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I have created a very large file of over 1300 pages. It is the entire Bible in the Polish language. I added bookmarks in order to go to each book and each chapter. When I click on the bookmark from the Indesign bookmarks panel, the bookmarks work perfectly. But when I export to PDF, some of the bookmarks are incorrectly linked. For example, if I click on a bookmark that is on page 1298, it takes me to a bookmark that's on page 1323. Every subsequent bookmark I click takes me to the next bookmark from that incorrect spot. In other words the bookmarks from page 1298 to page 1323 do not work. I have tried deleting and redoing them, I have tried exporting the PDF with different settings, but nothing seems to work. Any ideas?
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Hi @JoePoland,
Thank you for reaching out! I understand how frustrating it can be to deal with incorrect bookmark links, especially in such a large document. To help us assist you better, could you please provide the following details:
1. The version of InDesign you are using.
2. The operating system details.
Additionally, it would be helpful if you could share a screen recording that demonstrates the issue within the InDesign file and then in the exported PDF. If possible, please also include a screenshot of your export settings.
Looking forward to your response!
Best,
Abhishek Rao
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Thank you for your prompt reply, Abhishek. I had that info the first time, but I lost my connection then I forgot to type it the second time. I'm using CS4 with Windows 11. As for the screen recording, I'll have to figure out how to do that. I've never done that before. I'll get back with you.
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Abhiszek, here is the screen recording. As you can see, the bookmark to the book of Hebrews works, as well as chapter 8, but when I click on chapter 10, it takes me to the wrong place and every bookmark after that takes me one page farther from this wrong page. I hope this makes sense.
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Could it possibly be the absolute page number of the document rather than the book page number?
When you say you "created a very large file"--did you create separate documents and use a book file OR is it a single document?
Did you build a table of contents with bookmarks?
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Thanks for the reply, Dave. I was totally new to Indesign and self-taught, so I made one large document. I did not create a table of contents. Rather, I manually entered bookmarks at each spot. Like I said, I was learning as I went.
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I would definitely break the book up into sections/chapters. The use a book-wide table of contents (TOC).
Check out this course: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/indesign-creating-long-documents-13887227/build-long-documents-wit...
You should be able to get a free trial here:
If you don't want to keep it, cancel before the trial expires.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I'll have to look into that. For printing, it has worked fine for 7 years and lots of printings. But the bookmarks problem is getting annoying, so maybe I'll try that.
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You can build a TOC in a single document. The TOC is how I create 99% of my bookmarks. Even if you don't want to use the TOC on the pages, you can place it on the pasteboard so it can still create the bookmarks.
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Hi Dave,
So I created the TOC automatically. It looks right and works right from Indesign CS4. However, the bookmarks do not transfer into my PDF file. I finally realized why: The bookmarks are "page" bookmarks, not "text" bookmarks. They have the "page" icon, not the "anchor" icon. Any suggestions?