Bluebeam Tip: Preserve bookmarks when merging PDFs in Bluebeam Revu

Merging PDFs without losing bookmarks keeps your drawing navigation intact and saves hours on rework. Here’s a clean, repeatable approach in Bluebeam Revu.

• Prepare sources
  • Open each source PDF and verify existing bookmarks in the Bookmarks panel.
  • If sheets use page labels (e.g., A101, S202), ensure they’re correct; labels can be converted to bookmarks later.
• Combine the right way
  • Go to File > Create > Combine Files (or use Bluebeam Stapler from Windows Explorer).
  • Add files (Add Open Files helps keep your active set aligned), then drag to set the final order.
  • Click Options (gear icon) and enable:
    • Include existing bookmarks from source PDFs.
    • Create top-level bookmarks from file names (great for multi-discipline packages).
    • Use page labels as child bookmarks when available.
    • Include hyperlinks and markups (avoid flattening at this stage).
  • Combine to produce a single navigable PDF with preserved and enhanced bookmarks.
• After merge: validate
  • Open the Bookmarks panel and expand a few levels to confirm hierarchy.
  • Test hyperlinks and sheet-jump bookmarks on several pages.

Pro tips

• Don’t “Print to PDF” to merge; that route strips internal structure. Use Combine Files or Stapler.
• For inconsistent sources, auto-build bookmarks from page labels first, then merge.
• If you only need unified navigation (not a single file), consider Sets to preserve original PDFs while centralizing bookmarks.
• Lock the result: batch-flatten only after you’ve validated bookmarks and links.

Troubleshooting

• Missing bookmarks? Re-combine and confirm “Include existing bookmarks” is checked.
• Wrong order? Use Sort by Name, then manually adjust exceptions (cover sheets, indices).
• Long lists? Group with top-level bookmarks per discipline (Arch, Struct, MEP) for clarity.

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