Add bookmarks to a PDF
The contents panel a scan or a printed-to-PDF file never had.
Drop files here
or click to choose from your deviceAccepted: PDF
One file per runUp to 20 MB per file5 runs per dayFree PDFs end with a small “Made with nouplo.com” lineRemove limits with Pro✓ Works offline
Your files stay on your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and you can even turn off your internet connection before you start.
Example
Example: a 40-page thesis with chapters and sub-headings
A thesis scanned into one 40-page PDF has no contents panel. Under “A list I type” each line gets a page number and a title, copied from the contents page; sub-headings are indented by two spaces.
| Line typed | Indent | Bookmark | Opens page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Title page | None | Title page | 1 |
| 3 Contents | None | Contents | 3 |
| 5 Chapter 1 Introduction | None | Chapter 1 Introduction | 5 |
| 5 1.1 Background | 2 spaces | 1.1 Background, under Chapter 1 | 5 |
| 9 1.2 Research questions | 2 spaces | 1.2 Research questions, under Chapter 1 | 9 |
| 12 Chapter 2 Method | None | Chapter 2 Method | 12 |
| Participants | 2 spaces | Participants, under Chapter 2 | 12 (no number: the page before) |
| Chapter 3 Results .......... 21 | None | Chapter 3 Results | 21 |
| References … 38 | None | References | 38 |
Nine bookmarks: the chapters at the top level with their sub-headings folded under them. A number at the end of a line, dots and all, works as well as one at the start, and a line with no number opens the same page as the line before it.
How it works
- Drop the PDF.
- Type the list: “1 Cover”, “2 Chapter 1”, and so on. A page number can also come last, as on a contents page.
- Indent a line by two spaces or a tab to hang it under the one above.
- Press Add bookmarks and download. Open the file and the reader shows the panel.
Frequently asked questions
- Where do the bookmarks appear?
- In the reader’s side panel — Acrobat, Preview, Edge, Chrome and the rest all show them. The file is asked to open with the panel showing, so the work is visible.
- Does anything on the pages change?
- No. Bookmarks are a separate structure in the file; the pages are untouched. Only the free plan adds a small “Made with nouplo.com” line at the foot of the last page.
- What does “one per page” use as a title?
- The topmost line of text on each page, which is usually its heading. Pages with no text get their number instead.
- My heading starts with a number. Is that read as the page?
- Not a section number: “1.1 Background” keeps its 1.1 and opens the page at the end of the line (“1.1 Background … 5”), or the page of the line before it when there is none. A plain number at the start, as in “5 Background”, is the page, so a heading like “3 Results” needs its page in front, “12 3 Results”, or after dot leaders as in a contents page, “3 Results ........ 12”. A year at the start, as in “2026 annual report”, stays in the title.
- Do I type the printed page numbers or the PDF’s?
- The PDF’s: page 1 is the first page of the file, as the reader counts it. When a book’s printed page 1 is the file’s fifth page, add 4. A number past the last page opens the last page.
- Is the PDF uploaded?
- No. It is read and written in your browser.