Create bookmarks for PDFs

Last updated on Jun 2, 2026

Learn how to create bookmarks in Adobe InDesign to help readers move efficiently in exported PDFs.

Bookmarks serve as navigation points in exported PDFs, allowing readers to easily move between sections and key locations in a document. In InDesign, you can create bookmarks using the Bookmarks panel to organize content and improve document navigation without adding a visible table of contents to the layout.

Tip

To include bookmarks in the PDF without displaying a table of contents, generate the table of contents on the document’s last page and exclude that page during PDF export.

Place the cursor in the text where you want the bookmark to link, or select the text you want to use as the bookmark label.

Select Window > Interactive > Bookmarks.

In the Bookmarks panel, select an existing bookmark if you want to nest the new bookmark under it. If no bookmark is selected, the new bookmark is added at the end of the list.

Select the Create new bookmark icon.

Select Window > Pages.

Select the required page in the Pages panel to link the bookmark to that page.