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[Solved] Named Destinations in PDF Docs
Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 10:32 pm
by groundHog
I have been using OpenOffice Writer for a few years now, and really like it. I've used it exclusively to generate PDF documentation, but I've hit a snag.
I want to be able to call a PDF document from another program, and have the PDF open to a particular topic. In the Adobe PDF Reader world, this would be with a named destination, and the Adobe Reader call would use the option "nameddest=name" where name is the name of the named destination in the PDF. A lot like a bookmark, but I've tried defining a bookmark in Writer, and Adobe Reader does not recognize it as a named destination.
Anyone know if Adobe PDF named destinations can be created in Writer or not?
Thanks in advance.
- djb
Re: Named Destinations in PDF Docs
Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:51 pm
by acknak
It seems to work for me if I choose File > Export to PDF > Links > Export bookmarks as named destinations: YES
The bookmark is not visible at all in the Acrobat reader graphical interface, but it does work if I start the reader with
$ acroread /a nameddest=BMK01 printme.pdf
[Solved] Named Destinations in PDF Docs
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:32 pm
by groundHog
Excellent. You're right, Writer bookmarks will convert to PDF named destinations, but only if there are no special characters in the bookmarks. I have underscores ("_") in the bookmarks, and these got converted to "5F" in the PDF named destination. (eg, "marker_01" gets converted to "marker5F01) I simply removed the "_" and viola! It works!
Also, if anyone is interested, there is a way to see what text string the named destinations are in Acrobat.
Select
View->
Destination Panels->
Destinations from the Acrobat menu. That's how I realized the underscores were getting replaced.
- djb
Re: Named Destinations in PDF Docs
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 9:27 pm
by acknak
Select View->Destination Panels...
No such menu in my Reader (the no-cost download from Adobe, v 9.1.2).
... only if there are no special characters in the bookmarks. I have underscores ("_") in the bookmarks, and these got converted to "5F" in the PDF...
I can't find any way to check how the bookmark names are exported but it sounds like it could be a bug.
If I look directly at the contents of a PDF exported from a document containing two bookmarks, named "BMK $1" and "BMK_01", I see:
/BMK2520241 ...
/BMK5F01 ...
So that matches your description for the underscore.
I know nothing about the internals of PDF files, but it may well be that the destination names have some strong limitations on what characters are allowed; perhaps only letters and numbers. If that's the case, then OOo is probably handling the "funny" characters about as well as could be expected.
You can always submit a bug report--it's really not very nice to munge the names without at least warning you there's a problem--and see what the developers have to say:
[Tutorial] Reporting bugs or suggestions.
Re: Named Destinations in PDF Docs
Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 2:32 pm
by groundHog
acknak wrote:Select View->Destination Panels...
No such menu in my Reader (the no-cost download from Adobe, v 9.1.2).
I'm using a paid version, Adobe Acrobat Pro version 8. I was supposed to use this to create the PDFs, but I like Writer sooooo much better.
acknak wrote:... only if there are no special characters in the bookmarks. I have underscores ("_") in the bookmarks, and these got converted to "5F" in the PDF...
I can't find any way to check how the bookmark names are exported but it sounds like it could be a bug.
...
You can always submit a bug report--it's really not very nice to munge the names without at least warning you there's a problem--and see what the developers have to say:
[Tutorial] Reporting bugs or suggestions.
Hadn't thought about it, I just may do that.
- djb
Re: [Solved] Named Destinations in PDF Docs
Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2015 4:12 pm
by Watz
... sorry to disturb You,
but under Acrobat 9 and newer,
this function is not functional any more.
You can't have bookmarks AND Named Destinations
with the PDFmaker.