I'm using 8 right now, and linking up to .doc or .text is one of the first things I tried to do. Unfortunately director automatically files them internally. I know there has to be a way to do it (perhaps with html or something), but I haven't gotten around to trying hard enough. As far as pdfs are concerned, I can't remember if 8 can do it or not because I don't really use pdf files for anything. Hope I've given you a new thought or two to a work-a-round.
Good luck,
Jonathan