Long documents need bookmarks

PDF/UA check DOC_BOOKMARKS · Document level · severity Low · PDF/UA 7.1 General

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Why it matters#

Bookmarks act like a table of contents that lets users jump directly to sections. Long documents without bookmarks force users to scroll through every page to find what they need.

What you will see#

This document runs past 20 pages but has no bookmark outline, so there is no way to jump between sections.

How to fix#

Add a document outline (bookmarks) with at least one entry linking to the document's major sections. In Acrobat: open the Bookmarks panel and create bookmarks from the tagged headings.

Step-by-step guide#

1. Open the Bookmarks panel in Acrobat Pro (View > Show/Hide > Side panels > Bookmarks).
2. If the document is tagged with headings, generate the outline automatically: Bookmarks panel options menu > New Bookmarks from Structure, then select the heading tags (H1, H2, ...).
3. Otherwise create bookmarks manually: navigate to each major section, press Ctrl+B (New Bookmark) and name the bookmark exactly as the section heading reads.
4. Nest bookmarks to mirror the heading hierarchy by dragging child entries under their parent entries.
5. Activate each bookmark to confirm it navigates to its section - functional targets are validated separately by OUTLINE_ACTION_ENTRY.
6. Fix at the source where possible: Word ('Create bookmarks using: Headings' in PDF export options) and InDesign (Include Bookmarks) generate outlines from heading styles at export.

Verify: Re-run the EQChecker scan; DOC_BOOKMARKS passes when the catalog has an Outlines dictionary with at least one entry. Open the Bookmarks panel and confirm the outline reflects the document's section structure.

Note: EQChecker applies this rule to documents with 20 or more pages; documents under 20 pages pass automatically. PDF/UA-2 8.12.2 phrases this as a recommendation ('Longer documents should include a document outline') and deliberately avoids defining 'longer' - the 20-page threshold is EQChecker's heuristic.

Fixing it in your authoring tool#

WCAG success criteria#

2.4.5 Multiple Ways — Level AA#

More than one way must be available to locate a page within a set of pages, unless the page is a step in a process.

Understanding 2.4.5

Standards#

This check contributes to the following standards:

PDF/UA WCAG AA EN 301 549