PDF Viewer Preferences

Choose how a PDF opens: page layout, bookmarks or thumbnails panel, full screen, window options, reading direction and print scaling.

Reviewed by Dany, RightSums team · Updated

Runs in your browser. Your files are not uploaded.

pdf-view · PDF tool · UK & US

Open a PDF and the tool shows its current opening settings, then lets you change them. Page layout can be single page, continuous, two columns or two-page spreads with odd pages on the left or right. The opening panel can show bookmarks, thumbnails, layers or attachments, or start in full screen for a presentation. Six options hide the toolbar, menu bar or window controls, fit the window to the first page, centre the window, and show the document title instead of the file name. You can also set right-to-left reading and ask readers to print at actual size. The settings are written into the PDF. Adobe Acrobat honours them all, while browser and mobile viewers often ignore some. Opening page and zoom level are not set here.

Accepted inputs

  • PDF

Outputs

  • PDF with viewer preferences

How to use the PDF Viewer Preferences

  1. Choose a PDF, and enter its password if it has one.
  2. Check the current settings, then pick a page layout and what the reader shows when the file opens.
  3. Set reading direction and print scaling, and tick any window options you want.
  4. Click Save preferences and download the updated PDF.

Frequently asked questions

Will every PDF reader honour these settings?

No. They are hints stored in the file. Adobe Acrobat and Reader follow all of them, but browser viewers and many mobile apps ignore some, especially the toolbar, menu bar and window options. Test the file in the reader your audience uses.

How do I make a PDF open in full screen?

Set When opened, show to Full screen (presentation) and save. Acrobat will ask the reader to allow full screen mode the first time. Browser viewers usually ignore this setting and open the file normally.

Can I set the page or zoom level a PDF opens at?

Not with this tool. It sets the page layout, the side panel, window options, reading direction and print scaling, but not an opening page or zoom level. Those need an open action, which this tool does not write.

How do I show the document title instead of the file name?

Tick Show the document title instead of the file name and save. The PDF also needs a title property, which you can add or change with Edit PDF Metadata. Without a title, readers fall back to the file name.

What does print at actual size do?

It sets the print scaling preference to none, so the reader's print dialog starts at 100% instead of shrinking the page to fit. That helps with forms, labels and scale drawings. The person printing can still change it.

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