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Bookmark Icons

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
April 22, 2025
18 replies
1347 views

I have Acrobat Standard DC and I was wondering what the difference between these two bookmark icons is

Correct answer Amal Jaiswal

Hi @E.d

Hope you are doing well, and thanks for reaching out. We are sorry for the trouble you are experiencing.

A couple of quick questions so I can point you in the right direction:

Are you combining these files with Acrobat's built-in Combine Files tool (File > Create > Combine Files into a Single PDF), or a different method?
Do the "structure" bookmarks always land at the point where two source files meet, or do they also show up in the middle of a single scanned file?

Here's what's most likely going on. When Acrobat's Combine Files tool merges PDFs, it keeps each source file wrapped in its own structure element, and the bookmark it generates for that file inherits a different type than a bookmark you add manually with Ctrl+B. That's the visual difference you're seeing; it's not random, it's tied to how each bookmark was created (manually vs. generated during the merge), and once a document mixes both origins, the icons stay mixed.

You may also raise it as a feature request directly with our product team here https://adobe.ly/4wIcnnG for their consideration and future implementation.

~Amal

E.d

Participant

Hi Amal,

I use Adobe’s built-in ‘Combine Files’ feature via. Tools > Combine Files.

For the “structure” bookmarks, the bookmark type can vary. Usually, it is all the “ structure” type (what it should be when combining), sometimes it is all ‘Standard” type (which it shouldn’t be, but is what I want it to be), and then there are occasions when they are a mix of both types.

The thing I find strange is why it would do this when everything is scanned through the same scanner and should all be the same format when combined. There is no additional elements or sources to inherit as it would lose it all when it is scanned in as a completed new document as far as I know.

I don’t manually add additional bookmarks either but if I did, they would appear as my preferred ‘standard’ type. I’m not sure if the combine options matter but here is what mine is set to when I combine them.

Weirdly enough, I combined the same files that had this issue last week and again just now but it’s different again.

Screenshot of the issue last week:

What it looks like when I combine it again now:

I’m just confused if this is adobe or my PC now...

Amal Jaiswal

Community Manager

Hi @E.d ,

Hope you are doing well and thanks for reaching out. We are sorry for the trouble you are experiencing.

A few quick questions that'll help narrow this down:

Does your scanner software run OCR (text recognition) or add any tagging automatically when it saves the scan, or is it a plain image-only scan until you open it in Acrobat?
When you look at Options in Combine Files, is "Add bookmarks to Adobe PDF" the only bookmark setting checked, and are you always combining straight from Tools > Combine Files (not a saved Action or preset)?
What Acrobat version are you on (Help > About Adobe Acrobat), and is it the same version now as it was last week when you saw the other result?

When Acrobat's Combine Files feature builds bookmarks automatically, it attaches them to something called a "Structure Element" in the PDF. That's what gives them the "structure" look and takes away the option to right-click and choose "Set Destination." Bookmarks you add yourself with Ctrl+B (or Right-click > Add Bookmark) don't have that structure link, so they show up as the plain "standard" type you prefer. You can read a bit more about how tagged/structured bookmarks work here: https://adobe.ly/4cGc30t

That explains why the two types exist, but it doesn't explain why the same files would combine differently on different days; that's not expected, since it's inconsistent even with identical scans, could you please share a small video recording of the steps you are taking and the issue as it occurs along with the diagnostic logs as described here https://adobe.ly/3S3C2Il so that we can get it reviewed by our development team.

~Amal

E.d

Participant

Hello,

I’ve been trying to replicate and record it while keeping the information private and have only managed to show both types of bookmarks showing up. How do I send this to Adobe? I have sent in the Diagnostics report for this but it didn’t accept videos.

As far as I’m aware, we considered using OCR but decided not to as it was too time consuming converting everything so they should be image-only files, except for records that we have just digitally dragged into the records so it actually isn’t 100% scanned records only.
The first two options are ticked in the settings we use. We do not use any other presets when combining files. We simply just go Tools > Combine Files. We don’t get bookmarks to appear otherwise.
It might not be the same, I think I used the ‘repair installation’ option afterwards to try and fix it and checked for updates since then…

From the looks of it, it seems like a file that was not scanned in and was digitally inserted caused the change to the bookmarks but that was the second digital section inserted and not the first?

E.d

Participant

I’m also getting both types of bookmarks randomly when I combine files, occasionally the bottom half of the bookmarks are the bottom type (‘structure’ bookmark) in the image linked in the main post while the rest is the top type (‘standard’ bookmark).

I scan and combine the files myself so there should be no difference between them, so I’m confused why acrobat is giving me both types? I ended up having to use third party tool to convert them all to standard bookmarks or an expensive plug-in by EverMap to do this but I would prefer to have an option to do this directly...

Amal Jaiswal

Correct answer

Community Manager

Hi @E.d

Hope you are doing well, and thanks for reaching out. We are sorry for the trouble you are experiencing.

A couple of quick questions so I can point you in the right direction:

Are you combining these files with Acrobat's built-in Combine Files tool (File > Create > Combine Files into a Single PDF), or a different method?
Do the "structure" bookmarks always land at the point where two source files meet, or do they also show up in the middle of a single scanned file?

Here's what's most likely going on. When Acrobat's Combine Files tool merges PDFs, it keeps each source file wrapped in its own structure element, and the bookmark it generates for that file inherits a different type than a bookmark you add manually with Ctrl+B. That's the visual difference you're seeing; it's not random, it's tied to how each bookmark was created (manually vs. generated during the merge), and once a document mixes both origins, the icons stay mixed.

You may also raise it as a feature request directly with our product team here https://adobe.ly/4wIcnnG for their consideration and future implementation.

~Amal

JR Boulay

Community Expert

@AnandSri

- Like Dave Creamer of IDEAS I have never noticed any icon change in bookmarks depending on their use. Whether it's go to view, change the zoom level, run a JavaScript, open a web link, etc., it doesn't change the icon.

- "For more information, please see this article: https://adobe.ly/3RpSdMa"

This article contains no information about these two types of bookmark icons.

- In addition, in the section devoted to page thumbnails this article contains incorrect information:

"Note: Acrobat no longer supports embedding and unembedding page thumbnails. However, Acrobat Distiller® provides an alternate method of embedding page thumbnails."

Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe

AnandSri

Legend

Hi @JR Boulay

Thanks for highlighting the article with the missing information, and I will get it rectified by the team.

The information provided in the initial post is general and readily accessible internally. I kindly request that you contribute any pertinent details that may be absent, as this will facilitate a comprehensive response to the inquiry.

Regards,

Anand Sri.

JR Boulay

Community Expert

Hi AnandSri

- just remove this in the article:

""Note: Acrobat no longer supports embedding and unembedding page thumbnails. However, Acrobat Distiller® provides an alternate method of embedding page thumbnails.""

- I can't help you with the two types of bookmark icons, as I've never understood the difference between them (apart from the difference in appearance).
It seems to me, however, that the difference in appearance may come from the way the bookmarks are created (manually, with JavaScript, conversion from InDesign or Word...).

Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe

AnandSri

Legend

Hello Julie!

I hope you are doing well, and thanks for reaching out.

These two icons in Adobe Acrobat's Bookmarks pane represent different types of bookmark entries:

Top Icon (Plain Bookmark): This is the standard bookmark icon, usually created manually by the user via Ctrl + B or Right-click > Add Bookmark in the Bookmarks pane. It points to a specific view or section of the document and has no associated actions beyond navigation.

Bottom Icon (Bookmark with Script/Action): This icon indicates a bookmark that includes additional actions or a script, such as JavaScript actions, Page navigation with zoom presets, Links to external files or websites, form submission, or multimedia triggers.

It’s visually distinguished to alert users that the bookmark does more than just take you to a page.

This typically indicates a structured or hierarchical bookmark. It is often part of an outline or table of contents within the document, helping you organize and navigate complex documents more efficiently.

For more information, please see this article: https://adobe.ly/3RpSdMa

I hope this helps.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

[edited response]

Dave Creamer of IDEAS

Community Expert

@AnandSri I'm not seeing the icon changes. I created a weblink, a JavaScript, and a page nav. with custom zoom.

I'm in Acrobat Pro. What am I missing?

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)

AnandSri

Legend

Hi @9664723

I'm not sure why you aren't getting the icons. Assuming you are on the latest version of Acrobat, you should get the bookmark icons. Let me know if I can help you with troubleshooting.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

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