How to Enable Use Bookmarks for File Names When Splitting a PDF
Question details
The user wants to split a PDF and use existing bookmarks for the new file names, but the option to do so is grayed out or unavailable in the software.
- Product
- PDF Editors
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Splitting a multi-page PDF document into separate files based on its bookmarks and automatically naming the resulting files.
- Observed behavior
- The "Use Bookmarks for File Names" option is unavailable or grayed out in the Organize Pages > Split menu.
Ensure your PDF document actually contains top-level bookmarks before attempting to split the file, as the naming feature relies entirely on existing bookmark data to generate the new file names.
Select "Top-Level Bookmarks" as the Split Criteria
The file naming option is only active when you specifically choose to split the document by its bookmarks rather than by page count or file size.
Because the resulting files are named using bookmark names, the document must be strictly divided by those bookmarks. By default, PDF splitters might be set to split by page numbers, which renders the bookmark naming option unavailable.
Open your PDF document and navigate to the Organize Pages tool, then click on Split.
Click the "Split by" dropdown menu located in the settings toolbar.
Choose "Top-Level Bookmarks" from the available list of splitting methods.
Once the split criteria is changed, the "Use Bookmarks for File Names" option will become visible and available to check.
Split and Manage PDF Pages with WPS Office
WPS Office provides a powerful, user-friendly PDF editor that makes it easy to split, extract, and manage PDF pages. You can quickly separate large documents into smaller, manageable files without navigating complex settings.
- 1. Open the PDF: Launch WPS Office and open the multi-page PDF document you want to split.
- 2. Access Page Tools: Navigate to the "Page" tab on the top ribbon menu and click on the "Split PDF" tool.
- 3. Set Splitting Preferences: Select your preferred splitting method, such as dividing by maximum pages, file size, or entering custom page ranges.
- 4. Export Split Files: Choose your desired output folder and click the "Split" button to instantly save the separated files.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the "Split by top-level bookmarks" option missing completely?
This option will not appear or will be grayed out if the PDF document does not contain any saved bookmarks. Check the Bookmarks panel on the left sidebar to ensure bookmarks have been properly created.
Can I split a PDF by nested or child bookmarks?
Standard PDF splitting tools typically only use top-level bookmarks to divide the file. To split a document by child bookmarks, you generally need to promote them to the top level in the Bookmarks panel first.
How do I create bookmarks in a PDF before splitting?
You can create bookmarks manually by navigating to the desired page, opening the Bookmarks panel, and clicking the "Add Bookmark" icon. Name the bookmark carefully, as this text will eventually become the new file's name.
