How Add Bookmark to Your PDF for Better Navigation

Bookmarks create a table of contents-like feature, allowing users to jump directly to specific sections or pages in a large document.

This post introduces 4 easy methods to add a bookmark to a PDF, perfect for navigating long documents without wasting time scrolling through pages

Add Bookmarks to PDF for Free with PDFgear

PDFgear is a free alternative to Adobe Acrobat that lets you create and edit bookmarks for your PDF on Windows and Mac.

PDFgear, unlike Mac’s Preview tool, creates thumbnails for each PDF page, making it easy to navigate from the sidebar and quickly browse the document.

Step 1. Download and install the PDFgear software and open the PDF file you want to add bookmarks to.

Step 2. Click the bookmark icon in the left sidebar. If the PDF file already has bookmarks, PDFgear will display them, allowing you to view, edit, or add new bookmarks.

Step 3. Navigate to the page where you want to add a bookmark, click the “Add Bookmark” button in the left toolbar, or right-click on the page and select the add bookmark option from the dropdown menu.

Step 4. Enter the bookmark name (such as the chapter or title) and click save.

With PDFgear, you can easily add, delete, expand, or collapse all bookmarks in a PDF file, all for free, while Adobe Acrobat requires a subscription for similar features.

Insert Bookmark in PDF with Adobe Acrobat

If you already subscribe to Adobe Acrobat Pro, it’s the best tool for adding bookmarks to PDF files, though it comes with a high subscription cost.

With Adobe Acrobat, you can easily add PDF bookmarks with clickable links. You can also create bookmarks for specific images or paragraphs as needed.

Step 1. Open Adobe Acrobat, go to “File” > “Open,” and select the PDF you want to edit.

Step 2. Click the “Bookmarks” icon on the left. If you don’t see it, go to “View” > “Show/Hide” > “Navigation Panes” > “Bookmarks” to make the bookmark panel appear.

Step 3. Scroll or use navigation tools to find the page where you want to add a bookmark. To bookmark a specific image or sentence, click on it or select it by dragging.

Step 4. Click the ‘Add Bookmark’ button at the top of the panel, or right-click anywhere on the page and choose ‘New Bookmark.

Step 5. The new bookmark will show a preview of the page or content. You can rename it by clicking on the bookmark name.

Create PDF Bookmarks Online with Sejda

If you don’t want to install software, you can find many online tools on Google to add bookmarks to PDFs. Sejda is an easy tool to use for adding, editing, and deleting bookmarks in a PDF.

Step 1. Make sure your internet is stable, then go to the Sejda PDF online bookmark tool.

Step 2. Click “Upload PDF File” or drag and drop your file into the upload area.

Step 3. Once the PDF loads, the left panel will show any bookmarks. Right-click a bookmark to rename it or set it to jump to a specific page.

You can also add sibling or child bookmarks, and hover over the top right corner to see a preview of the bookmarked page.

Step 4. When you’re done editing bookmarks, click “Apply Changes” to save and download the updated PDF.

The free version of Sejda works with files up to 200 pages or 50 MB, and lets you do 3 tasks per hour. Upgrading to a premium account removes these limits.

Add Bookmarks to a PDF Using Preview on Mac

Mac users can use Preview to add bookmarks to PDFs, which helps quickly return to specific pages in long documents.

However, Preview doesn’t allow custom bookmark names, which can make organizing bookmarks harder.

Step 1. Double-click the PDF or right-click it in Finder, then choose “Open With Preview.”

Step 2. In the menu bar, click “Tools,” then choose “Add Bookmark.” You can also press Command+D to quickly add a bookmark.

Step 3. Go to “View” > “Bookmarks” to see all bookmarks in the sidebar. Click any bookmark to jump to that page.

Step 4. To delete a bookmark, hold the Control key, click on the bookmark in the sidebar, and select “Delete.”

This feature is still helpful if you don’t need to name or organize bookmarks. If you need more advanced bookmark management, you might want to try a professional PDF editor like PDFgear.

FAQs

How to Add Bookmarks to PDF in Microsoft Word?

Microsoft Word itself does not support directly adding bookmarks in PDF files. However, you can create bookmarks in a Word document and export them to PDF, retaining the bookmarks. Here are the steps:

1. Open the Word document: Select the document you want to edit or create a new one.

2. Add bookmarks: Select the text or position, click “Insert” on the ribbon, choose “Bookmark,” name the bookmark, and click “Add.”

3. Create a Table of Contents (Optional): In the “References” tab, select a “Table of Contents” style for easier navigation.

4. Export to PDF: Click “File” > “Save As,” choose PDF as the file type, ensure the “Create bookmarks” option is selected, and click “Save.”

Can I Edit or Delete Created PDF Bookmarks?

Yes, PDFgear supports renaming, deleting, collapsing, and expanding bookmarks. Download and install PDFgear on your device, then open a PDF with PDFgear. Click the bookmark button in the left panel and choose the desired action from the context menu

Conclusion

This article explains how to add PDF bookmarks using PDFgear, Adobe Acrobat, Sejda, and Preview. Each tool has its good and bad points: Adobe Acrobat is powerful but expensive, Sejda is easy to use online but limited in the free version, and Preview is simple for Mac users but doesn’t let you name bookmarks.

PDFgear, however, is completely free and powerful. You can easily add, edit, delete, and name bookmarks. Whether you’re a student, professional, or casual user, PDFgear makes managing PDF documents much easier.