View PDFs in Full Screen mode

In Full Screen mode, PDF pages fill the entire screen; the menu bar, toolbars, and window controls are hidden. A PDF creator can set a PDF to open in Full Screen mode, or you can set the view yourself. Full Screen mode is often used for presentations, sometimes with automatic page advancement and transitions.

The pointer remains active in Full Screen mode so that you can click links and open notes. There are two ways to advance through a PDF in Full Screen mode: You can use keyboard shortcuts for navigational and magnification commands, and you can set a Full Screen preference to display Full Screen navigation buttons that you click to change pages or exit Full Screen mode.

Set the Full Screen navigation bar preference

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences.
  2. Under Categories, select Full Screen.
  3. Select Show Navigation Bar.

The Full Screen navigation bar contains Previous Page , Next Page , and Close Full Screen View  buttons, which appear in the lower left corner of the work area.

Read a document in Full Screen mode

If the Full Screen navigation bar is not shown, you can use keyboard shortcuts to navigate through a PDF.

Note: If you have two monitors installed, the Full Screen mode of a page may appear on only one of the monitors. To page through the document, click the screen displaying the page in Full Screen mode.
  1. Choose View > Full Screen Mode.
  2. Do any of the following:

    • To go to the next page, press the Enter, Page Down, or Right Arrow key.

    • To go to the previous page, press Shift+Enter, Page Up, or the Left Arrow key.

    • To change the magnification, press Ctrl+0/Command+0 for Fit Page view, Ctrl+1/Command+1 for actual size, Ctrl+2/Command+2 for Fit Width view, or Ctrl+3/Command+3 for Fit Visible view.

    You can show a Full Screen tool  on the Page Display toolbar by right-clicking/Control-clicking the Page Display toolbar and choosing Full Screen Mode. Then, you can click the Full Screen tool to switch to Full Screen mode.

Close Full Screen mode

 Do one of the following:

  • Press Ctrl+L/Command+L.

  • Press Esc. (Escape Key Exits must be selected in the Full Screen preferences. This is the default setting.)

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