Acrobat: Destinations

by David R. Mankin

If a PDF file has no interactivity, its usability is directed to the next/previous page buttons and the scroll bars. Adding links and bookmarks to a PDF file is a great way to bring your document into the next tier of usability… interactivity!

If there is a page view that you wish to link to, it can be advantageous to memorize it as a Destination. Destinations can be given a specific, descriptive name, allowing for the quick and accurate recall of the destination in the future. Not only that, you can link to a destination that exists in another PDF file.

First to create the destination: You'll need to have the Destinations Panel showing. To do this, right-click in your Navigation Panel (under your icons for Bookmarks and Pages Panels will work) and choose Destinations from the list of available panels.

The Destinations Panel will probably open in a floating window. I like to drag it (by its named tab) to the Navigation Panel to dock it with my other panels.

Navigate to the desired view in a PDF document. When you are satisfied with how your target looks, click on the Create a New Destination button.

Destinations button

Give the Destination a descriptive name. Be sure to save the PDF file, allowing the new destination to be a permanent part of the file.

Next you need to create a link in either the same document, or a different one, that will use your new destination as the link's target.

Draw a rectangle in the desired spot of a page with your Link Tool (it's on your Advanced Editing Toolbar). Make your desired choices for the link's appearance, and select Go to a page view for the Link Action.

Click Next.

With the Create Go to View dialog open (which you should ignore for the next few steps), locate the destination you created earlier (in whatever document it exists, open the file if it is in another PDF file).

Click the destination in the Destination Panel, return to the Create Go to View dialog box and click Set Link.

That's it! You can now link to this destination over & over again, even from another PDF file!

Cool and Easy. Acrobat is loaded with features and tricks like this. Sign up for my next online Acrobat class (I've got one coming up soon) where you'll learn a whole bunch more.

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About the author: David R. Mankin is a Certified Technical Trainer, desktop publisher, computer graphic artist, and Web page developer. And if that wasn't enough, of course David is an Adobe-certified expert in Adobe Acrobat.

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