out of order table of contents entries with pdfpages

Question

currently i am in a situation where i have inserted some pages via includepdf, followed by additional \includepdf calls that use the addtotoc function, as follows:

\includepdf{pdffile1}
\includepdf{pdffile2}
\includepdf{pdffile3}
\includepdf{pdffile4}
\includepdf{pdffile5}
\includepdf{pdffile6}

\addcontentsline{toc}{part}{Part 1. Part 1}
\includepdf[pages=-,pagecommand={},addtotoc={1, subsection, 2, somename, somenamelabel,
...
n, subsection, 2, somenameN, somenameNlabel}]{./part1docs}

\addcontentsline{toc}{part}{Part 2. Part 2}
\includepdf[pages=-,pagecommand={},addtotoc={1, subsection, 2, somenamepart2, somenamep2label,
...
n, subsection, 2, somenamepart2N, somenamep2Nlabel}]{./part2docs}

i would like to now add a new section heading, called "Part 3", where the subsections would refer to the pages in the \includepdf{pdffile1}..\includepdf{pdffile6} calls.

edit: i found someone's macro that allows me to put in entries

\newcommand*{\NoPageAddContentsLine}[3]{%
  \begingroup
    \newpage
    \let\protected@write\protected@immediate@write
    \addcontentsline{#1}{#2}{#3}%
  \endgroup
  \stepcounter{page}%
}

via \NoPageAddContents line, so if i add this code:

\setcounter{page}{1}
\NoPageAddContentsLine{toc}{part}{Part 3. Transcripts}
\NoPageAddContentsLine{toc}{subsection}{pdffile1name}
...
\NoPageAddContentsLine{toc}{subsection}{pdffile6name}

it looks right but the linking is still an issue. even if i add a link=true, linkname=x to each of the pdffiles, it does not work.

any tips on getting a working link to a contents entry added in this way, if the link is created through pdfpages?

Answer 1

Do you really want a TOC that does not follow the structure of your document? I suppose this will be highly confusing for everyone reading your document.

Maybe a simple table with references to the other pages might be a better solution than putting it into the TOC.

Anyway, here's a quick solution without page numbers. Adding page numbers would be much more cumbersome.

\documentclass[a4paper]{article}
\usepackage{pdfpages}
\usepackage{hyperref}

\makeatletter
\newcommand\mysection[2]{%
  \stepcounter{section}
  \addtocontents{toc}{%
    \protect\contentsline{section}%
    {\protect\numberline {\thesection}#1}%
    {}%
    {#2}%
    \protected@file@percent}}
\makeatother

\begin{document}
\includepdf[pages=-, link, linkname=AAA]{dummy.pdf}

\tableofcontents
\section{First}
\mysection{Let's see}{AAA.2}
\section{Next}

\end{document}

Answer 2

by using

\newcommand*{\NoPageAddContentsLine}[3]{%
  \begingroup
    \newpage
    \let\protected@write\protected@immediate@write
    \addcontentsline{#1}{#2}{#3}%
  \endgroup
  \stepcounter{page}%
}

and then adding \label{x} after each includepdf call that's being indexed out-of-order:

\includepdf{pdffile1}\label{whatiwant}

and then using hyperref in the nopageaddcontentsline,

\NoPageAddContentsLine{toc}{subsection}{\hyperref[whatiwant]{pdffile1 header name}}

it will work. it's not the prettiest solution, but it's generated so i'll take it.

and i agree matthias, it's not the best way to do things.

but The < Vaunted Entity > is The < Vaunted Entity >. your documents must meet their criteri prior to arguing with them ;)