Incorrect PDF Bookmark Structure for Nested TOC in Book Feature - Affinity Publisher 2.5.6

[bbrother]

App: Affinity Publisher 2.5.6

Description: There is an issue with the Book feature in Affinity Publisher when exporting a combined PDF with a generated Table of Contents (TOC) that includes parent and child topics. When the "Include as PDF Bookmarks" option is checked, chapter filenames are used as parent bookmarks, and the other chapter bookmarks created based on the TOC are nested under them in the exported PDF. The correct behavior should be that the bookmarks are created using TOC entries with their nested structure, and chapter filenames should not be used to create parent bookmarks.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Open Affinity Publisher version 2.5.6.
2. Create individual files as chapters for a book.
3. Combine the individual files into a single book.
4. Generate a Table of Contents (TOC) with nested parent and child topics.
5. Check the "Include as PDF Bookmarks" option.
6. Export the combined book as a PDF.
7. Observe the bookmark structure in the exported PDF.

Expected result:

• The bookmarks should be created using TOC entries, reflecting the nested structure of the TOC with chapter headings and subheadings.
• Chapter filenames should not be used to create parent bookmarks.
• Additionally, if the TOC consists of only one level of headings without subheadings, these chapter headings should appear as top-level bookmarks without being nested under parent bookmarks created using chapter filenames.

Actual result: Chapter filenames are used as parent bookmarks, and other chapter bookmarks created based on TOC entries are nested under them in the exported PDF.

Additional information:

Using chapter filenames for bookmarks can be problematic due to the following reasons:

• Restricted Characters in Filenames: Certain characters cannot be used in filenames on Windows, including \, /, :, *, ?, ", <, >, |. 
• Common Naming Conventions: People often name chapter files with generic names like "Chapter 1", "Chapter 2", or abbreviations such as "Chap 1", "Chap 2". These names are less descriptive and do not provide meaningful information about the content of the chapters.
• Global Numbering with Prefix: Many users employ global numbering with prefixes for chapter names, such as "Chapter 1: Introduction." Using chapter filenames for bookmarks can result in losing this structured naming convention, leading to inconsistent and less informative bookmarks.
• Inconsistency with TOC: Generated TOCs often include detailed headings and subheadings that provide a clear structure and hierarchy. Using generic chapter filenames for bookmarks would create a mismatch between the TOC structure and the bookmarks in the exported PDF. This inconsistency can confuse readers and make navigation difficult.

Example File: Attached is an example PDF generated using the Book feature in Affinity Publisher, which illustrates the problem. In this example, the top-level bookmarks use chapter filenames such as "Chap 1" and "Chap 2" instead of the detailed TOC chapter entry names. This results in a less informative and confusing bookmark structure. Additionally, I have included a ZIP file with the chapter and book files used to create this example.

tomatoes book.pdf Tomatoes book files.zip

I hope this report is clear and comprehensive. 

If you need further assistance, please let me know.🙂

[Hangman]

Hi @bbrother

This is already logged under AF-5131 and is awaiting a fix...

[bbrother]

1 hour ago, Hangman said:

This is already logged under AF-5131 and is fixed in the 2.6.0.2950 Beta...

@Hangman. You are wrong. Chapter filenames are still added as top-level bookmarks wherea ToC one are nested bellow

This is what you get in version 2.6.0.2950 Beta.

[bbrother]

Note to Developers:

To be as clear as possible, chapter file names in book feature should never ever be used to create bookmarks in a PDF file.

[Affinity Info Bot]

The issue "Exporting a Book to PDF Nests Chapters Under the Chapter's Filename Instead of the Chapter Name" (REF: AF-5263) has been fixed by the developers in the latest beta build (2.6.0.2984). The fix is planned for inclusion in the next customer release.
Customer beta builds are announced here and you can participate by following these instructions.
If you still experience this problem once you are using that build version (or later) please reply to this thread including @Affinity Info Bot to notify us.

[bbrother]

@Affinity Info Bot

This has not been fixed and is still an issue in beta 2.6.2984. As can be seen in the screenshot 1 below, bookmarks named after chapter filenames are created in PDF file when exporting from a book. Some of them are used as parent topic bookmarks for other bookmarks created from the TOC. None of them (underlined red) should be in the PDF.

Other issues (bugs) that need to be tackled:

• When you create a table of contents in a book and the chapter files are closed at the time you do so, the bookmarks named after the table of contents entries in the PDF file are exported in a flattened form, i.e. chapter headings and subheadings use the same level. Screenshot 2.
• When you open one of the chapter files for editing after you create the table of contents you will see that the anchor icons (special characters) are missing in the places where the anchors were created
• Bookmarks named after toc entries are sorted alphabetically instead of in document order .

Bookmarking and the Anchor panel need a lot of love and an overhaul. I recommend checking out my request↓

Screenshot 1↓

Screenshot 2 ↓

Screenshot 3 ↓ (This is how bookmarks should be properly created)

I don't know how to explain to you any more what you're doing wrong and that you should fix it. It would be best if the responsible dev did some research and saw how the competition does it, i.e. how the Bookmarks panel works and how bookmarks are created in Adobe.

What you're doing in Serif is very bad, namely:

• You sort the anchors from which bookmarks are created alphabetically.
• The user has no control over the order of bookmarks, it's imposed on them by the program.

Basically, the way you do it should be an example for others of how not to do it. And I'm not saying this because I'm some kind of die-hard Adobe fan, I just want it to work properly for you. I hope this will get fixed and improved  because it's a really important functionality.

 

[ragundo]

Same problem.

Using latest beta, all bookmarks flattened and sorted alphabetically (I don't use a TOC)

I need to use a external PDF editor for arranging the bookmarks after the PDF is generated. Ughh

What is needed is a way to organize the bookmarks in the Bokkmarks panel and respect that order when exporting to PDF.

Common Affinity, Fixing this is not complicated and solves a lot of problems.