How can I preserve hyperlinks in a PDF that is a subset of the pages in a larger PDF?

Question

I would like to send my colleague just part of a document. The document includes hyperlinks from the hyperref package for clickable cross-referencing within my document.

I have tried to create a PDF that is a subset of the pages in the larger PDF file by using the "print to file" feature in evince. It works to create a PDF with just some of the pages, but it does not preserve the hyperlinks from hyperref. How can I create a PDF with just a subset of the pages from the original PDF yet preserve the hyperlinks?

UPDATE: related: Compiling only a page range or page selection.

UPDATE 2: Though Adam Liter's solution works for me, for a (preferable) solution within LaTex see Heiko Oberdiek' answer below.

Answer 1

For a non-TeX solution: you can use the command line tool pdftk to splice up the original PDF and make a new PDF with just a subset of the pages from the original PDF. This will preserve the hyperlinks from the original PDF.

Answer 2

Also LaTeX solutions are available.

\include, \includeonly

The document can be divided at page boundaries into single files, e.g. chapters. These are then included via \include. Then \includeonly with the file names, which should be included. Example:

\documentclass{book}
\usepackage{hyperref}

\includeonly{Summary}

\begin{document}
  \include{Introduction}
  \include{Theory}
  \include{Experiments}
  \include{Results}
  \include{Summary}
\end{document}

Package pagesel

Package pagesel can be used, if certain pages should be selected, e.g.:

\documentclass{book}
\usepackage[1,11]{pagesel}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\begin{document}
  \tableofcontents
  \chapter{Introduction}
  \chapter{Theory}
  \chapter{Experiments}
  \chapter{Results}
  \chapter{Summary}
\end{document}

The document is compiled first without package pagesel to get correct/updated auxiliary files. With pagesel, the auxiliary files are not written by default, but used and the selected pages are output.

Links pointing outside the selected range

hyperref does not know, which pages are excluded, when it generates the links. Depending on the driver, these stale links may be replaced by a link to the beginning of the document, if the links are pointing outside the included range of pages.