Generate Interactive TOC
Add a contents page to a PDF: its headings are found, looked through by you, and listed at the front with their page numbers and links.
About This Tool
Generate Interactive TOC adds a contents page to the front of a PDF: a line for each heading, with the number of its page, and a link over the line that opens that page.
The headings are found as in Auto Generate Bookmarks: by the size of their type (lines set clearly larger than the body of the document), by their numbering ("2.3 Method", "Chapter 4", "الفصل الثاني", "第三章"), or both. What was found is listed first, and you untick whatever is not a heading. The contents take as many pages as they need, the lines are set in by their level, Arabic headings are written from the right, and the page numbers are those the pages have once the contents are in front of them.
You can type the heading of the contents page; left empty, it is "Contents". The bookmarks the PDF already has are kept, and one for the contents page is added at their head. The pages of the document are not otherwise changed. The PDF must contain real text: a scan needs OCR PDF first. Everything happens in your browser.
How to Use
Upload the PDF
Choose one PDF whose headings are real text.
Choose how headings are found
Under "Look for", choose larger type and numbered headings together, or one of the two. Type a heading for the contents page if "Contents" is not what you want.
Find and look through
Click "Find headings". Untick the lines that are not headings.
Add and download
Click the button that adds the contents page, then "Download".
Use Cases
Reports With Numbered Sections
Give a report a contents page that lists its numbered sections with the pages they are on.
Books and Theses Divided Into Chapters
List the chapters at the front of a long document, each line a link to its chapter.
Long Documents Read on Screen
Let readers jump from the first page to the part they want, in any PDF reader that follows links.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are headings recognised?
By the size of their type, by their numbering, or both, as you choose: a line set clearly larger than the text of the document, or one that begins like "2.3 Method", "Chapter 4" or "الفصل الثاني". A line that begins with a single number counts only when it is also set larger than the text, so numbered lists are left out. Bold type alone does not make a heading.
Where is the contents page put, and what page numbers does it show?
At the front, before the first page. The numbers count the contents themselves: a chapter that was on page 1 is listed as page 2 when the contents take one page.
Is there a limit to the number of lines?
No. The contents take as many pages as the headings need.
Does it work for Arabic documents?
Yes. Arabic headings are read in the order they are read in, the contents are laid out from the right, and they are written in a font that has Arabic letters.
What if no heading is found?
The tool says so and makes no file. Look another way, or name a smaller heading size. A scanned PDF has no text to read until it has been through OCR PDF.
How is this different from Table of Contents?
Table of Contents builds its page from the bookmarks a PDF already has. This tool finds the headings in the text of a PDF, which is what a PDF without bookmarks needs.