How can you save Pdf as spreads but when someone searches for a page number it doesn't take you to the spread?

[Steve Lake]

Hi, I need to make pdf which has been saved as spreads (from Indesign) so when you search for a page within Acrobat, you go to the page number not the spread number i.e. if you search for page 5 it doesn't take you to page 8-9 which is the 5th spread, is there a setting or even a script that I can add to my pdf?

[try67]

You can set the page labels to match the spread numbers. This can be done via the Pages panel on the left. Right-click a page thumbnail and select Number Pages.

[Steve Lake]

Thanks this works well for the even numbers but not for the ood page numbers unless Im setting it incorrectly, but can't see that you can label two numbers per spread?

[try67]

No, you can't set two numbers for a single physical page.

[Steve Lake]

Its a printed document that the client now wants to use as an interactive document viewed as spreads but when they use the Acrobat search for the page feature it of course doesn't work, your solution works if they search for page 6 and so it goes to p6 not spread 6 but then if you search for page 7 it goes to page 12 (the 7th spread)....I thought maybe there would be some script that we could add to the pdf? Thank you anyway, its a step closer!

[try67 · Accepted solution]

I'm sorry, but it's not possible with a script, either. A possible solution could be to split the spreads to two physical pages and set the viewing option for the file to show two pages at a time. That way, if the user enters either page number they'll see the whole spread.

[Steve Lake]

Hi Thanks for that suggestion, I did try that but then the pagination reflows with the cover sitting next to page 2 so each spread becomes odd and then even pages when it should be single page cover followed by spreads of even/odd page numbers. Maybe although its a bit of a pain I should create two docs splitting the indesign file for covers and then inner pages, then do what you suggested on the inner pages but not the covers and then merge the two pdfs? Not sure if that would work but with a try maybe!

[try67]

You can set the viewing option (under File - Properties - Initial View) to "Two Up (Cover Page)" or "Two Up Continuous (Cover Page)".

That way the cover page will be shown on its own as a single page, and the rest will be displayed in pairs, so it will be: 1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, etc.

[Steve Lake]

Fantastic this has done the trick, thank you very much you are star!

[Sajid317264442kye]

Oh man, I've been in the same boat, Indesign's spread numbering can be a real pain when you need page-specific navigation in the final PDF. I'm not sure if there's a built-in setting in Acrobat for this, but you might want to look into custom scripts that adjust the page numbering after you export the PDF. I've read some forums where they talk about using JavaScript to manually adjust the page numbers in Acrobat. Definitely something to explore if you can't find a native solution. Hope you sort it out!