Bookmark levels

[JimFW...@adobeforums.com]

I have a Word document with Header1, Header2 and Header3 styles. I build a TOC in word and convert to PDF with Acrobat Professional (trial). But a funny thing happens to bookmarks. Chapters 2 through 19 seem to be at a lower level and grouped under chapter 1. All chapters are in Header1 style. The TOC looks fine.

How do I make Chapters 2-19 bookmarks appear at the same high level as Chapter 1? There don't seem to be any Word parms. The Acrobat options don't seem to have a setting that controls bookmark levels.

[Noah...@adobeforums.com]

In Word menu:
Adobe PDF->Change Conversion Settings->Bookmarks tab
For each level, when you select it, select the number on the right and you'll see that it is actually a drop down choice.

Noah Katz

[JimFW...@adobeforums.com]

Yes I did this. Level 1 is set to 1, level 2 is set to 2, etc. But what appears to have happened is that after Chapter 1, all of these settins were advanced by one.

My Word source has all 19 chapters at HEADER1 which is set to level 1 as you described. But chapter 2-19 appears in Bookmarks at level 2. And header 2 for these chapters seems to be at level 3.

In Change COnversion Settings>Bookmarks I have "convert word headings to bookmarks" checked but not "convert word styles".

In Change Conversion Settings>Word I have only "convert cross ref and tables of contents" checked.

[MarycR...@adobeforums.com]

We are also having this problem with Adobe Acrobat Pro 7, we are also having problems with forms. "The other quirk I found was in updating my forms with fields from one year to the next. I used to be able to copy all the fields at once and paste them on the "new year" document. Today I had to copy a few at a time. Some forms have up to 60 fields."

Any help would be great. I had going back to lower versions of software because I think 7 is pretty nice, but because of these issues we will have to down grade.

Thanks

Mary

[de_...@adobeforums.com]

the bookmark level thing is a bug imo.

One workaround would be to create an invisible superheadr in the word document which gets levl 1, thenshift the rest of the level heading one up (or is it down?) wards.

[Jan_Sc...@adobeforums.com]

Jim, are you sure there's nothing corrupt --- even a little bit ---in your native Word document? By that I mean, can you validate that all the HEADINGS are, indeed, headings (rather than just something that has the same parameters as headings?

The question is not meant to be impertinent but is based on experience. I've had to fix dozens of client native Word documents over the years that had errant headings which only "looked" like headings but were not actually classified as such.

I'm posing the question also becuase I do not believe this to be a bug. And I base that on the fact that I routinely use the PDFMaker macro to PDF-with-bookmarks hundreds of "chaptered" Word files a year and have not seen this behavior you're describing. So, either I'm just absolutely blessed, or there's some other delta.

Is this sceanrio only happening to you or are others at your business experiencing the same condition? If it's just you and you're a new install, I would recommend a completely uninstall/reboot/reinstall. What versionof Acrobat are you running, by the way? And on what version of Office and Windows?

[JimFW...@adobeforums.com]

Yes I'm absolutely sure that these are real bookmarks. I even created a very simple document with 3 chapters (header1), 2 subsections in each chapter (header2) and 2 sub-subsections (header3) in each subsection, and the problem shows itself. If I then remove header2 and header3 from chapter 1, then chapter 2 is at the same bookmark level as chapter 1, and chapter 3 is at the level lower than chapter 2. The Word generated Table Of Contents is fine. I'm using XP pro with Office 2003 and Acrobat 7.0.0 tryout. I been pretty impressed with the trial but this issue will probably prevent us from buying this version. I'm convinced this is an Adobe bug, and I there doesn't seem to be any way to report it.

[Jan_Sc...@adobeforums.com]

<<< I'm convinced this is an Adobe bug >>>

If it were a bonafide bug, I would be having the same problem you are, and I'm not. However, you and a I do have at least one delta though .... I'm running Acrobat 7.0.1 and not 7.0.0 on my XP machine. Have you tried installing the update?

[Erica_...@adobeforums.com]

I am having the same trouble. If anyone has a solution it would be greatly appreciated. I have run a test document as well, and used the default heading styles (to eliminate the problem being with my edits of the styles) and the same symptoms still appear. AND I am using the most recent version of acrobat. Any ideas?

[JimFW...@adobeforums.com]

I'm running the trial version of Acrobat 7.0. I don't think updates are available for the trial version. And unfortunately, this issue will probably keep us from purchasing the official version.

[de_...@adobeforums.com]

Jan it;s a bug.

Create a test document
heading 1
heading 1.1
heading 1.1.1
Heading 2
heading 2.2
heading 2.2.2

etc etc

In the resulting pdf you'll find that heading 2 has become a child of heading 1, instead of being on the same level:

heading 1
heading 1.1
heading 1.1.1
Heading 2
heading 2.2
heading 2.2.2

As i said you can work around it by create a 'super header' or heading lvl 0 that takes the place of level 1.

[JimFW...@adobeforums.com]

I applied level 7.0.1 maintenance and still have the problem.

[MarycR...@adobeforums.com]

We are also having this problem with bookmarks not recognizing header levels, Adobe Pro 7.0.1 and Win XP SP2, Word XP.

I will have to downgrade a client to Adobe 6 pro so she can get her work done. I would like to know if a patch comes out for it

Thanks

Mary

[Jan_Sc...@adobeforums.com]

de Siem, I don't doubt that it's not working for you and others, however, I cannot replicate the error. It works fine for me.

I routinely use PDFMaker to created automatically bookmarked PDFs of regulatory files (over 800 of them) and my bookmarks create perfectly (with Acrobat 4.05 through Acrobat 7.0.1) without this issue that's being seen by others.

[JimFW...@adobeforums.com]

How many levels do you have? I have no problems with one level bookmarks. But I always have problems on multi-level bookmarks. I am using Adobe 7.0.1, Word 2003 (11.6359.630)SPI on an XP system.

[Jan_Sc...@adobeforums.com]

<<< How many levels do you have? >>>

I've got anywhere from 4 to 7 levels with no problems (Acrobat Pro 7.0.1, Word XP, Windows XP SP2).

[MarycR...@adobeforums.com]

Jan, I would be happy to send you an example of a document in word, and let you exam it and try to convert it. BTW, how are you affiliated with Adobe? If there is a known bug are you responsible for reporting it to them?

thanks

Mary

[Dian_Kj...@adobeforums.com]

Hi all, and most especially Jan -

My experience matches those that say "it's a bug". Operating Sysetm Windows 2002 SP1; current Acrobat version 7.01.

I have quite a few 100-300 page books that are updated 2-3 times a year - going back at least 4 years. The combination of Office 2000 and Acrobat 5.05 created perfect bookmarks based on Word headings and styles that have been meticulously managed.

After upgrading Windows to 2002, I found that Acrobat 5.05 couldn't handle large files in combaintion with Word 2002. So I downgraded Word to 2000. I waited until Acrobat 6 was up to 6.03 before going back to Word 2002.

Acrobat 6.03 and Office 2002 made beautiful bookmarks - provided that PDF Maker was in the mood. It worked for several weeks or months - stopped working - started working - and so on, not paying any attention to any interventions or non-interventions on my part. The representation of PDF Maker in the Word GUI (shortcut tools and menu items) never disappeared, only the functionality.

I couldn't live with this uncertainty so I planned an upgrade to 7. Unfortunately I *need* navigational bookmarks and none of Acrobat's competitors seems to be able to handle them (I tried several alternatives).

While I had Acrobat 7 on test, I experienced the problem with the bookmark levels. I almost gave up, but then I heard that standard uninstall of Acrobat misses an awful lot of things. So I uninstalled 7 and spent at least half an hour manually cleaning up according to a "recipe" I found on this site (the official support stuff, not the forum). When I re-installed 7 on test it worked.

The demo period ran out; I carefully uninstalled 7 and installed 6. 6 never did get it together to be able to make bookmarks again, but fortunately I haven't had any hard requirements for bookmarks the last few months. But I have a BIG requirement coming up within 2 weeks from now.

My Acrobat 7 arrived. I painstakingly uninstalled 6. I did a standard installation of 7 and upgraded immediately to 7.01. Then I tested and found that the first bookmark decides that it is the parent of everything else. I had a colleague go through all the steps with me today, making various tests and comparisons, and we concluded that - at least on my PC, Acrobat 7.01 messes up the bookmark levels. Another thing I noticed (unfortunately in every experiment with 7) is that not all manual touch-ups are possible, because you can't drag something "out" a level anymore. This behavior fits very well with the hypothesis that Acrobat has gotten a parenting problem (sorry).

My PC is a nasty critter. It likes to provoke weird behavior, and is getting an overhaul soon, starting with a new RAM. But Acrobat is far and away the program (6.03 or 7.01) that gives me the most consistent grief. Maybe there is some kind of a very subtle hardware or performance difference between your PC, Jan, and the PCs of us sufferers?

In the meantime, does anyone know the proper procedure for reporting a suspected bug to Adobe?

[Dian_Kj...@adobeforums.com]

More possibilites ... Jan, what level of security do you have for macros on Word?

[Dian_Kj...@adobeforums.com]

Oooh - I hope somebody can come up with some answers ... Jan, are you out there?

Clarifcation about Acr 7's parenting problems in connection with manual touch-ups of a bookmark structure: It used to be easy as pie to drag and drop to nest and unnest and move things to parallel levels. In Acr 7 I can only nest. On some of my books I need to add a bookmark or two because including them automatically would make too much clutter in my nice neat headings-and-styles structure in Word (or Framemaker, for that matter). Before Acr 7 I could add a bookmark and place it without any problem. Those days are over.

I am probably going to have to maintain a separate PC with Word 2000 and Acrobat 5.05 on it for the publications where precise bookmarks are critical.

[Mar...@adobeforums.com]

It's a bug. Fix forthcoming...

[Jan_Sc...@adobeforums.com]

<<< BTW, how are you affiliated with Adobe? >>>

Mary, I am not affiliated with Adobe other than being a long time user forum participant and FAQs writer. I've used Acrobat since 1997 and answer questions both here and on other PDF user forums. I am not employed by Adobe (although I would welcome that), just enamored with their software products.

<<< Jan, is there something special you do before you click on PDF maker? Like, do you make sure that Adobe PDF is your default printer before you open the Word document? Are there settings on Adobe PDF itself (the printer driver) that you do in a special way? >>>

Dian, I do nothing out of the ordinary. yes, I have ALWAYS had the Adobe PDF set as my default printer simply because all print drivers affect text flow. As for Distiller job options, I swear by Dov Isaacs settings ... have for years. He reposted them again in January 2004 at the front of this forum:

Dov Isaacs, "Dov Isaacs' PDF Presentations & JobOptions Files - 2003 PDF
Conference West" #, 14 Jan 2004 3:48 pm </cgi-bin/webx?13@@.2ccf5fc3.2cce68bf>

To answer your other question, my Word macro security is set to Medium, which I'm pretty sure is standard because I don't recall ever having to change it.

<<< ... Jan, are you out there? >>>

Yes, but not 24 hours a day ... I get here as often as I can, however I do have a full, working life away from this user forum.

I appreciate MarkATS formally stating this is a bug ... again, I guess I have my own little Acrobat Guardian Angel because I am absolutely NOT experiencing the problem.

[MarycR...@adobeforums.com]

Jan, thank you for your clarification and thanks to all that will get this bug fixed. I have several staff members I need to upgrade and will hold off until the patch comes out.

Mary

[Dian_Kj...@adobeforums.com]

Jan, thanks very much for the feedback about your default printer and the reference to Dov's settings and the macro level in Word. I still can't fathom that these settings would have anything to do with your Acrobat Guardian Angel protecting you from unwanted bookmark nesting ... but the information is useful no matter what.

I hope you understand that I didn't expect you to be out there 24 hours a day :-) - I know you are a volunteer like the rest of us, and I was just crying out in desperation. I'll try to control myself in the future.

While we are waiting for the fix - I would like to share a few more things I have learned about living with the bug:

You **can** manually unnest bookmarks, but you cannot drag in a curved way. You must go straight up/down and then straigt left - or vice versa. Unfortunately, it is hard to figure out in each case whether you need to go left first or move vertically first. Sometimes you have to cascade changes because it isn't very happy if you just drag something all the way down to the bottom or all the way up to the top. The good news is that you can drag a whole level including its children in any depth.

Also, it seems that Acrobat 7.1-with-this-bug doesn't nest everything under the first level 1 heading. What it does (at least here) is to nest everything under the 1st level heading that has any legitimate children of its own (sorry, I couldn't resist that).

[de_...@adobeforums.com]

just to nitpick the above post, it's 7.01 we're currently on, not 7.1.

[Dian_Kj...@adobeforums.com]

Greetings to de Siem - nitpicking is better than no reaction at all :-), so thanks! Yes, the bug is in 7.0 and 7.01. I hope I wasn't being clairvoyant in writing 7.1 .... I hope-hope-hope-hope that 7.02 is going to fix the bookmark problems for everybody - and that it is coming very-very-very-very soon.

FYI about the bug's nature:
I am learning more and more about how UNPREDICTABLE the problems are. Yesterday my conversion from Word to PDF did the bit of nesting everything under the first numbered first-level bookmark that I described in my last posting. Today the conversion (same file, same settings) picked the second numbered second-level bookmark to nest everything else under. This is a book with many 3-level chapters that I used to be able to generate very reliable bookmarks for. I wonder what tomorrow will bring. Maybe a patch?