Overview
Validate Bookmarks scans every bookmark in the active PDF and generates a detailed validation report saved to a text file. The report identifies bookmarks with missing actions, invalid page destinations, broken external file references, and other structural problems.
How to use
- Open the PDF you want to validate.
- Go to Plug-Ins > Bookmarks > Validate Bookmarks.
- In the Save dialog, choose a location and filename for the report (defaults to
.txt). - Click Save to generate the validation report.
- Open the saved text file to review the results.
What the report checks
| Check | Description |
|---|---|
| No valid action | The bookmark has no action and no destination — clicking it in Acrobat would do nothing. |
| Invalid page in destination | A GoTo or GoToR action references a page that is null or
missing from the destination array. |
| No target file reference | A GoToR (Go To Remote) action is missing its file specification entry. |
| Invalid file path destination | A GoToR or Launch action references a file that does not
exist on disk. |
| No file destination or valid platform data | A Launch action has no file reference and no platform-specific
(Windows, Mac, Unix) launch data. |
Report format
The text file includes a header with the PDF file path and a timestamp, followed by one entry per issue. Each entry shows the full bookmark path and level, along with a description of the problem.
Tip
Run validation after merging PDFs or reorganising bookmarks to catch any broken destinations before distributing the document.
Note
Validation is read-only — it does not modify any bookmarks. Use the report to identify problems, then fix them manually or with other bookmark tools.