How to get bookmarks from WinForms PDF using C# and VB.NET?

A bookmark is a type of link with representative text in the navigation panel. Each bookmark goes to a different view or page in the document. ​Syncfusion Essential PDF is a .NET PDF library used to create, read, and edit PDF documents. Using this library, you can get bookmarks from the PDF using C# and VB.NET.

Steps to get bookmarks from PDF programmatically:

1. ​Create a new C# console application project.
2. Install the Syncfusion.Pdf.WinForms NuGet package as reference to your .NET Framework application from NuGet.org.
3. Include the following namespace in the Program.cs file.

C#

using Syncfusion.Pdf.Interactive;
using Syncfusion.Pdf.Parsing;

VB.NET

Imports Syncfusion.Pdf.Interactive
Imports Syncfusion.Pdf.Parsing

4. Use the following code snippet to get bookmarks from the PDF document.

C#

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    //Loads the PDF document
    PdfLoadedDocument document = new PdfLoadedDocument("Bookmark.pdf");
 
    //Gets all the bookmarks
    PdfBookmarkBase bookmarks = document.Bookmarks;
 
    //Get bookmarks name
    GetBookmarksName(bookmarks);
    Console.ReadLine();
}
/// <summary>
/// Get bookmarks name from bookmarks collection
/// </summary>
/// <param name="bookmarks">bookmark collection</param>
public static void GetBookmarksName(PdfBookmarkBase bookmarks)
{
    if(bookmarks.Count>0)
    {
        foreach(PdfBookmark bookmark in bookmarks)
        {
            //Write the bookmark title          
            Console.WriteLine("Bookmark Name: {0}", bookmark.Title);
            GetBookmarksName(bookmark);
        }
    }
}

VB.NET

Sub Main()
 
    'Loads the PDF document
    Dim document As New PdfLoadedDocument("Bookmark.pdf")
 
    'Gets all the bookmarks
    Dim bookmarks As PdfBookmarkBase = document.Bookmarks
 
    'Get bookmarks name
    GetBookmarksName(bookmarks)
    Console.ReadLine()
 
End Sub
''' <summary>
''' Get bookmarks name from bookmarks collection
''' </summary>
''' <param name="bookmarks">bookmark collection</param>
Public Sub GetBookmarksName(bookmarks As PdfBookmarkBase)
    If bookmarks.Count > 0 Then
        For Each bookmark As PdfBookmark In bookmarks
            'Write the bookmark title
            Console.WriteLine("Bookmark Name: {0}", bookmark.Title)
            GetBookmarksName(bookmark)
        Next
    End If
End Sub

A complete working sample can be downloaded from GetBookmarksSample.zip.

By executing the program, you will get the console window as follows.

Take a moment to peruse the documentation, where you can find other options like adding, Inserting, removing, and modifying bookmarks in an existing PDF document and features like ​named destination, interactive annotations, PDF form filling and insert hyperlink to PDF with code examples.

Refer here to explore the rich set of Syncfusion Essential PDF features.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed learning about how to get bookmarks from WinForms PDF using C# and VB.NET.

You can refer to our WinForms PDF feature tour page to learn about its other groundbreaking feature representations and documentation, and how to quickly get started for configuration specifications. You can also explore our 
WinForms PDF example to understand how to create and manipulate data.

For current customers, you can check out our components from the License and Downloads page. If you are new to Syncfusion, you can try our 30-day free trial to check out our other controls.

If you have any queries or require clarifications, please let us know in the comments section below. You can also contact us through our support forums, Direct-Trac, or feedback portal. We are always happy to assist you!