Linked table of contents for combined Word documents converted into PDF--how to make?

[Lara5CD8]

I've converted Word documents into .pdf files before, and I know I can get individual chapters to have a linked table of contents. But, I've never had any luck with making a master document and having the table of contents (TOC) linked within the final .pdf. If I leave each chapter's TOC at the beginning of the chapter, it works great. But, I need the TOC at the beginning of the .pdf. The software does not seem to be designed to combine multiple chapters' TOCs where chapter 2's is directly underneath chapter 1, and chapter 3 is just below chapter 2, etc. 

I know that I can create individual links within a .pdf, but for 100+ page reports with a TOC, List of Figures, and List of Tables, this is an enormous amount of time. I would appreciate any suggestions! (I have the latest version of Adobe and Word.)

[try67]

If you have bookmarks pointing to each chapter then you can use this (paid-for) tool I've developed to convert them into a real TOC, with clickable links that will take you to the start of each chapter:

https://www.try67.com/tool/acrobat-create-a-table-of-contents-toc-in-a-pdf-file-from-bookmarks