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A
Anonymous
February 21, 2019
Question

how to change default settings to remove navigation pane, task pane and change zoom

  • February 21, 2019
  • 4 replies
  • 6426 views

In Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, version 2019.010.20069, how in the world do I permanently turn off the task pane and navigation panes? I want the default view to be my PDF document at 100% zoom and neither of those stupid panes on either side.

I have gone to Edit -> Preferences and under Page Display I have changed the page layout to single page and the Zoom to 100%. Yet still when I open a new document it'll come up at 52.8% or something that is not 100% zoom and both those panes are up on either side. I don't use those panes, I just want to read my dang PDF.

Please help as this is getting incredibly frustrating to minimize both panes and then change the zoom EVERY time I open a different PDF.

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    4 replies

    A
    Amy_Rose
    Participant
    March 12, 2019

    I have achieved a result using the method below.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Microsoft warning message

    Changes made to the Windows registry happen immediately, no backup is created automatically. Do not edit the Windows registry unless you are confident about doing so.

    Microsoft have issued the following warning with respect to the Registry Editor:

    "Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to re-install Windows to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk."


    Note: What you see when opening the registry editor or backing it up, may vary slightly according to your operating system. (and application version)


    How to open the Registry Editor

    To open the Registry Editor, click Start > Run > Type regedit.exe > Press Enter.


    How to back up the registry

    Before you edit the registry, you should make a backup of the current settings.

    1. Open the Registry Editor.

    2. Click on File > Export... > then Export Registry File opens.

    3. In the Export range panel, click All, then save your registry as backup.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (Ver 19.010.20098 for my case) & Windows 10, registry path is given here, this may vary according to your version of software.

    Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AcroExch.Document.DC\shell\Read\command

    String to be modified is similar.

    "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroRd32.exe" "%1"

    to

    "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroRd32.exe" /A "navpanes=0" "%1"

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      O
      OG_Cheez
      Participant
      April 5, 2020

      This solution worked great!

       

      Thank you for a positive, helpful answer instead of "That's how Adobe likes it so get f*****d."

       

       

        A
        Amy_Rose
        Participant
        April 6, 2020

        Thanks for letting me know.

        It took me hours to find a solution and I posted in the hope it could help someone else.

        So I'm really pleased to hear it worked for you too!

          T
          Test Screen Name
          Legend
          February 22, 2019

          Someone’s Preferences have to win. In this case, it’s the person who uses the paid-for Adobe software to make it. No idea if economics played a part but it’s been this way for 20 years now, and it’s in the rules for PDF.

          T
          Test Screen Name
          Legend
          February 22, 2019

          If it is ignoring your preference, the document has its own "how to open" choice, and it is overriding your choices. That's something to fix (if you even can) in the document creation.

          You can add the "actual page size" button to the toolbar, or use Ctrl+1, to get quickly where you want if document creators think they know best.

          Similarly, the navigation panel at the left is under control of the document creator. The default is just, no panel.

          The advertising at the right is harder to get rid of, but you can minimize it with one click rather than a drag.

          A
          Anonymous
          February 22, 2019

          Can this be changed for an upcoming release? Why in the world should someone else's viewing preferences trump mine? If I have my default preferences, that's what I want to use, regardless of who created it.

          .... and there's no advertising crap to the right, it's the task pane... very similar to the navigation pane on the left side... useless and unwanted the majority of the time.

          try67
          Community Expert
          try67Community Expert
          Community Expert
          February 22, 2019

          For the most part, the author of the file has preference over the viewer in determining how the file is viewed. It's their creation, after all.

          Some things you can override, others you can't. It's a delicate balance between the file format specification, the will of the author(s) and that of the viewer(s).

          If you want to ask for a new feature to change that, you can do so here: Feature Request/Bug Report Form

          try67
          Community Expert
          try67Community Expert
          Community Expert
          February 22, 2019

          You need Acrobat to be able to set these options.

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