Tutorial: Batch Setting the Initial View for PDFs — Make Files Automatically Expand the Bookmarks Panel When Opened

When a PDF document has many pages, bookmark navigation helps readers quickly locate chapters. However, many files include bookmarks but hide them in the sidebar by default when opened, which affects browsing efficiency. This article uses batch setting of PDF initial views as an example to introduce how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to uniformly set multiple PDFs so that the bookmark navigation automatically expands after opening, and explains the effects before and after processing, specific steps, and operational considerations.

In daily office work, PDF is one of the most common delivery formats. Project reports, technical proposals, policy documents, training handouts, thesis materials, contract attachments, and other content are often ultimately compiled into PDFs and sent to others for reading. The problem is that many PDFs already have bookmark navigation, but when opened, they only display the body pages by default, and the bookmark navigation on the left side does not automatically expand. For readers, to jump to a certain section, they must first click the bookmark icon on the left, and then find the location in the table of contents.

If there is only one PDF, manual adjustment is not difficult; but when you need to process dozens of reports, multiple project files, or an entire set of materials, changing the PDF open mode one by one can be very time-consuming. This article introduces a method more suitable for batch office work: using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to uniformly set the initial view of multiple PDFs so that bookmarks are displayed when opened. In this way, as soon as the file is opened, the left table of contents panel will automatically appear, making it convenient for reading, review, and archiving checks.

Applicable scenarios: why batch modify the PDF open mode

The initial view of a PDF determines the first impression when the file is opened, including whether the navigation panel is displayed, which sidebar is shown, how the page is presented, and how the zoom ratio is set. This article focuses on the bookmark display in the navigation panel, that is, making the PDF automatically show the bookmark table of contents after opening.

This setting is especially suitable for long PDFs. For example, for an 80-page project report, if bookmarks are not displayed when opened, readers need to slowly search for sections within the pages; if the bookmark table of contents is displayed directly after opening, readers can quickly click Cover, Introduction, Background, and other entries to jump. For files that need to be submitted to clients, review experts, management, or external partners, displaying bookmarks by default can also reflect the standardization of document organization.

In batch processing scenarios, the value of this operation is even more obvious. Administrative staff may need to organize multiple policy PDFs, trainers may need to publish a batch of courseware materials, consultants may need to deliver multiple project reports, and archivists may need to uniformly archive a large number of scanned and processed PDFs. With the batch processing capability of office software, the same settings can be applied to multiple PDFs at once, reducing repetitive work.

Effect preview: from hidden bookmarks to automatically displayed bookmarks

Before processing: the bookmark entry exists, but the table of contents is not expanded

Before processing, when the PDF is opened, you can see a row of tool icons on the left side of the page, among which the bookmark icon is located in the sidebar position. The red arrow points to that entry, indicating that readers need to click it manually to expand the bookmark table of contents. The body page itself can be read normally, but section navigation is not directly presented.

This effect may still be acceptable for internal viewing, but it is not intuitive enough for materials released externally. Especially when the PDF has many pages and a complex hierarchical structure, hidden bookmarks will reduce lookup efficiency and may also cause readers to overlook the existing table of contents navigation in the document.

After processing: multi-level bookmark navigation is visible as soon as the file is opened

After processing, open the same type of PDF again, and the bookmark panel on the left will automatically appear. In the screenshot, you can see that the bookmarks are displayed in a tree structure, including Cover, Results in Brief, Report, Table of Contents, Introduction, Background, and other multi-level entries. Readers can directly view the table of contents and jump without clicking the bookmark button.

The change after processing is very clear: the body content has not been re-typeset, and the page numbers and text reading areas remain normal; what has changed is the default navigation state when opening. For PDFs that already have bookmarks, this is a low-cost way to improve the reading experience.

Operation steps: use office software to batch set the PDF initial view

Step 1: Find the option to set the PDF initial view in the PDF tools

First, open HeSoft Doc Batch Tool . From the left side of the interface, you can see multiple tool categories, including Home, Task Flow, All Tools, File Name, Folder Name, File Organization, Word Tools, Excel Tools, PowerPoint Tools, PDF Tools, and so on. Because the target files this time are PDFs, you need to enter the PDF Tools category.

In the PDF tools list, find 35. Set PDF Initial View. The description on that function card shows that it can batch set the navigation panel, page display mode, and default zoom ratio when PDF files are opened. In other words, it is exactly the function entry used to unify the PDF opening effect.

After clicking this function, you will enter a step-by-step processing interface. Unlike single PDF editing tools, the design focus here is batch processing: first select files, then set options, then set the save location, and finally start processing uniformly.

Step 2: Import the PDF files that need unified settings

After entering the Set PDF Initial View page, the first step is to select the records to be processed. The upper right part of the interface provides operation entries such as Add Files, Import Files from Folder, Clear, More, and so on. You can choose the import method according to the number of files: if the PDFs are scattered in different locations, you can use Add Files; if the PDFs are centrally stored in one folder, using Import Files from Folder will be more efficient.

In the screenshot, 4 PDF files have been successfully imported, namely 1.pdf, 2.pdf, 3.pdf, and 4.pdf. The list also shows information such as file path, extension, creation time, and modification time, making it convenient to verify whether the files are correct before processing.

It is recommended to carefully check the list at this step. Because the batch operation will affect all files in the list, if a PDF that does not need to be processed is added by mistake, unnecessary modifications may occur. Each row on the right side of the interface has a delete operation to remove a single file; if many files were imported incorrectly, you can also clear them and add them again.

Step 3: Choose to display bookmarks when opening

After confirming the file list, click Next at the bottom to enter the processing options. Here you can set how the sidebar is displayed when the PDF is opened. In the interface, Display When Opening is a required setting, with three options below it: Do Not Display Sidebar, Display Bookmarks, and Display Page Thumbnails.

To automatically expand the bookmark table of contents after opening the PDF, you need to select Display Bookmarks. The red arrow in the screenshot points to this option, indicating that it is the key setting for this batch processing. Once selected, all imported PDFs will be written with the same initial view setting.

On the same page, you can also see two areas: Page Display Mode and Default Zoom Mode. They are related to page layout and zoom ratio. If you only want to change whether the bookmark panel is displayed and do not want to affect the user's zoom effect after opening, you can leave these settings disabled. In this way, the processing result is more focused and is more suitable for scenarios where only bookmark navigation standardization is needed.

Step 4: Set the output location and start batch processing

After completing the processing options, continue by clicking Next to enter the save location settings. Although the screenshot does not show the specific details of the save location, the process bar clearly shows that the third step is Set Save Location. In actual use, it is recommended to save the processed files to a new output folder, for example, create a new folder such as Bookmarks Display Set or Initial View Processed, to distinguish the original files from the processed results.

After the save location is set, enter the fourth step to start processing. The software will batch modify the initial view of these files according to the previously selected PDF list. After processing is complete, you can open the output files to verify: if the left bookmark panel of the PDF automatically expands and displays the original bookmark table of contents, it means the batch setting has taken effect.

Frequently asked questions and precautions

If the PDF has no bookmarks, is it useful to set the display to show bookmarks

If the PDF file itself has no bookmark table of contents, setting the opening display to show bookmarks will not automatically generate a table of contents. The function's role is to make existing bookmarks display by default when opened, not to create a new bookmark structure. If your file has no bookmarks, you need to first create bookmarks through other methods, and then use the method in this article to set the default display.

Will the PDF body content be changed after processing

From the functional positioning, setting the PDF initial view mainly adjusts the display state when the file is opened, such as the navigation panel, page display mode, and default zoom ratio, rather than editing the body text or images. Nevertheless, before batch processing important files, it is still recommended to keep the original files so that you can roll back if an incorrect operation occurs.

Can PDFs from different folders be processed at once

Yes, you can import multiple PDFs using the Add Files method provided in the interface. If the files are scattered in different locations, you can add them multiple times; if the files are concentrated in a certain directory, you can import files from the folder. As long as these PDFs appear in the list before processing, they will be batch set according to the same options.

Why may different readers display slightly differently after processing

The PDF initial view is a file setting, but different PDF readers may present the sidebar, bookmark panel, and zoom mode differently. Before formally sending the files, it is recommended to open a sample using the PDF reader commonly used by the target users to confirm that the bookmark panel displays normally.

How to reduce the risk of errors during batch processing

It is recommended to follow three principles: first, back up the original PDFs before processing; second, check the list after importing files and remove files that do not need to be processed; third, output to a new folder and spot-check the results. In this way, you can use batch processing to improve efficiency while avoiding the risk of overwriting the original files.

Summary: make the PDF table of contents appear automatically and improve the reading efficiency of long documents

Batch setting PDFs to display bookmarks when opened is a very practical document standardization action. It does not require modifying content page by page, nor does it require recreating the PDF; it simply adjusts the file's initial view to a state more suitable for reading. For long reports, material collections, training documents, specification manuals, and other PDFs, automatically displaying the bookmark table of contents after opening can help readers find the required sections more quickly.

HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , as batch file processing software designed for office scenarios, is suitable for solving such highly repetitive and clearly defined tasks. You only need to enter the PDF tools, select Set PDF Initial View, import the PDFs to be processed, select Display Bookmarks, then set the save location and start processing, and you can complete in batch what originally required manually setting each file one by one. Before delivering a large number of PDFs next time, it is recommended to first use this function to uniformly check and set the opening effect, making the files more standardized and the reading experience more convenient for readers.