Add Bookmarks to a PDF

About Add Bookmarks to a PDF

Long PDFs without bookmarks force readers to scroll or page-hunt for the section they need, while a document with a proper bookmark outline lets anyone jump straight to a chapter or section from the navigation panel any PDF reader provides. Bookmarks (technically called "outlines" in the PDF specification) are the same feature that generates the clickable sidebar table of contents in most PDF viewers, and this tool adds them to a PDF that doesn't already have them.

You add each bookmark by giving it a title and the page number it should jump to — "Introduction" pointing to page 1, "Chapter 2" pointing to page 15, and so on — building up an ordered list of navigation entries. Each entry appears in your list before saving, so you can review the full outline and remove any you added by mistake before committing.

This is built using the PDF specification's actual outline object structure — a linked list of outline items, each pointing to a destination page — rather than a workaround or approximation. That means the resulting bookmarks show up in the standard navigation panel of any PDF reader (Adobe Acrobat, browser-based PDF viewers, mobile PDF apps) exactly the way bookmarks from any other PDF-generating software would.

This creates a flat, single-level bookmark list rather than nested sub-bookmarks (a "Chapter 2" bookmark with indented sub-sections underneath it, for example) — for most documents a flat list of major sections is sufficient, but deeply hierarchical navigation structures aren't supported by this simpler tool.

How it works

1. Upload your PDF. The file loads ready for bookmarks to be added.
2. Add each bookmark. Enter a title and target page number, one entry at a time.
3. Save and download. A proper clickable bookmark outline is added to the PDF.