Skip to main content
June 16, 2016
Answered

ToC in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC?

  • June 16, 2016
  • 8 replies
  • 101653 views

I've combined several pdf:s into one pdf document and would like to make a table of contents for it. Is this possible in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer timothyt92120659

No need to pay for a script. 

To insert a TOC in Acrobat DC:

  1. Create a TOC in Word

  2. Save that as a PDF

  3. Insert the TOC page into your PDF

  4. Right-click on the page number in the TOC and select CREATE LINK

  5. Change LINK TYPE to INVISIBLE RECTANGLE

  6. For LINK ACTION, select GO TO A PAGE VIEW

  7. Click NEXT

  8. Find the page in your PDF that corresponds to the heading in the TOC.

  9. Select the heading text on the destination page.

10. Click SET LINK

11. Repeat

Here's a video.  The same principle applies to DC:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR7FT3Pr4a0

8 replies

Participant
October 18, 2024

This is ridiculous. FoxIt has this feature standard in the Pro version and I used it all the time.  I combine PDFs that were created by other people into great big 1000+ page PDFs.  I need a ToC to print with the PDF for those that will not view it on a computer, so that they can get to the correct page. THIS IS CRITICAL why do I need a 3rd party script or plugin?  

Participant
October 10, 2024

Would love to find a solution that isnt converting to word or creating in word. I have 30 word documents, that i am avoiding pulling into one (they had to be seperate as they had individuals all working on them). Now i need to pull it to one, but i will PDF them and combine using Adobe. However i need a TOC. If i create myself in word i have to manualy find the page number in the combined PDF. I will not convert it back to word as that causes alot of formatting to go out (no offence adobe but that hasnt been mastered 100% yet). So either way a very manual process, unless Adobe please comes up with a way to create one, based on Word style headings. Thanks!

try67
Community Expert
Community Expert
October 10, 2024

The only way to do it in Acrobat is by using a script, or manually. See above.

Participant
August 30, 2022

Can you create a table of contents in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC?

It is not said about the sites!
Source : https://az3.in/EKOrc 

https://az3.in/2DO9G

 

 

Participant
August 30, 2022

Start the Adobe® Acrobat® application and using "File > Open…" menu open a PDF file that contains bookmarks or create bookmarks using any of the available methods. Select "Plug-Ins > Table of Contents > Create TOC From Bookmarks…" to open the "Table Of Contents Settings" dialog.

 
Bernd Alheit
Community Expert
Community Expert
August 30, 2022

This requires a third-party plugin.

Participant
August 23, 2022

Hi, 

if you create a table of contents in word, you can still use this in pdf...

in word: choose save as PDF instead of Print to PDF!

if you save as pdf it will keep all the links from the table of contect to the desired page.

not sure what will happen if you insert pages afterwards, but its worth a try in my opinion.

julior27484357
Participant
July 30, 2021

I can't believe this feature is not yet available. When you combine pdfs, you need pagination, which is available. If pagination is available, it follows that a tool that creates a table of contents should be available as well. By the way, Word is not a solution for tables of content. It's adding to the problem if what you need to paginate combines multiple PDF sources.

Legend
July 31, 2021

What would you put in the table of contents? One line for each combined file like this

 

   MY_FIRST_PDF.PDF ....................... 1

   MY_SECOND_PDF.PDF ................. 27

   MY_THIRD_PDF.PDF .................... 142

 

Word IS a solution, it seems to me. Trying to create content in Acrobat is a classic error, made worse by Adobe's over-excited marketing of a very limited feature. Word is much better, what's the problem?

Participant
October 26, 2021

I do project submittals, which I do create in Word and add a TOC. Then I save to PDF and add other PDF files, which then throws off the page numbers. Going back through to edit/link page numbers is way too time consuming and I have been trying to find a better way. I'm not sure I understand your solution, where are you putting those lines for each combined file? Are you creating extra pages as place markers in Word? Any advice you can give will be SO appreciated!

Participant
September 17, 2018

How is it such a BASIC feature isn't in acrobat "pro"?

Seriously, why is this a product with a monthly fee that can't even perform such a basic task?

Would really love for a staff member to chime in here with a legitimate answer - instead of people trying to sell you a script for $75...

gary_sc
Community Expert
Community Expert
September 17, 2018

Hi woodbuffalodesign,

I think the thing you are confusing is content creation versus content distribution. Yes, TOC is very basic task that any reasonably good content creator should be able to do. But Acrobat is a content distribution application so that after you have your content created you can distribute it safely into many many hands as a PDF.

Keep in mind that before the PDF, when someone created a document in Word Perfect and used a unique font and sent that out to everyone, what other people opened up would be a mess. Ironically it was the IRS that did the big push on PDF because their forms were very tight in the space that filled a page. Did you ever get sent a Word document that was supposed to be on one page and when you opened it up on your computer it spilled out over multiple pages and nothing was aligned? Happens to me all the time.

It has never happened to me if the document was properly prepared for the proper distribution, aka PDF.

To put things into historical context, here's an article that details how the PDF is affecting things and and how it came to be:

Why the PDF Is Secretly the World's Most Important File Format - Motherboard

Participant
August 22, 2022

Ty, but Adobe has Bates numbering etc. I still don't understand why it cannot have a simple feature where it creates a TOC with the names of bookmarks and the corresponding pages. I agree about using one application- I have abandonded Adobe Pro and just do my work on Word and then convert it to a simple PDF (without paying for Pro). It takes me hours to do my bookmarks and pages in Adobe TOC- I have hundreds.

timothyt92120659Correct answer
Participant
February 12, 2018

No need to pay for a script. 

To insert a TOC in Acrobat DC:

  1. Create a TOC in Word

  2. Save that as a PDF

  3. Insert the TOC page into your PDF

  4. Right-click on the page number in the TOC and select CREATE LINK

  5. Change LINK TYPE to INVISIBLE RECTANGLE

  6. For LINK ACTION, select GO TO A PAGE VIEW

  7. Click NEXT

  8. Find the page in your PDF that corresponds to the heading in the TOC.

  9. Select the heading text on the destination page.

10. Click SET LINK

11. Repeat

Here's a video.  The same principle applies to DC:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR7FT3Pr4a0

Participant
June 30, 2021

lol I'm sorry but this is so ridiculous. If I'm going to do this, I might as well just avoid using Adobe altogether... I can use Microsoft word to do everything else Adobe "PRO" does too.  If the solution is to open an entirely different application to do a very basic feature (included in free PDF editors and obviously EVEN IN Microsoft word) then why are we paying for Adobe???? Seriously, what a waste of money.

Participant
July 3, 2021

@MalkiTzedek wrote:

lol I'm sorry but this is so ridiculous.


 

My thoughts exactly.

try67
Community Expert
Community Expert
June 16, 2016

Not quite. Acrobat doesn't have such a feature built-in. However, if you have bookmarks in your file then you can convert them to a clickable TOC using a script, like this one I've developed: Custom-made Adobe Scripts: Acrobat -- Create TOC from Bookmarks