Automatic PDF table of contents
Add Table of Contents to PDF Online Free
Generate a Linked PDF TOC Automatically
Upload a PDF and automatically detect headings, subheadings, chapters, sections, and title-like lines. Review the outline, make small changes, then download a PDF with a clickable table of contents.
Built for long reports, manuals, ebooks, policies, course notes, proposals, and technical documents.
- Automatically detect headings and subheadings
- Review, rename, promote, demote, or remove entries
- Add manual headings when the PDF structure is unusual
- Create clickable links to the right PDF pages
- Insert a clean table of contents at the front
- No signup, no login, and no forced watermark
Create a real linked table of contents for PDFs
Many PDFs do not contain a clean outline or bookmarks. This tool reads selectable text positions, detects likely headings, and turns your reviewed outline into a new front-of-document TOC.
Smart heading detection
The tool scores PDF text lines using font size, boldness, numbering, page position, centered text, repeated headers, and title-like wording.
Editable outline
Promote headings, demote subheadings, rename entries, remove false matches, change page targets, or add your own entries.
Internal PDF links
Each table-of-contents row is exported with an internal link annotation that jumps to the matching page in the PDF.
Browser-side workflow
Selectable-text PDFs are analyzed directly in your browser, so you can prepare a linked TOC without desktop software.
Designed for imperfect PDF structure
PDF headings are often just positioned text, not semantic H1 or H2 tags. The detector combines multiple signals so it can still find strong candidates when font names are inconsistent, headings are numbered, or the same document uses mixed styles.
How to generate a PDF table of contents
Upload your PDF
Choose a PDF with selectable text. The heading scan starts automatically in your browser.
Review detected headings
Check the generated outline and remove false matches such as repeated headers or footers.
Adjust heading levels
Promote, demote, rename, add, or retarget entries so the TOC matches your document structure.
Download the linked PDF
Export a new PDF with the TOC inserted at the front and clickable links to the selected pages.
Best for long documents
A linked table of contents makes large PDFs easier to scan, review, present, print, and share.
Reports, manuals, guides, and handbooks
Ebooks, course notes, and research documents
Policies, proposals, plans, and technical PDFs
Contracts with sections and exhibits
Merged PDFs that need fresh navigation
Documents missing built-in PDF bookmarks
PDF table of contents FAQs
How do I add a table of contents to a PDF?
Upload your PDF, let the tool detect headings, review the outline, adjust entries if needed, then download a new PDF with a linked table of contents inserted at the front.
Are the table of contents entries clickable?
Yes. The exported PDF adds internal link annotations so each TOC row can jump to its target page in compatible PDF viewers.
Can I change detected headings and subheadings?
Yes. You can include or exclude entries, rename them, change heading level, change page number, and add manual entries.
Does it work if the PDF fonts are inconsistent?
The detector uses several signals, not only font names. It considers size, boldness, numbering, layout, repeated page headers, and heading-like wording.
Does it work on scanned PDFs?
Scanned or image-only PDFs need OCR first so the headings exist as selectable text. Use the OCR tool first, then generate the table of contents.
Do I need Adobe Acrobat?
No. You can create a linked PDF table of contents in a modern browser without Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Pro.
Related PDF tools
Generate a linked PDF TOC now
Upload, auto-detect headings, adjust the outline, and download a linked PDF.
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