PDF with bookmarks

[Madhavan334422737mmj]

I have a PDF with bookmarks but while opening in Microsoft Edge Browser I could not see the bookmarks section/pane. 

Pls advice.

[Eric Dumas]

Hi, I get the bookmarks from the Table of Content, because in the export options it was selected.

Do the bookmarks appear when you open the same file in Acrobat.

I use the latest version of Edge.

[Madhavan334422737mmj]

Please see below the snapshots. 

1. PDF document opened in Adobe X pro

2. Same document opened in Edge browser

Bookmark section/pane is not visible. I am not sure why this occurs? due to some settings or extensions/add-ons?

[smart_sharpness5319]

I am having the same problem and trying to figure out from Community comments how to resolve it.  In Adobe Acrobat Pro, the bookmarks can be seen.  Same document on Edge browser, we do not see a way for users to use bookmarks without opening the document in Adobe.  Three Adobe add on extensions are enabled (Create PDF Toolbar, Helper and from Selection).  Adobe Version is on Continuous Release updates, checked today and it is up to date.  Tried different Word Adobe preference checkboxes re bookmarks before Create PDF, no luck.

[smart_sharpness5319]

Adding that this problem occurred only after migrating the document from an old version of SharePoint to SharePoint in Microsoft 365 version.

[AnandSri]

Hello!

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

In Microsoft Edge’s built-in PDF viewer, “bookmarks” (technically the PDF’s outline pane) aren’t exposed the same way they are in Acrobat. 

How Edge handles PDF outlines (“bookmarks”)

• Edge PDF viewer does support the PDF Outline tree, but it doesn’t show an always-on “Bookmarks” sidebar like Acrobat.

• Look for the Table of Contents icon in the Edge PDF toolbar. If the PDF has embedded outlines, clicking it will open the outline pane.

• If you don’t see that icon, it means either:

  • You’re on an older Edge version that didn’t expose it.

  • The PDF’s outlines weren’t properly embedded during creation.

Verify your PDF actually has a proper outline

1. Open in Acrobat Pro → Menu > View → Show/Hide → Navigation Panes → Bookmarks
2. Expand a few entries—if you see a hierarchical list, you have valid outlines.
3. (Optional) In Acrobat, go to Menu → Save As Other → Reduced Size PDF or Optimized PDF, and under Discard Objects/Clean Up, ensure “Preserve Bookmarks” is checked. This can “refresh” the outline data.
4. Update Edge to the latest version
5. In Edge, go to Settings → About Microsoft Edge
6. Install any updates, then restart.
7. Reopen your PDF—look again for the Table of contents icon.

Workarounds if Edge still won’t show bookmarks

• Download & open in Acrobat Reader/Pro (most reliable).

• Use Edge’s “Open with…” right-click menu on the PDF viewer toolbar → Open with Adobe Acrobat (requires the Acrobat extension).

• Embed a clickable TOC on the first page of your PDF:

  • In Word/InDesign, insert a manual Table of Contents with hyperlinks to your sections, then export to PDF. Users will at least have an in-document TOC visible even in browsers.

SharePoint considerations

Since this started after migrating to SharePoint Online:

• SharePoint’s PDF preview uses Edge’s engine under the hood—and doesn’t add extra bookmark support.

• If your organization requires in-browser bookmark access, consider deploying Adobe PDF Embed API on your SharePoint pages. It surfaces the Acrobat “Bookmarks” pane directly in the browser experience.

See these articles for more information: https://adobe.ly/3FeIiq3

https://adobe.ly/43bzs4s

I hope this helps.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.