Using named destinations in PDF by Zaweba

Named destinations are one of the quieter parts of the PDF format, and most people never see them. They are named places inside a document that links can point to. Instead of saying go to page 47, a link can say go to the place called installation. If the document is later edited and installation moves to page 52, links that use the name still arrive in the right spot. PDF by Zaweba lets you see, use and manage them.

Opening the list

Choose View > Named destinations. The list shows every named destination in the document, and you can sort it by name or by page. Sorting by name is handy when you know what you are looking for. Sorting by page shows how the destinations are spread through the document, which tells you a fair amount about how it was built.

Choose one to go to it. That makes the list a second kind of contents page, especially in technical documents where the author has named every section and figure.

Adding and deleting destinations

To add one, go to the place in the document you want to name and add a destination from the page in view. Give it a clear, lasting name. Names are what other links will rely on, so choose ones that describe the content, such as warranty or contact details, rather than its position.

Delete removes a destination you no longer need. Be careful with this on a document you didn't make. If other documents or web pages link to that name, those links will stop landing where they should once it has gone.

Why they are useful

Named destinations are mostly about linking from elsewhere. A web page, an email or another PDF can link straight to a named place in your document. That is the reason large organisations use them in manuals and policies: the help pages of a website can point to the exact section a reader needs.

They also make a document sturdier as it changes. Page numbers move whenever pages are added, deleted or rearranged. Names stay put on the content. If you maintain a document that others link to, adding named destinations for its key sections is a kindness to everyone who links to it.

Inside the document they work alongside bookmarks and links. Bookmarks are the outline readers browse; named destinations are the fixed points links aim at. A bookmark can itself point to a page, and links in the text jump to pages too.

A few cautions

Names should be unique and stable. Two destinations with nearly the same name invite mistakes, and renaming a destination after people have started linking to it breaks their links.

Check the list after reorganising pages. If you delete pages that held destinations, it is worth looking at what remains and tidying up anything that now points somewhere it shouldn't.

Remember to save. Destinations are part of the file, so they are kept only when you save the PDF.

Who will use this

If you only read PDFs, named destinations are mainly something to browse when a document has them. If you write manuals, policies, specifications or anything else that is referred to from outside, they are worth learning. PDF by Zaweba keeps the whole job in one small window, so adding a handful of names to a document takes minutes, and every link to it from then on stays reliable.