Setting the Initial View in Adobe Acrobat

I don’t know about you, but something I find really annoying is opening a PDF and finding the page zoomed in way too far, and without any bookmarks to help me navigate. If you use Adobe Acrobat to create PDFs, you can help your readers by setting the Initial View. It’s easy to do, and only takes a few moments, and your readers will thank you for it!

What is the Initial View?

The initial view of the PDF depends on how its creator set the document properties. For example, a document might open at a specific page or magnification. You can choose how PDFs appear when first opened. Let’s check it out:

Start by opening the PDF whose initial view you want to set, then select Menu > Document Properties (or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + D).  This opens the Document Properties dialog box.

Click on the Initial View tab at the top of the dialog box to see the available options.

The dialog box enables control over the Layout and Magnification settings, as well as Window Options. Using the dropdown lists allows you to precisely set the options that best serve your readers when they open the document.

If you leave the default settings, then the device that opens the PDF will determine the settings, and these may not be ideal. Let’s have a look at changing them.

Setting the Initial View

To set the Initial View for your PDF, do the following:

1. In the Layout and Magnification area, use the Navigation tab option to determine whether the PDF opens with just the page, or the page and a selected panel.
2. Use the Page layout drop down to select an initial page layout.
3. Select a Magnification option to adjust the zoom level.
4. To have the PDF open somewhere other than the first page, enter a page number in the Open to page textbox.
5. In the Window Options area, you can select options to resize the user’s window to fit the initial page opened, centre the window on the user’s screen, and open the document in Full Screen mode.
6. Click the OK button when done, then save the document.

In my example, I set the Navigation tab to display the Bookmarks panel and the page. This shows the document headings as bookmarks on the side of the screen, making navigation quick and efficient. Because my document is designed to be read like a magazine with left and right pages showing, I set the Page Layout to Two-Up Continuous. I changed Magnification to Fit Height so that both pages show clearly on the screen together. I also left the document to Open on page 1, which is the cover of my document. I generally don’t change the Window options, but you can experiment with them as you see fit.

The great thing about setting the Initial View is that next time somebody opens the document, it will open with navigation bookmarks showing, and with the most suitable zoom magnification – all ready to go!