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Add a clickable outline to your PDF
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How to add bookmarks to a PDF
Bookmarks form the clickable outline that PDF viewers show in their side panel. This tool adds bookmarks that open a chosen page, nests them into chapters and sections, and edits the bookmarks a file already has.
Open the PDF
Drag the PDF onto the upload box, click it to browse, or import from Google Drive. For a password-protected file, you are asked for the password. Bookmarks already in the file are loaded into the list for editing.
Pick a page and add a bookmark
Click a page thumbnail to select it. Type a title in the box at the top, then press Enter or click Add bookmark on page 1 (the number follows the selected page). A bookmark with no title is named after its page.
Arrange the bookmarks
Each row in the Bookmarks list has controls to rename the bookmark, change its target page, move it up or down, nest it under the bookmark above, move it out one level, add a nested bookmark or delete it. Remove all clears the whole list.
Save and download
Click Apply changes. The results screen has a preview of the PDF and buttons to download it, save it to Google Drive, open it in another tool or delete the files.
Editing existing bookmarks
Bookmarks you don't change keep their original styling and actions. A bookmark that points outside the file, such as a web link, shows an empty page box and is kept as it is unless you give it a page.
How the outline opens
Under More options, Show bookmarks panel on open asks PDF viewers to show the outline when the file is opened. Expand all and Collapse all set whether nested bookmarks start open or closed. Some viewers ignore these settings.
How bookmark targets and titles are saved
Where a bookmark takes the reader
Every bookmark you add, or whose page you change, is saved as a jump to that page with no fixed position or zoom. The viewer goes to the page and keeps whatever zoom level the reader is using. That's usually what people want: someone reading at 150% on a laptop stays at 150% after the jump, rather than being snapped to a fit-to-page view.
The target is stored as a link to the page itself inside the file, not as a typed page number. Bookmarks whose page you don't change keep their original destination exactly, including any position or zoom the program that made the file set.
Why an existing bookmark shows no page
When the tool reads a file's outline, it works out which page each bookmark leads to. If it can't, the page box on that row is left empty. The usual causes:
- The bookmark isn't a page jump at all. It opens a web address, runs a script, or opens another file.
- It points to a named location, and that name no longer exists in the file. This can happen when pages were cut out of a larger document and the bookmark came along but the named place didn't.
- It points to a page that has since been removed, so the link leads nowhere.
The first case is often deliberate, and the bookmark is saved back unchanged. For the other two, the bookmark is dead in every viewer, not just here. Select the right thumbnail and give it a page, or delete it.
Writing titles that work in a sidebar
The outline panel in most viewers is narrow, and long titles get cut off or wrap onto several lines. A few habits help:
- Keep titles under about 40 characters. "Appendix C: Survey data" reads better than the full printed heading.
- Put section numbers at the start (3.2, 3.3) so the order is clear at a glance, even when the panel is cut short.
- Use the same wording as the headings on the pages. A reader who clicks "Costs" and lands on a page titled "Budget" wonders if they hit the wrong entry.
Titles are saved in Unicode, so accented letters and non-Latin scripts such as Greek, Arabic or Chinese display correctly in viewers that support them.
How the file opens
The Show bookmarks panel on open setting is written into the document as a request to show the outline. It only takes over if the file had no opening preference or was set to show nothing. If the PDF was already set to open in full screen or with the thumbnails panel, that choice is kept.
Unticking the setting, or removing every bookmark, also takes out the request to show the outline, so viewers don't open an empty panel. Nothing else in the file changes: the pages, links, form fields and document properties stay as they were.
Features
- Adds a clickable outline to the PDF, so readers can jump straight to a section.
- The PDF is processed in your browser. It is not uploaded to a server.
- Bookmarks can be nested, which helps with long reports, manuals and books.
- Bookmarks are saved in the standard PDF outline, which Adobe Acrobat, browser PDF viewers and most mobile apps show.
- Free to use in the browser. No software to install and no account needed.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a file size limit?
No fixed limit is set. The file is processed in your browser, so very large files depend on your device's memory.
Does this tool work on mobile devices?
Yes. Typing many bookmark titles is quicker with a keyboard, so long outlines are easier to build on a desktop.
Is it safe to use with confidential documents?
The file is processed on your device and is not uploaded. It never leaves your browser while you add the bookmarks.
