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Create Bookmarks
Create Bookmarks writes a real navigation outline into a PDF. You supply one line per bookmark in the form 'page, Title', and the tool builds the outline dictionary that readers show in their sidebar so any page can be reached in one click.
How to use Create Bookmarks
- Upload the PDF you want to add navigation to.
- List the bookmarks, one per line, as page number then title — for example 5, Chapter 1.
- Run the tool and check the outline in your reader's bookmark panel.
Where Create Bookmarks is useful
- Adding navigation to a scanned manual that has no outline.
- Creating jump links for a report's sections.
- Making a long archive document easier to navigate for colleagues.
Formats, algorithms and limits
The tool writes an /Outlines dictionary with one entry per line, each carrying a destination that points at the target page. Entries are chained in reading order so Prev and Next navigation works in readers that support it. Screen readers and PDF navigation panes use exactly this structure.
Troubleshooting and honest limits
- Order the lines by page number to give a natural outline sequence.
- Keep titles short — long titles are truncated in many sidebars.
- Bookmarks do not add visible page content, so the printed document is unchanged.
Frequently asked questions
What format should the outline list use?
One bookmark per line: the page number, a comma, then the title. For example '1, Cover' and '12, Appendix A'.
Will the bookmarks be clickable?
Yes. Each entry has a destination pointing at its page, so clicking it jumps there in any reader that shows the outline panel.
Do the bookmarks appear on the page or only in the sidebar?
Only in the navigation sidebar. They are invisible in printing and add no visible marks to the document.
Do the bookmarks replace an existing outline?
The new outline is written into the document's outline dictionary, so the bookmarks you supply become the document's navigation structure.
Related tools
Page written and reviewed by the FreeConvertio engineering team on 2026-10-14. Create Bookmarks runs entirely in your browser — no uploads, no account and no daily limits.