When exporting a layout to PDF in ArcGIS Pro, the software automatically embeds an /OpenAction directive in the exported file. This instructs Adobe Acrobat to open the document at the map page rather than page 1. While this may be intentional for standalone map PDFs, it causes a significant problem when the exported PDF is merged into a larger document such as an agenda packet, council report, or any multi-section combined PDF.
When the merged document is opened in Adobe Acrobat, it jumps to the map page rather than the beginning of the document, regardless of where the map appears in the combined file. This is confusing for end users and undermines the professionalism of distributed documents.
Current Behaviour: ArcGIS Pro embeds /OpenAction by default on every PDF layout export. There is no setting in the Export pane (Share > Export Layout) to disable or change this behaviour. The only workaround currently available is to use the arcpy PDFDocument.updateDocProperties() method with pdf_open_view="VIEWER_DEFAULT" via Python scripting after export; which is not accessible to non-technical users and requires an additional manual step every time a PDF is exported.
Requested Enhancement: Add a checkbox or dropdown to the PDF export settings in the Export pane that allows users to control the /OpenAction behaviour, with options such as:
- Use viewer default (no /OpenAction embedded)
- Open to first page
- Open to current page (existing default behaviour)
This would allow users who distribute map PDFs for merging into larger documents to export a clean file without requiring post-processing scripts or IT involvement.
Impact: This issue affects any organisation that regularly merges ArcGIS Pro map exports into combined PDF documents; including local government, planning, engineering, and public sector teams who distribute agenda packets, reports, or multi-section documents containing maps. The workaround requires either Python scripting knowledge or IT administrator access, making it inaccessible for standard GIS users.
