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Anand_Deloitte
Participant
May 6, 2026
Question

Bookmarks not working after SaveAs

  • May 6, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 28 views

Hi,  

I’m experiencing an issue with bookmarks after performing a "Save As" operation in Adobe Acrobat and wanted to understand if this is expected behavior or a known limitation.  

Scenario:

- I generate a PDF file, and the bookmarks work correctly.

- If I download/open the same PDF directly in Adobe Acrobat, the bookmarks continue to work as expected.

- However, when I perform a "Save As" on this PDF and reopen the saved file, the bookmarks are still visible in the bookmarks pane but no longer function (they don’t navigate to the intended pages).  

Observations:

- This issue seems specifically tied to the "Save As" operation.  

Questions:

1. During a "Save As" operation, does Acrobat rebuild or modify the internal bookmark destination references?

2. Is it expected that bookmark destinations (e.g., named destinations or object references) might be reset or broken during this process?

3. Are there any recommended approaches to preserve bookmark functionality when saving a copy of a PDF?  

 

Any insights into what happens internally during "Save As" would be greatly appreciated.  

Thanks in advance.

Anand

    2 replies

    JR Boulay
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    May 6, 2026

    Questions:

    1. During a "Save As" operation, does Acrobat rebuild or modify the internal bookmark destination references?

    2. Is it expected that bookmark destinations (e.g., named destinations or object references) might be reset or broken during this process?

    3. Are there any recommended approaches to preserve bookmark functionality when saving a copy of a PDF?  

     

    Answers:

    1. No
    2. No
    3. No

    This form is oddly designed :
    It’s unclear what the fields at the top and bottom of the page are for.
    The checkboxes should be “checkbox” fields, not text fields.
    The series of single-line text fields would be better replaced by a single multi-line text field.
    The numeric fields should be formatted as “number” fields; as it stands, you can enter any value in them.

    ...

    Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe
    Bernd Alheit
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    May 6, 2026

    Can you share a sample file with bookmarks?

    Anand_Deloitte
    Participant
    May 6, 2026

    Thanks much for the prompt response.

    Attached the file for your reference.

    Bernd Alheit
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    May 6, 2026

    Can you share a sample file with working bookmarks?