Is it possible to link to a bookmark within a PDF

Question

When providing a link to a PDF file on a website, is it possible to include information in the URL (request parameters) which will make the PDF browser plugin (if used) jump to a particular bookmark instead of just opening at the beginning?

Something like: http://www.somehost.com/user-guide.pdf?bookmark=chapter3 ?

If not a bookmark, would it be possible to go to a particular page?

I'm assuming that if there is an answer it may be specific to Adobe's PDF reader plugin or something, and may have version limitations, but I'm mostly interested in whether the technique exists at all.

Answer 1

PDF Open Parameters documents the available URL fragments you can use.

Answer 2

Yes, you can link to specific pages by number or named locations and that will always work if the user's browser uses Adobe Reader as plugin for viewing PDF files.

For a specific page by number:

<a href="http://www.domain.com/file.pdf#page=3">Link text</a>

For a named location (destination):

<a href="http://www.domain.com/file.pdf#nameddest=TOC">Link text</a>

To create destinations within a PDF with Acrobat:

1. Manually navigate through the PDF for the desired location
2. Go to View > Navigation Tabs > Destinations
3. Under Options, choose Scan Document
4. Once this is completed, select New Destination from the Options menu and enter an appropriate name

Answer 3

There are multiple query parameters that can be handled. Full list below:

Source

+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| Syntax                  | Description                                                                                  | Example                                              |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| nameddest=destination   | Specifies a named destination in the PDF document                                            | http://example.org/doc.pdf#Chapter6                  |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| page=pagenum            | Specifies a numbered page in the document, using an integer                                  | http://example.org/doc.pdf#page=3                    |
|                         | value. The document’s first page has a pagenum value of 1.                                   |                                                      |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| comment=commentID       | Specifies a comment on a given page in the PDF document. Use                                 | #page=1&comment=452fde0e-fd22-457c-84aa-             |
|                         | the page command before this command.                                                        | 2cf5bed5a349                                         |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| collab=setting          | Sets the comment repository to be used to supply and store                                   | #collab=DAVFDF@http://review_server/Collab           |
|                         | comments for the document. This overrides the default comment                                | /user1                                               |
|                         | server for the review or the default preference. The setting is of the                       |                                                      |
|                         | form store_type@location, where valid values for store_type are:                             |                                                      |
|                         | ● DAVFDF (WebDAV)                                                                            |                                                      |
|                         | ● FSFDF (Network folder)                                                                     |                                                      |
|                         | ● DB (ADBC)                                                                                  |                                                      |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| zoom=scale              | Sets the zoom and scroll factors, using float or integer values. For                         | http://example.org/doc.pdf#page=3&zoom=200,250,100   |
| zoom=scale,left,top     | example, a scale value of 100 indicates a zoom value of 100%.                                |                                                      |
|                         | Scroll values left and top are in a coordinate system where 0,0                              |                                                      |
|                         | represents the top left corner of the visible page, regardless of                            |                                                      |
|                         | document rotation                                                                            |                                                      |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| view=Fit                | Set the view of the displayed page, using the keyword values                                 | http://example.org/doc.pdf#page=72&view=fitH,100     |
| view=FitH               | defined in the PDF language specification. For more information,                             |                                                      |
| view=FitH,top           | see the PDF Reference.                                                                       |                                                      |
| view=FitV               | Scroll values left and top are floats or integers in a coordinate                            |                                                      |
| view=FitV,left          | system where 0,0 represents the top left corner of the visible                               |                                                      |
| view=FitB               | page, regardless of document rotation.                                                       |                                                      |
| view=FitBH              | Use the page command before this command.                                                    |                                                      |
| view=FitBH,top          |                                                                                              |                                                      |
| view=FitBV              |                                                                                              |                                                      |
| view=FitBV,left         |                                                                                              |                                                      |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| viewrect=left,top,wd,ht | Sets the view rectangle using float or integer values in a                                   |                                                      |
|                         | coordinate system where 0,0 represents the top left corner of the                            |                                                      |
|                         | visible page, regardless of document rotation.                                               |                                                      |
|                         | Use the page command before this command.                                                    |                                                      |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| pagemode=bookmarks      | Displays bookmarks or thumbnails.                                                            | http://example.org/doc.pdf#pagemode=bookmarks&page=2 |
| pagemode=thumbs         |                                                                                              |                                                      |
| pagemode=none           |                                                                                              |                                                      |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| scrollbar=1|0           | Turns scrollbars on or off                                                                   |                                                      |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| search=wordList         | Opens the Search panel and performs a search for any of thewords in the specified word list. | #search="word1 word2"                                |
|                         | The first matching word ishighlighted in the document.                                       |                                                      |
|                         | The words must be enclosed in quotation marks and separated byspaces.                        |                                                      |
|                         | You can search only for single words. You cannot search for a string of words.               |                                                      |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| toolbar=1|0             | Turns the toolbar on or off.                                                                 |                                                      |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| statusbar=1|0           | Turns the status bar on or off.                                                              |                                                      |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| messages=1|0            | Turns the document message bar on or off.                                                    |                                                      |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| navpanes=1|0            | Turns the navigation panes and tabs on or off.                                               |                                                      |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| highlight=lt,rt,top,btm | Highlights a specified rectangle on the displayed page. Use the                              |                                                      |
|                         | page command before this command.                                                            |                                                      |
|                         | The rectangle values are integers in a coordinate system where                               |                                                      |
|                         | 0,0 represents the top left corner of the visible page, regardless of                        |                                                      |
|                         | document rotation                                                                            |                                                      |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| fdf=URL                 | Specifies an FDF file to populate form fields in the PDF file beingopened.                   | #fdf=http://example.org/doc.fdf                      |
|                         | Note: The fdf parameter should be specified last in a URL.                                   |                                                      |
+-------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------+

Answer 4

RFC 3778 section 3 specifies "Fragment Identifiers" that can be used with PDF files, which include nameddest and page.

Answer 5

It's worth adding that Wayne's solution also works in:

• Chrome (since v. 14 from 2011, see this issue for details) (tested on v. 44),
• Firefox (tested on v. 40),
• Opera (tested on v. 31),

...BUT it doesn't work in:

• Safari (v. 8) (but there is a feature request for it in Apple's Safari bug tracker)