Inside the file, the bookmarks panel is a linked structure of First, Next and Parent pointers with a signed count that decides which branches open — accurate to edit by hand only if you enjoy that sort of thing. Here it is a flat list: indent and outdent buttons, arrows that move an entry together with everything nested under it, a title box and a page box per row. Entries read from the document remember exactly where they pointed, so leaving a row's page alone copies its original target back verbatim — the precise scroll position, a named destination, even an entry that opens a web address — instead of flattening it to “go to the top of page 12”. When there are no bookmarks at all, build a set from the pages, from heading-sized lines, or from a contents list you paste in.
Features
A flat list with indent, outdent and move, nesting up to ten levels deep
Rows you do not retarget keep their original destination exactly, scroll position and all
Start from one bookmark per page, or find heading-sized lines and nest them by size
Paste a contents list: indentation or # headings set the nesting, dot leaders and tabs end each line
An offset for a printed contents page whose page 1 is not the file's first sheet
Per-parent control of whether its children start expanded, plus a document-wide “open with the panel showing”
Warnings for empty titles, missing pages, pages past the end and skipped nesting levels
Export the outline as indented text, undo any step, or strip every bookmark out
How to use the PDF Bookmark Editor
Drop the PDF in; whatever bookmarks it already has load as a list
Add, rename, retarget, indent and reorder — or start from pages, headings or pasted text
Choose which parents open expanded and what a click does to the zoom
Save the PDF; only the outline is rewritten
Example
Input
handbook.pdf — 180 pages, no bookmarks; built from headings, two levels
Output
42 bookmarks: 8 chapters with 34 sections nested beneath them
A line repeated on most pages is a running header, so it never becomes a bookmark.
Common errors & troubleshooting
Building from headings found nothing. — The document has no size difference between its headings and its body text — a report set entirely in 11 pt, for instance. Paste a contents list instead, or add the entries by hand.
An entry shows a note instead of a page number. — That entry does something other than open a page here — it opens a web address, or its target page could not be found. It is written back exactly as it was; type a page number to turn it into an ordinary jump.
The save button is greyed out. — Something in the warning box has to be fixed first: a row with no title, a page beyond the end of the document, or a row that skips a nesting level. Clear those and the button returns.
Every pasted entry landed one page early. — A printed contents page usually numbers from the first body page rather than the cover. Put the difference in the offset box and every page number shifts with it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a bookmark and a link drawn on the page?
A bookmark lives in the reader's side panel and belongs to the document as a whole; a link is a clickable rectangle sitting on one particular page. Editing the outline here never touches the links on the pages.
Can an outline be generated from the headings of a document?
Yes, when the headings are physically larger than the body text. The largest size becomes the top level, the next size down the second, and so on for up to three levels. Headings wrapped over two lines are joined back together.
Why do some bookmarks keep an exact scroll position rather than the top of a page?
Because that is what the original author stored — a destination can name a point on the page, or a zoom, or a named target defined elsewhere. Leave the page number alone and that exact target is copied through untouched.
How deep can PDF bookmarks be nested?
Ten levels here, which is far more than any real document needs. Two or three levels — parts, chapters, sections — is what readers can actually navigate.
Does editing the outline change the pages themselves?
No. Only the outline structure and the catalog's page-mode flag are rewritten. Page content, annotations, form fields and attachments are all left exactly as they were.
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