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Adobe Acrobat 7.0

Working with Bookmarks

In a PDF, bookmarks make it easy to navigate from one page to the next, or to skip to specific sections of text. The bookmarks act like target links in a web document or bookmarked text in a Word document. This document explains how to create bookmarks in PDFs.

return to topCreating Bookmarks

When you create a bookmark, by default it will link to the page you are currently displaying. However, you can link bookmarks to any place in a current document or to other files, such as websites and movies. To change the bookmark to link to external files, refer to Modifying Bookmark Properties.

Creating a Bookmark for Selected Text

  1. Open the PDF document you would like to add a bookmark to

  2. From the View menu, select Navigation Tabs » Bookmarks
    OR
    From the Navigation pane, select the Bookmarks tab

  3. From the Basic toolbar, click SELECT TOOLSelect Tool button

  4. In the PDF document, highlight the text you would like to bookmark
    NOTE: The bookmark will be set to the exact level of magnification, or percentage of zoom, you are viewing the document in.

  5. On the Bookmarks pane, from the Options drop-down menu, select New Bookmark
    OR
    On the Bookmarks pane, click NEW BOOKMARKCreate New Bookmark button
    The bookmark appears in the Bookmarks list. The selected text will be the title of the bookmark.

  6. Press [Enter]

Creating a Bookmark for an Image

  1. Open the PDF document you would like to add a bookmark to

  2. From the View menu, select Navigation Tabs » Bookmarks
    OR
    From the Navigation pane, select the Bookmarks tab

  3. From the Basic toolbar, click SELECT TOOLSelect Tool button

  4. In the PDF document, click the image you would like to bookmark
    NOTE:The bookmark will be set to the exact level of magnification, or percentage of zoom, you are viewing the document in.

  5. On the Bookmarks pane, from the Options drop-down menu, select New Bookmark
    OR
    On the Bookmarks pane, click NEW BOOKMARKCreate New Bookmark button
    The bookmark appears as Untitled and is highlighted in the Bookmarks list.

  6. Type the name for the bookmark

  7. Press [Enter]

return to topUsing Bookmarks

  1. Open the PDF document you would like to work with

  2. From the View menu, select Navigation Tabs » Bookmarks
    OR
    From the Navigation pane, select the Bookmarks tab

  3. Click the bookmark you wish to view
    You are taken to the location of the bookmark within the PDF document.

return to topRenaming Bookmarks

  1. From the Bookmarks list, right click the bookmark you would like to rename » select Rename
    The current name of the bookmark is highlighted.

  2. Type the new bookmark name

  3. Press [Enter]

return to topChanging Bookmark Locations

You can easily change the link destination of a bookmark after you have created it.

  1. Open the PDF document you would like to work with

  2. From the View menu, select Navigation Tabs » Bookmarks
    OR
    From the Navigation pane, select the Bookmarks tab

  3. From the Bookmarks list, select the bookmark you would like to change the location of

  4. In the PDF document, select the text or image of the new bookmark location
    NOTE: For more information on how to select images or text, refer to Creating Bookmarks.

  5. From the Bookmarks list, right click the selected bookmark » select Set Destination
    A confirmation dialog box appears.

  6. Click YES
    The bookmark is now set to the new destination.

return to topModifying Bookmark Properties

A bookmark can be modified to change the way it behaves. Bookmark Properties allow you to change the look of the bookmark's name. You can also modify the bookmark to link to movies, outside links, and other forms of media. 

Modifying Bookmark Appearance

  1. Open the PDF document you would like to work with

  2. From the View menu, select Navigation Tabs » Bookmarks
    OR
    From the Navigation pane, select the Bookmarks tab

  3. From the Bookmarks list, select the bookmark you would like to modify

  4. Right click the selected bookmark » select Properties...
    The Bookmark Properties dialog box appears.
    Bookmark Properties dialog box showing Appearance tab

  5. Select the Appearance tab

  6. From the Style pull-down menu, select the desired style

  7. From the Color palette, select the desired color

  8. Click CLOSE

Setting a Bookmark Action

  1. Open the PDF document you would like to work with

  2. From the View menu, select Navigation Tabs » Bookmarks
    OR
    From the Navigation pane, select the Bookmarks tab

  3. From the Bookmarks list, select the bookmark you would like to modify

  4. Right click the selected bookmark » select Properties...
    The Bookmark Properties dialog box appears.

  5. Select the Actions tab
    Bookmark Properties dialog box showing Actions tab

  6. In the Add an Action section, from the Select Action pull-down list, select the desired action

  7. Click ADD...
    A dialog box corresponding to your selection appears.

  8. Make desired selections appropriate to the action you selected

  9. Click OK
    NOTE: Actions are carried out in the order they appear. You can change the order by selecting the action and clicking UP or DOWN.

  10. To delete an action
    1. Within the Actions section, select the action
    2. Click DELETE

  11. To edit an action
    1. Within the Actions section, select the action
    2. Click EDIT
    3. Make the desired adjustments
    4. Click OK

  12. When you are satisfied with the action, click CLOSE

return to topChanging Bookmark Organization

By default, bookmarks appear in the order they were created. You can easily change the order or hierarchical organization of bookmarks. You can create multiple levels of bookmarks, which can give the effect of chapters and sections within chapters. Refer to Bookmark Samples for examples.

  1. From the Bookmarks list, click and hold the appropriate bookmark

  2. To change the order of a bookmark, drag the bookmark up or down within the list
    A black line will appear under the bookmark icon, showing where the bookmark will appear.
    OR
    To change the hierarchical organization of a bookmark, drag the bookmark to the right or left of the bookmark icons
    A black line will appear under the bookmark name, showing where the bookmark will appear.

  3. Release the mouse button
    The bookmark appears in its new location.

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