About the Bookmark PDF
Bookmarks are the clickable outline in a PDF reader's side panel. They make long documents such as reports, manuals, theses and contracts much easier to navigate. This tool shows any bookmarks the PDF already has, lets you add, rename, remove and re-point them and nest them up to three levels deep, and can suggest a full set from the document's headings. When you save, the bookmarks panel is set to open with the PDF. Everything happens in your browser.
Updated October 2026
How to use the Bookmark PDF
- 1Select a PDF.
- 2Press Suggest from headings, or add bookmarks by hand.
- 3Type each title and the page it should jump to.
- 4Use the arrows to nest bookmarks under the one above.
- 5Press Add bookmarks to PDF and download it.
Planning a good outline
Use top-level bookmarks for chapters or main sections and nest subsections under them. Keep titles short; readers see them in a narrow panel.
- Level 1: chapters or main sections
- Level 2: subsections
- Level 3: only for long, detailed documents
When suggestions need help
Scanned PDFs have no text, so nothing can be suggested; add bookmarks by hand. Documents whose headings are the same size as the text may need manual bookmarks too.
What is saved
The tool writes a standard PDF outline that points each bookmark to the top of its page and sets the PDF to open with the bookmarks panel visible. The pages themselves aren't changed.
Accessibility
Bookmarks help everyone, including screen-reader users and people reading on small screens, find their way through long documents.
Editing the list
Each row has a title, a page number and buttons to move it out or in one level and to remove it. A bookmark can only be indented one step deeper than the one above it, which keeps the outline valid. Add bookmark adds a new row at the end pointing to the next page; change its title and page as needed.
Checking your bookmarks
Open the downloaded PDF in Acrobat Reader, Preview or your browser and open the sidebar. Click a few bookmarks to check they jump to the right pages, then share the file.
Phone and computer
Editing a long outline is easiest on a computer, but the tool works on phones too. If pages are out of order, fix them with Rearrange PDF Pages first, and set the title and author with the PDF Metadata Editor.
Features
- Reads existing bookmarks
- Suggests bookmarks from headings
- Three levels of nesting
- Unicode titles
- Opens the bookmarks panel automatically
- No upload
Frequently asked questions
What are PDF bookmarks?
Clickable links in the reader's sidebar that jump to a page, like a table of contents that is always visible.
How does Suggest from headings work?
It reads the text and finds lines in a larger font than the body text, then makes the largest ones top-level bookmarks and the next size nested ones.
Will my existing bookmarks be kept?
They are shown in the list so you can keep, edit or delete them. Saving replaces the PDF's bookmarks with the list.
Which page numbers do I use?
The position in the file, where the first page is 1, not the number printed on the page.
Do bookmarks work on phones?
Most PDF apps show them: in Apple Books and Adobe Acrobat, open the outline or bookmarks view.
Does it work with password-protected PDFs?
Remove the password first with our Unlock PDF tool, then come back.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. Everything happens in your browser, so the PDF stays on your device.
Can I nest bookmarks?
Yes. Use the right arrow to place a bookmark under the one above it, up to three levels, and the left arrow to move it back out.
Can bookmarks point to the middle of a page?
Each bookmark jumps to the top of its page, which is what most readers expect.