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Participant
Apr 18, 2019 10:34 PM UTC
Answered

Eliminate Home Screen when closing last PDF?

I'm new to Acrobat DC and am used to working with individual PDFs. I've got DC setup to NOT do tabbed management of multiple open files. How do I now stop it from reverting to a "Home Screen" showing recent files when I close the last open PDF?   I think, that when I close the last open PDF, Acrobat should just go away/die.

justlearn
justlearnCorrect answer
Community Expert
Oct 16, 2026 9:22 AM UTC

​@Kevin350866590pbq First of all, you should have created a new post under your name versus posting on a 7 year old post! 

To fix the Home screen to show no recent files, open your Acrobat preferences - Documents - Open Settings - Documents in recently used list to zero. 

 


In my settings, I have unchecked all the ‘Open Settings’

m

56 replies

Participant
Oct 15, 2026 4:18 PM UTC

Four year later… I’m feeling this. Yet it WASN’T an issue for me for years (including 4 years ago). What gives??

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justlearn
Community Expert
justlearnCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
Oct 16, 2026 9:22 AM UTC

​@Kevin350866590pbq First of all, you should have created a new post under your name versus posting on a 7 year old post! 

To fix the Home screen to show no recent files, open your Acrobat preferences - Documents - Open Settings - Documents in recently used list to zero. 

 


In my settings, I have unchecked all the ‘Open Settings’

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m
Participating Frequently
Oct 28, 2026 9:35 PM UTC

Isn’t the question rather “how to not land on the Home screen after closing all PDFs”?

I just unchecked all options from your screenshot - and still after closing all open files, Home screen stayed open, with Acrobat remaining active, which is what it seems this thread deals with. 

Also, doesn’t posting under an old thread help show just how long users have had this issue for? I have it and it is really annoying.

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Known Participant
Oct 3, 2023 10:25 PM UTC

Replying to get updates. This is super annoying. Like someone putting their hands in front of my face every time I open the app.

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Participant
Sep 10, 2023 1:50 PM UTC

hi guys i found this thread due to the very same annoying issue - however unchecking "Show homescreen when all documents are closed" box DID WORK for me - however reading the thread im curious as to why it isnt doing same for the other (highly frustrated) users here

 

the only other setting i have changed on my app to stop the Annoying right hand "Tools Pane" From appearing which is a checkbox - PREF > DOCUMENTS > "Remenber current state of tools pane"

 

Can you guys check this box and see if this helps to stop homepage?

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Participant
Sep 12, 2023 6:34 AM UTC

Unfortunately, this checkbox seems to be missing (Acrobat Pro DC 2022.002.20191)

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c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
Community Expert
Jul 14, 2023 9:51 AM UTC

Alas, doing that dozens of times a day is an annoyance. 

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JR Boulay
Community Expert
Community Expert
Jun 13, 2023 11:37 PM UTC

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

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Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe
Participant
Jun 10, 2023 11:47 AM UTC

This is really annoying, it is well known that Adobe ignores known user problems for a long time, here in Germany it is the most used but also "most hated" company in the graphics industry, especially after the introduction of the expensive subscription model.

 

Anyway, to the thread question, I have a small workaround (Mac version). I close the last open PDF by directly clicking the little red close button on the document window. It's a little more work, but at least it helps until this annoying issue is (hopefully) resolved by Adobe.

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mariahweyne
Inspiring
Jun 13, 2023 7:24 PM UTC

You can edit your preferences to open all documents in different tabs as opposed to different screens.

Go to edit - preferences - general - and make sure this is checked.

Here I have opened 6 different files, you can see the document name in the tab.

You can also close a tab with ctrl + w instead of the x.

 

 

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Participant
Jun 14, 2023 7:03 AM UTC

The "open as tabs" setting was already checked, with no effect (it doesn't matter how that is set either). When closing the last open PDF document with cmd+W the annoying "homescreen" appears again (As said on Apple Version, Build 22.2.20191.0).
The only workaround so far is to close the last document directly with the red (X) button.

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Participant
Jun 7, 2023 6:23 PM UTC

This is insanely annoying, even on the latest version of Acrobat Creative Cloud (on Windows, for what that's worth).
My workflow requires me to open a PDF, examine and analyze it, save if I've made any changes, then close, and open the next PDF file in a directory and repeat. I work in full screen mode, so when I close the PDF, I get the recently used files window at full screen.  I have to minimize THAT window before I can open the next PDF.  I have to do this OVER and OVER.  I can modify my workflow to open many files at once, but Acrobat doesn't show you the file name of the file you're working on, so that isn't my preferred workflow.  I want to open/edit/save/close/open next PDF, and I can't do that without minimizing a recent files window before opening the next PDF, and there doesn't appear to be ANY way around it.  This is madness!  Madness!

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TJ3159
Participant
Mar 16, 2023 3:53 AM UTC

I might have cracked this - The preference under the "General" category "Show Home screen when all documents are closed" is dodgy: If it's unticked and the home screen still shows, tick it on and hit OK. Open Preferences again and tick it off and OK again. 

Quit Acrobat and launch it. The home screen will open, but open a PDF and close it  the home screen should close too.

This also might be an issue with multiple CC log ins - make sure Acrobat in all machines have the preference unticked.

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Inspiring
Mar 16, 2023 9:53 AM UTC

Hi TJ

 

There is no longer a "Show Home screen" etc, someone has decided they are more important than the users. Sounds like we have to follow the fountain of truth!!!!

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Participating Frequently
Mar 16, 2023 10:02 AM UTC

It's just such a belligerent approach - to force users to have to have the screen open... and not engage with any dialogue?  I'd love to know the internal process that some headstong bully from Adobe insists on doing it 'thier way'

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ksahearn
Participant
Jan 12, 2023 6:28 PM UTC

Every time this is posted in the Support Community they close the request with some nonsense about "Since we don't have many people asking for this feature we're going to close this request HAVE A NICE DAY" - which is a lie and a freaking gaslighting bit of but holery as there are dozens of the same request. I don't know why they're running scared from this simple request - I close a PDF and I don't want the huge, ridiculous "HOME" panel sitting there. All they need to do is give us an option to disable it. When I want to see "recent files" I use my OS built in resource. When I close a PDF I don't want a big blocking piece of the software still sitting there.

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Participant
Jan 13, 2023 6:46 AM UTC

it's simple Adobe is too big...they can't hear us!

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Inspiring
Mar 3, 2023 1:30 AM UTC

they don't want to hear us, maybe software development has moved to inner mongolia.

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paulf40009506
Participating Frequently
Aug 4, 2022 10:52 PM UTC

Why is this question considered solved? The answer provided by KimCSM is incorrect. It is stated by several community members that that solution is invalid.

Nevertheless, I have researched it and wasted way too much of my precious time trying to fix an adobe problem once again, only to find out the best thing to do is to make the superfluous screen is small as you can and put it on the far right of your monitor, so it is barely showing.

The other thing you can do is install an older version of acrobat which I plan to do as soon as Adobe shows me where to download older versions of acrobat. There's no option for older versions of acrobat in the Creative Cloud application. That would be too convenient!

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Participant
Oct 21, 2022 6:49 AM UTC

same here, after closing pdf start screen pops up, in setup disabled it, seems not to work at all.

WHY???

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