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MacUserSince96
Participating Frequently
September 5, 2025
Answered

Hide the “welcome” screen?

  • September 5, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 524 views

I have installed Adobe acrobat reader on my Mac. When no PDF files are open, I see it automatically opens a “welcome” screen, the default page being the Recent tab. This tab contains advertisements which I don’t like so I would like to hide this tab or perhaps the whole default screen When acrobat reader launches. Can I find a setting to do that in the preferences?

 

Architecture: x86_64

Processor: Intel

Build: 25.1.20643.0

AGM: 7.1.17

CoolType: 10.0.7

JP2K: 4.0.2.54782

Correct answer creative explorer

@MacUserSince96 Totally! On a Mac, you can typically find this by going to Acrobat Reader > Preferences in the menu bar. From there, navigate to the General category and uncheck the box next to this option. By doing so, you prevent the application from defaulting to the home screen with its "Recent" tab and advertisements. Instead, when you launch the application without opening a specific PDF, the main application window will be a blank, document-less interface. I do this when I work at client offices with my MacBook... I don't want them to see what else I am working on either! 

 

1 reply

creative explorer
Community Expert
creative explorerCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
September 7, 2025

@MacUserSince96 Totally! On a Mac, you can typically find this by going to Acrobat Reader > Preferences in the menu bar. From there, navigate to the General category and uncheck the box next to this option. By doing so, you prevent the application from defaulting to the home screen with its "Recent" tab and advertisements. Instead, when you launch the application without opening a specific PDF, the main application window will be a blank, document-less interface. I do this when I work at client offices with my MacBook... I don't want them to see what else I am working on either! 

 

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T
troyjack
Inspiring
October 8, 2025

Hi @creative explorer  This no longer seems to be working... I've always left that box unticked, but today Acrobat seems to be ignoring this preference and continues to show the Home Screen when documents are closed. Is there another setting somewhere that could be affecting this?
Processor: Apple M1 Max

Build: 25.1.20756.0

    creative explorer
    Community Expert
    creative explorerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 10, 2025

    @troyjack  Years ago, the golden rule was to always set your global preferences before opening any documents. I'd make the changes, close the application, and then relaunch it to ensure the new settings took full effect. Otherwise, changing preferences with a document open meant they were only applied to that specific file.

     

     




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