How to Create a Default View for a PDF

Often, creators of Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) documents would like users to see a specific page by default when the PDF is opened in Adobe Acrobat, Reader or other PDF viewing software. Adobe Acrobat, the official application for creating, organizing and managing PDF documents, enables the document creator or modifier to specify a default user view for a PDF. The Initial View function in the PDF document’s Properties settings in Acrobat will allow the document creator or editor to specify which Navigation Tabs will be visible to the end user when the document is opened. Page layout, magnification, as well as which page will be the first viewed may also be set. Additional features of the Initial View function include the ability to hide and show toolbars and windows controls, as well as full screen document viewing and window resizing options for the PDF.

Things You'll Need

• Computer with Adobe Acrobat installed

Instructions

1. Right-click on the PDF to edit.

2. Select “Open With…” from the context menu.

3. Select “Adobe Acrobat” from the Open menu. The PDF will open in the Adobe Acrobat application.

4. Click the “File” option from the top navigation bar.

5. Select the “Properties” link. The Document Properties dialog box will appear.

6. Click the tab labeled “Initial View.”

7. Click the “Navigation Tab” drop-down box and select a view for the PDF. Options include Page Only, Bookmarks Panel and Page, Pages Panel and Page, Attachments Panel and Page, and Layers Panel and Page. The panel specification allows the document editor to specify the Adobe tools that will show in the left navigation pane of the PDF viewing application when the PDF is open.

8. Click the drop-down box labeled “Page Layout” to select the number of pages viewable at one time.

9. Click the “Magnification” drop-down box to specify the magnification level of the PDF when first opened.

10. Type a page number in the “Open to Page” input box to specify the page to be viewed first by the user.

11. Check the boxes in the “Windows Options” section to select or deselect Full Screen mode, window centering or resizing for the PDF.

12. Check the boxes in the “User Interface Options” section to show or hide menu bars, tool bars and windows controls in the PDF viewer.

13. Click the “OK” button to save the Initial View Settings.

14. Click “File,” and select “Save” to save the Initial View changes to the PDF.

References

• Adobe Acrobat Support: Define an Initial View
• Adobe Acrobat Support: Set the Page Layout and Orientation