suspicious. Nothing is modified - only the uploaded file is read.

Simple workflow

How it works

  1. 1

    Add PDFs

    Add one or more PDFs to scan for links.

  2. 2

    Extract

    Review every detected link against the page it appears on.

  3. 3

    Check & download

    Optionally check external link status, then download the findings table.

Frequently asked questions

Is checking a link's status safe for a PDF from an unknown source?

Yes. Only http/https links are ever requested, and a URL that resolves to a private, loopback, or internal address (including cloud metadata endpoints) is reported as "blocked" rather than connected to - checked again on every redirect, since a link can look external at first and then redirect inward. This safety check always applies and cannot be turned off.

What counts as a "suspicious" link?

Two signals: the visible link text is itself a URL that names a different destination than where the link actually goes (a phishing-adjacent pattern), or the destination uses a known URL-shortening service. Neither alone proves anything is wrong - both are surfaced for you to judge.

Does this check whether an internal page or bookmark link actually exists?

A link to a specific page is checked against the document's real page count. A link to a named bookmark destination is reported as internal but its target isn't independently resolved in this version.

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