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After the recent Acrobat update to version 26.1, I can no longer move or nest bookmarks.

Forum|Forum|25 days ago
September 11, 2026
10 replies
225 views

Correct answer defaultfanclqqdq7vs

Preferences > Security (Enhanced) > Sandbox Protections: make sure “Enable Protected Mode at startup” is unchecked; save settings; close and reopen the document; see if that works.

It seems to be working for me. Not all my docs have the box checked; it seems the ones that do, unchecking works.

Hope it works for you, too.

Meenakshi Negi

Community Manager

Hi Scott24243817f7t5,

Thank you for reaching out, and sorry to hear that you are exeperiencing an issue.

To help us investigate this behavior further, please provide the following information:

More details about which features are not working for you.
A short video demonstrating the steps you are taking.
The complete version number of Acrobat you are using.
The operating system on your machine.
Please let us know if the issue occurs with a specific PDF or with all files.

Once we have this information, we can further assess the problem.

We look forward to your response.

Thanks,

Meenakshi

S

Scott24243817f7t5Author

Participant

I’m trying to drag and drop bookmarks, and I can highlight them by left clicking, but cannot move or nest them. I was able to do this up until a few days ago after the update. In addition, I have discovered that I cannot click off the line, arrow, or rectangle tools to end them, so those are now unusable. I am using Acrobat Pro Version 2026.002.21901 (64 bit) on Windows 11 Pro 25H2. I’m using a Logitech M325 cordless mouse. I logged in to another computer in the office that uses Acrobat 2020 and I was able to drag and drop bookmarks and use the line and rectangle tools with no problems in this version, in the exact same PDF file. This problem was introduced in the latest update. I do not have this issue with any other apps, only Acrobat. This problem is present in any PDF file I open with this version.

Meenakshi Negi

Community Manager

Hi Scott24243817f7t5,

Thank you for the information.

We will try to replicate this behavior with bookmarks and share an update. It would be helpful if you could share a video showing where it works and where it does not.

For the second issue with the drawing tools: This has already been reported to the team, and they are working on the fix. Once the fix is available, we will update you.

Thanks,

Meenakshi

S

Scott24243817f7t5Author

Participant

Thank you Randy and Mikko for the replies. This seems like a bug to me as I have encountered this in both the “old” and “new” interfaces. I should have clarified in my original post that I was using the “Old Acrobat” interface when I first began experiencing the issue after the update. As a workaround, I tried switching to the “New Acrobat” interface on Friday with some success, but when trying again this morning, it was very hit and miss. Using the “new” interface, It seems I can drag and drop bookmarks when I initially open the file, but once I move one or two bookmarks, it’s as if they are getting “locked” into place, and I can no longer move or nest any of the existing bookmarks. I’d be happy to upload screenshot videos if it would help illustrate the problem.

M

Mikko24688355jo6m

I’m not an expert here so probably cannot help you any further than that. Basically I’m here myself because the most recent update has messed up two other things besides this one.

cycling search results turns some result pages blank, only ctrl+A (select all) resolves this
deleting a highlight using the hover menu causes the software to crash entirely

There is something very very wrong with the update.

This is on Win 11.

Randy Hagan

Community Expert

You may want to switch from the “New Acrobat” interface to the “Old Acrobat” one to get better results. Use the View>Disable new Acrobat menu command to reboot into the older interface and try changing your bookmarks there. I think you’ll find you get much better results.

Adobe hasn’t so much changed how Acrobat operates as it’s distributed new features into “New Acrobat” and left the older ones in the “Old Acrobat” interface. I’ve been teaching my students how to quickly switch between the New and Old interfaces if they find Acrobat isn’t responding the way they expect it to.

In many cases, including this one you describe, it’s not that Acrobat doesn’t work the way it used to, only that the “New Acrobat” interface doesn’t. Switching back to the older interface compels Acrobat to work in many ways like it used to.

Hope this helps,

Randy

M

Mikko24688355jo6m

It’s the complete opposite. Only works on New Acrobat, and you have to drag the bookmarks specifically to the left, sort of outside the panel, to bring up the dividers and be able to nest them.

D

defaultfanclqqdq7vsCorrect answer

Participant

Preferences > Security (Enhanced) > Sandbox Protections: make sure “Enable Protected Mode at startup” is unchecked; save settings; close and reopen the document; see if that works.

It seems to be working for me. Not all my docs have the box checked; it seems the ones that do, unchecking works.

Hope it works for you, too.

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