Bookmarks are the PDF’s table of contents in the navigation panel. They do not change the printed page, but they make a long document usable — and they give Split by bookmarks a structure to follow.
Step by step
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1
Upload your PDF
Drag your PDF onto the box or click Choose file. It is sent over an encrypted connection and only used for this task.
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2
Set the options
Adjust bookmark titles (one per line), auto-detect pattern, existing bookmarks and pages. Every field has a sensible default, so you can usually run the tool straight away.
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3
Run it and download
Press Create Bookmarks and the page shows progress while it works. When it finishes you get a download link — nothing is emailed and nothing is stored longer than it needs to be.
Manual titles vs auto-detection
Enter one title per line to build the outline yourself, or use the pattern field to detect headings such as “Chapter 1”. Detection works on a text layer, so a scan needs OCR first. Manual titles are slower but predictable; detection is useful when the headings are already consistent.
Replace or append
Replacing removes the existing outline and writes the new one. Appending keeps what is there and adds the new entries after it. Choose append when you are adding a section to a document with a working contents panel; choose replace when the old outline is wrong or points at moved pages.
Check the navigation
Open the saved PDF’s contents panel and click through the first, middle and last entries. A bookmark that points one page off is worse than no bookmark. If the document was reorganized, rebuild the outline after the page order is final, not before.
Good habits for Create Bookmarks
- The preview updates as you type, so you can judge spacing before running it.
- Leave a page range blank to apply to every page.
- Colours accept a hex value, so you can match an existing brand colour exactly.
Common questions
Is this tool free?
Yes. Every tool on this site is free to use, with no sign-up, no watermark and no daily task limit.
Do I need to install anything?
No. The tools run in your browser and are processed by this server.
What happens to my files?
They are stored under an unguessable id and swept automatically after a couple of hours. Nothing is shared or indexed.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. The page pickers and editors are built for touch, so dragging, rotating and selecting pages all work without a mouse.
What does Create Bookmarks do exactly?
Add, modify and remove bookmarks from PDF document outline
Do bookmarks appear when the PDF is printed?
No. Bookmarks are navigation in a PDF viewer. Add a visible contents page or page numbers if the printed document needs them.
Can I create bookmarks in a scanned PDF?
Manual bookmarks can point at pages, but heading auto-detection needs text. Run OCR first for automatic detection.
Will splitting keep my bookmarks?
Bookmarks inside each part are carried where possible. Check one part after splitting; broken targets cannot be repaired by the split.