Create a table of contents
A hierarchy suggested from the document’s headings, to adjust before saving.
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How to create a table of contents in a PDF, step by step
This tool automatically detects a document’s headings from its layout, then turns them into bookmarks — with the option of adding a printed contents page.
Drop your PDF
Drag the file in, or click to browse for it. Heading analysis starts right away.
Review the suggested hierarchy
Each detected heading appears with its level, to correct before saving: detection relies on font size and numbering, not on understanding what the document means.
Fix, add or delete entries
Title and target page are edited in the fields, the left and right arrows change the nesting level, and “Add an entry” fills the list in by hand.
Choose whether to insert a printed contents page
On top of the clickable bookmarks, this option adds a page at the start of the document listing each heading with its actual page number.
Click “Create the table of contents”
VellumPDF writes the bookmark tree, inserts the contents page if chosen, and offers the result for download.
A document with no clear signal — an unrecognized scan, an unusual layout — starts from an empty list: add the entries by hand then, as in the “Bookmarks” tool.
Frequently asked questions
How does VellumPDF detect a PDF’s headings?
The tool looks at the document’s text layer: font size clearly larger than the body text, a bold weight, numbering (“1.”, “1.2”, “Article 3”), and position near the top of the page are combined signals. Since a PDF stores no real structure, this is detection, not reading — check and correct it before saving.
Is the suggested hierarchy always right?
No, and that isn’t the goal: it’s a starting point. Rename an entry, change its level, delete anything that isn’t a heading, add anything that was missed — the list stays fully editable until you save. A document with no clear signal (an unrecognized scan, an unusual layout) starts from an empty list.
What’s the difference with the “Bookmarks & outline” tool?
“Bookmarks & outline” edits a table of contents that already exists, or builds one by hand, entry by entry. “Create a table of contents” automatically detects headings from the document’s content, with the added option of printing a visible contents page at the start of the file.
What does the option to insert a printed contents page do?
On top of the clickable bookmarks in the navigation panel, it adds one or more pages at the start of the document listing each heading with its page number. Those numbers account for the contents pages themselves: an inserted page shifts the numbering of the rest of the document accordingly.
Are the document’s text, images and fonts changed?
No. Only the bookmark tree is rewritten, and the contents page, if enabled, is added without touching the existing content. Processing happens entirely in your browser, with the file never sent to a server.