Viewing PDFs

The key function of Adobe Reader, and still one of the key functions of Adobe Acrobat, is opening and viewing PDF files. This section discusses some of the basics of viewing PDFs.

When you open a PDF document, it is usually displayed in Fit Page mode, letting you see the entire contents of the first page of the document in the document pane. For easier reading, you can click the Actual Size or Fit Width button in the Zoom toolbar, as discussed earlier in this chapter in the section The Document Pane .

NOTE

If a document doesn't open in Fit Page mode, it means either you have changed your preferred display mode through the Edit, Preferences command or the author of the PDF has changed the document's initial view through the File, Document Properties command. If an initial view isn't set for a document by its author, it always opens according to the application preferences of the viewer.

Moving from one page to another can be done in several ways, depending on whether you prefer to use the mouse or keyboard. With the mouse, you can scroll down with the mouse wheel (Windows) or with the document pane scrollbars, or you can click the page navigation buttons in the middle of the status bar. These buttons let you go to the first page of the document, the previous page, the next page, or the last page. You can also click in the text field that displays the current page number, type a new page number, and press the Enter key to jump directly to that page. If you prefer to navigate with the keyboard, the Home, Page Up, Page Down , and End keys take you to the first, previous, next, and last pages of the document, respectively.

Also on the status bar are the Previous View and Next View buttons. These function just like the Back and Next buttons on a web browser, but for views , instead of pages. A view is anything that is displayed in the document pane and includes the document, page, location, and magnification level. The Previous View button takes you back to the last portion of this document or another document you viewed ; after you have used the Previous View button, the Next View button lets you move forward again through your views.

KEY TERM

View The visible contents of the document pane. Views include the document, page, page location, and magnification level.

One other handy navigation technique is the Hand , or Browse , tool (the default tool in Acrobat). Clicking in the document pane and moving the mouse lets you move your document within the document pane. Although this is not a very efficient way to move from page to page, it is a quick and easy way to move within a page, especially if you have zoomed in to view a relatively small portion of a page.