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

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