Overview
Merge Bookmark Levels collapses the whole bookmark tree into its top-level bookmarks. The title of every bookmark below the top level is added to the end of its top-level bookmark's title, separated by a comma and a space, and the lower-level bookmarks are then deleted. Titles are added in the order the bookmarks appear in the Bookmarks panel, and bookmarks at every depth are included, not only the second level.
For example, a bookmark Chapter 1 with the children Section 1.1 and Section 1.2 becomes the single bookmark Chapter 1, Section 1.1, Section 1.2. The command has no dialog and no options; the separator is always a comma and a space.
How to use
- Open a PDF whose bookmarks have more than one level.
- Go to Plug-Ins > Bookmarks > Manage & Organize > Merge Bookmark Levels.
- Confirm the merge. A message reports how many bookmarks were merged into the top level.
- Save the document to keep the change.
What is kept and what is lost
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| Top-level bookmarks with children | Kept, with their own destination. The titles of everything beneath them are added to their title. |
| Top-level bookmarks without children | Left exactly as they are. |
| Bookmarks below the top level | Deleted. Their titles survive as part of the top-level title; their destinations and actions are lost. |
Warning
The merge deletes bookmarks and cannot be undone. Save a copy of the PDF first, or close the document without saving if the result is not what you wanted.
Note
If the document has no bookmarks, or all of them are already at the top level, the command says so and changes nothing, without asking for confirmation.
Tip
To keep every bookmark and its destination but remove the nesting, use Convert Bookmark Tree to Single Level, which moves the lower-level bookmarks up instead of merging their titles.