PDF Bookmarks – How to Add and Edit Bookmarks in a PDF File

By getting metadata from some pdf files with bookmarks by pdftk, I observe the format of bookmarks in pdf metadata. So I am guessing that with pdftk, it is possible to add and edit bookmarks of a pdf file.

Here are three steps that I follow:

1. I firstly get the metadata (including bookmarks if any) from a pdf
   file into a text file by pdftk in.pdf dump_data > in.info.

2. Next I add some bookmarks into the metadata text file in.info, changing it
   from

   InfoKey: Creator
   InfoValue: PScript5.dll Version 5.2
   InfoKey: Title
   InfoValue: SSReader Print.
   InfoKey: Producer
   InfoValue: Acrobat Distiller 7.0 (Windows)
   InfoKey: Author
   InfoValue: Administrator
   InfoKey: ModDate
   InfoValue: D:20050605073244+08'00'
   InfoKey: CreationDate
   InfoValue: D:20050605073244+08'00'
   PdfID0: 591a87c91dc76881fdf2ccf3811e72a5
   PdfID1: 6b6ab11de8824e438e4f5eb1d85ec72
   NumberOfPages: 400
   PageLabelNewIndex: 1
   PageLabelStart: 1
   PageLabelNumStyle: DecimalArabicNumerals
   

   to

   InfoKey: Creator
   InfoValue: PScript5.dll Version 5.2
   InfoKey: Title
   InfoValue: SSReader Print.
   InfoKey: Producer
   InfoValue: Acrobat Distiller 7.0 (Windows)
   InfoKey: Author
   InfoValue: Administrator
   InfoKey: ModDate
   InfoValue: D:20050605073244+08'00'
   InfoKey: CreationDate
   InfoValue: D:20050605073244+08'00'
   PdfID0: 591a87c91dc76881fdf2ccf3811e72a5
   PdfID1: 6b6ab11de8824e438e4f5eb1d85ec72
   NumberOfPages: 400
   BookmarkBegin
   BookmarkTitle: Front cover
   BookmarkLevel: 1
   BookmarkPageNumber: 1
   BookmarkBegin
   BookmarkTitle: About the Author
   BookmarkLevel: 1
   BookmarkPageNumber: 5
   BookmarkBegin
   BookmarkTitle: Title page
   BookmarkLevel: 1
   BookmarkPageNumber: 6
   BookmarkBegin
   BookmarkTitle: Copyright page
   BookmarkLevel: 1
   BookmarkPageNumber: 7
   BookmarkBegin
   BookmarkTitle: Foreword
   BookmarkLevel: 1
   PageLabelNewIndex: 1
   PageLabelStart: 1
   PageLabelNumStyle: DecimalArabicNumerals
   

3. Then I try to put the edited metadata back to the pdf file by pdftk
in.pdf update_info in.info output out.pdf.

But when I open the new pdf file out.pdf in evince or adobe reader, there is no bookmark in the new pdf file.

If I get the metadata from the new pdf file out.pdf by pdftk out.pdf dump_data > out.info, there will be no bookmarks in out.info. It looks like the bookmarks were not added successfully.

I was wondering if there are some mistakes? How shall I add and edit bookmarks of a pdf file, not necessarily by pdftk?