Tutorial for Batch Setting Initial PDF View: Display Bookmarks Directly After Opening the File

When a PDF file contains bookmarks but does not display them automatically, readers need to manually open the left navigation pane, which can affect reading efficiency for long documents. This article focuses on PDF initial view settings and explains in detail how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to batch import PDFs and select “Show Bookmarks” in the processing options, so that a batch of PDF files will directly display the bookmark panel after opening. It is suitable for organizing office materials, delivering reports, and standardizing archive processing.

The initial view of a PDF determines the interface state first presented to users when the file is opened, such as whether the sidebar is shown, whether bookmarks are displayed, whether page thumbnails are shown, and how pages are displayed and zoomed. In actual office work, many PDF files already have bookmarks created, but the bookmark panel is not automatically displayed when they are opened. For document creators, this is often an easily overlooked detail; for readers, however, it directly affects the efficiency of finding content.

If you need to process a batch of PDFs, such as multiple project reports, product manuals, policy documents, or attachments, opening each file one by one to adjust the initial view is obviously unrealistic. This article will explain from a practical perspective how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to batch set the initial view of PDFs so that bookmarks are displayed directly after the files are opened. This software is a batch office document processing tool and is suitable for handling repetitive file processing tasks.

Applicable scenarios: what problems batch setting the PDF initial view can solve

What a PDF displays by default after opening affects the reader's first impression. For single-page files without a table of contents structure, the initial view has little impact; but for long PDFs with bookmarks, if bookmarks are hidden by default, readers cannot immediately see the chapter structure. Especially when reviewing reports, consulting specifications, checking contract clauses, or reading training materials, users usually want to jump directly through bookmarks rather than scrolling from the beginning.

Batch setting PDFs to display bookmarks by default when opened is suitable for the following types of users: administrative, legal, consulting, and audit personnel who need to send formal PDFs externally; R&D, product, and operations teams who need to organize large numbers of technical documents; archive managers who need to file electronic materials; and training managers who need to unify the display effect of training materials. As long as the files already have bookmarks, they can be automatically displayed when opened through the initial view setting.

The value of this setting is not to add new content, but to unify the opening method of a batch of PDF files. It can reduce readers' manual operations and make document delivery more professional. For batch files, unified settings can also avoid the confusion where some files display bookmarks and others do not.

Effect before processing: the bookmark button exists, but the navigation panel is not expanded

From the screenshot before processing, it can be seen that after the PDF file is opened, it mainly displays the body page, and only a vertical toolbar appears on the left. Although the bookmark icon is located on the left, the bookmark navigation panel is not automatically expanded. That is, users need to click the bookmark button additionally before they can see the table of contents structure.

This state may still be acceptable for internal use, but if the file needs to be delivered to clients, leaders, or external partners, hiding bookmarks by default will reduce document readability. Especially when the file has many pages, readers cannot immediately determine which chapters the document contains, nor can they easily jump quickly to the target content.

Effect after processing: bookmark hierarchy is visible as soon as the PDF is opened

In the screenshot after processing, after the PDF is opened, the bookmark navigation panel on the left is automatically displayed, and the table of contents hierarchy is clearly expanded. Users can see the cover, abstract, report chapters, table of contents, introduction, background, and more detailed subchapters, and click any bookmark to jump to the corresponding location.

This is exactly the result of setting the PDF initial view to "Display bookmarks." It allows readers to know the document structure as soon as they open the file, reducing the action of looking for the table of contents entry. For PDFs with many pages, this default display method can significantly improve reading and review efficiency.

Step 1: Open the software and enter the PDF tools category

After starting HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , first look at the left navigation bar. The software provides multiple categories according to office file processing types, including Word tools, Excel tools, PowerPoint tools, PDF tools, image tools, audio tools, and so on. This task is to modify the display state when PDF files are opened, so "PDF tools" needs to be selected.

After entering PDF tools, find "35. Set PDF initial view" in the feature cards. The arrow in the screenshot points to exactly this feature. The feature description mentions that it can batch set the navigation panel, page display method, and default zoom ratio when PDF files are opened. For the purpose of this article, the key point is "Display bookmarks" in the navigation panel.

The expected result of this step is to enter the dedicated initial view setting process. Do not choose functions such as "Delete bookmarks in PDF" that are related to deleting bookmark content, otherwise you will deviate from the goal. What we want to do is make bookmarks visible, not remove them.

Step 2: Add or import the PDFs that need unified settings

After entering the "Set PDF initial view" page, the first step is "Select the records to be processed." The upper right corner of the interface provides "Add files" and "Import files from folder." If the PDFs are scattered in different locations, you can use "Add files" to select them; if the PDFs are all in the same folder, you can use "Import files from folder" to improve efficiency.

After the files are imported, they will be displayed in the list. In the screenshot example, there are 4 records in total, named 1.pdf, 2.pdf, 3.pdf, and 4.pdf, all with the pdf extension. The list also shows the path, creation time, and modification time, making it easy to confirm the file source. For batch processing, this confirmation step is important, because once processing begins, all files in the list will have the same initial view settings applied.

If files that do not need to be processed are imported, they can be removed through the delete button in the operation column. If you want to reselect files, you can also use the clearing entry provided in the interface to reorganize the list. After confirming that the number of files and paths are correct, click "Next" at the bottom to enter the processing options.

Step 3: Select "Display bookmarks" for "Show when opening"

In the second step, "Set processing options," you can see the "Show when opening" setting item. This area provides three options: do not show sidebar, display bookmarks, and display page thumbnails. To make bookmarks display directly when the PDF is opened, you need to check "Display bookmarks."

Here it is necessary to understand the differences between the three options. "Do not show sidebar" means that after opening, only the body area is displayed, and the left navigation is not automatically expanded; "Display page thumbnails" means that after opening, page thumbnails are displayed on the left; "Display bookmarks" means that after opening, the bookmark panel is displayed directly. The goal of this article is to make the PDF display bookmarks by default, so the second option, "Display bookmarks," should be selected.

In the screenshot, you can also see two collapsed areas: "Page display method" and "Default zoom method." They also belong to initial view settings, but they are not contents that must be adjusted for this task. If there is no need to unify page layout or zoom ratio, it is recommended to keep these items unchanged and only modify the display when opening. This makes the processing result more controllable and avoids affecting the original reading layout.

Step 4: Continue to the next step and complete saving and processing

After selecting "Display bookmarks," click "Next" at the bottom. From the step bar at the top of the page, it can be seen that the subsequent process includes "Set save location" and "Start processing." This shows that the software uses a wizard-based batch processing flow: first determine the file scope, then set the processing rules, then choose the save location, and finally execute the task.

When setting the save location, it is recommended to output the processed files to a separate directory, especially when processing formal files or historical archives. The advantage of doing this is that the original files can be retained for comparison before and after processing. After confirming that the output files are correct, archive, distribute, or replace them according to actual needs.

After processing begins, the software will batch apply the "Display bookmarks when opened" setting to the PDFs in the imported list. After the task is completed, it is recommended to randomly open several processed PDFs for verification. Key points to check include: whether the bookmark panel on the left is automatically expanded; whether the bookmark hierarchy is normal; whether the body pages still display normally; and whether the opened file is the processed output file rather than the original file.

Common issues and troubleshooting suggestions

1. No bookmarks are visible after processing. Does that mean the setting failed?Not necessarily. First confirm whether the PDF itself contains bookmarks. If the original file has no bookmarks, setting it to display bookmarks cannot show a table of contents either. Second, confirm that the opened file is the processed file, not the unprocessed version in the original directory. Finally, you can test with another common PDF reader, because different readers may respond differently to initial view settings.

2. Will this operation add bookmarks?No. This function is used to set the PDF initial view, and its core purpose is to control which navigation panel is displayed when the file is opened. It will not automatically generate bookmarks based on headings, nor will it fill in missing tables of contents. If bookmarks need to be created, other dedicated bookmark creation or editing processes should be used.

3. Is it necessary to set the page display method and default zoom method at the same time?Not necessarily. Although the screenshot provides related setting areas, if your goal is only to display bookmarks by default, there is no need to enable these additional settings. Keeping a single modification item helps reduce unexpected changes.

4. Should I back up before batch processing?Backup is recommended. Although this operation mainly modifies the opening view rather than editing the body content, batch processing involves multiple files. For safety, especially for formal files such as contracts, reports, and archived materials, it is best to keep the original versions first.

5. How can efficiency be improved when there are many files?If the files are concentrated in one folder, you can use "Import files from folder." Before processing, filter the target PDFs first to avoid adding irrelevant files to the list. Large numbers of files can be processed in batches to facilitate checking and tracing.

Summary: use initial view settings to improve the quality of batch PDF delivery

Whether a PDF displays bookmarks when opened directly affects the reading experience of long documents. For reports, manuals, policy documents, and resource packages that already contain bookmarks, setting the initial view to "Display bookmarks" allows readers to see the table of contents structure immediately after opening the file, reducing searching and clicking operations.

HeSoft Doc Batch Tool provides a clear batch office processing flow: select "Set PDF initial view" in PDF tools, import the PDF files to be processed, select "Display bookmarks" under "Show when opening," then continue to set the save location and start processing. In this way, the opening state of multiple PDFs can be unified at one time, avoiding manual setting file by file and improving the efficiency of file organization, archiving, and distribution. It is recommended to first select a few sample PDFs for testing, and after confirming the effect, perform batch processing on the entire batch of files.