Add a clickable table of contents to a PDF
Turn a printed, non-clickable TOC page into real navigation — every entry becomes a link that jumps straight to the section.
Drop a PDF here or click to select
The first 15 pages are scanned for a printed table of contents
The original pages are untouched — a fresh copy with the TOC pages in front is downloaded.
When a PDF has a TOC you can see but not click
Long technical documents — tenders, manuals, standards, theses — very often carry a table of contents that is printed text, not PDF bookmarks. You can read "Chapter 6 … page 22", but nothing is clickable and the reader's sidebar outline is empty. Navigating means Ctrl-F and squinting.
This tool reads the printed TOC directly off the page (text positions, indentation levels, trailing page numbers), lets you fix anything it mis-read, then inserts fresh TOC pages at the front where every line is a real, clickable link.
How it works
- Scan — the first pages are analysed line-by-line: entries ending in page numbers are detected, indentation becomes hierarchy.
- Review — the detected entries appear in an editable table. Untick junk lines, fix titles or pages, add missing entries.
- Offset — if printed page 1 starts after a cover, enter the offset so links land on the right pages.
- Generate — a new file downloads: TOC pages in front, every entry clickable, original pages byte-identical behind them.
Rules the tool follows
- The original pages are never modified — you get a new file with TOC pages prepended.
- Detected entries keep their original numbering, level and order; nothing is auto-"corrected".
- If no printed TOC is found, you can build one manually entry-by-entry.
Frequently asked questions
My links jump to the wrong page — how do I fix that?
Almost always the printed-vs-actual page offset. If printed "1" is actually the 5th PDF page, set offset to 4. One entry can be checked in your reader and the whole table follows.
Does it add PDF bookmarks too?
This version adds clickable TOC pages (visible, printable navigation). Bookmarks in the sidebar may arrive in a later update.
What if the document has two TOCs?
Both are detected; untick the duplicates in the review table before generating.