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Stvnly
Stvnly
Participant
June 25, 2026
Answered

When a PDF is opened twice in different windows, changing the bookmark on the left PDF changes the right PDF's page instead of the left.. does anyone have this issue?

  • June 25, 2026
  • 7 replies
  • 119 views

This is happening to several people in our org intermittently but enough to where they are reporting about it.

Say there is a PDF, (A).

When we go to the top bar and press view, then new window, it opens another PDF (A) that we will call (A2).

So now, we have open PDFs (A) and (A2).

The issue is that whenever we navigate through the bookmark selection on (A), the pages on (A2) change instead of (A). 

Our Acrobat is completely up to date, all Windows Updates installed, and we’ve reinstalled the program only for the user to tell us that it’s happening again a few days later.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

      Correct answer Anand Sri Bhattacharya

      Hello @Stvnly,


      I hope you are doing well, and thanks for reaching out. We're sorry for the trouble you had. In Acrobat, when you use Window > New Window, both windows are actually two views of the same document instance, not fully independent copies. Because of this, some navigation actions (including bookmarks/left navigation panel) can stay linked between the views, which can lead to the behavior you’re seeing.

      Does this happen with all sets of PDFs, or with any specific PDF? Assuming you are on the latest build of Acrobat version, and a Windows machine: 26.001.21677, Planned update, Jun 17, 2026, for testing purposes, go to Menu > Preferences > General

      1. Uncheck “Open documents as new tabs in the same window”

      2. Restart Acrobat

      3. Open the same PDF twice from File Explorer (instead of New Window), and check the behaviour.


      Also, capture exact reproduction details. Because this is intermittent, note which window had focus last, whether the bookmark panel was clicked in window 1 or window 2, and whether it happens right after switching focus between the windows. Please note that if the goal is to view two parts of the same file at once with independent navigation, use Window > Split instead of New Window. As with Split, "you can independently scroll, change the magnification level, or switch to a different page in the active pane without affecting the other pane." Use Window > Split for two panes; to return to a single pane, choose Window > Remove split. For more details, please check this article: https://adobe.ly/4wdCHFy


      Let us know how it goes, and share your findings.

      Regards,

      Anand Sri.

      7 replies

      B
      Brian362059310fu9
      Participant
      July 29, 2026

      Having the same problem.  The issue is sporadic so unfortunately I cannot provide exact steps to reproduce the problem.  I have noticed it happen several times after renaming a bookmark, but it does not happen every single time. All of the bookmarks are just normal “Go to a page in this document” bookmarks.  No additional actions or anything special with them.

       

      The suggestions above to uncheck the “open documents as a new tabs in the same window” did not help.  I cannot open the same document again via file explorer that way.  When i try to open the document a second time, nothing happens.

      Meenakshi0101
      Community Manager
      Meenakshi0101Community Manager
      Community Manager
      July 30, 2026

      Hi Brian362059310fu9,


      Thank you for reaching out, and sorry to hear that you are also experiencing the same issue.

      It would be very helpful if you could share a short video demonstrating the steps you take that affect the workflow (even if the issue cannot be captured). It will help us replicate the issue on our end. Additionally, please provide the version of Acrobat and the operating system you are currently using.


      Let us know if you need any help.


      Thanks,

      Meenakshi

      B
      Brian362059310fu9
      Participant
      July 31, 2026

      Hi Meenakshi

       

      Unfortunately, I cannot share a short video demo as the documents I work on have sensitive Information.  Here is how i can best describe the steps that eventually cause the issue:

      • Right Click the bookmark within the bookmark navigation pane on the left of the screen
      • Select “Rename”
      • Modify the name of the bookmark
      • Press Enter

       

      Adobe Acrobat Pro Version: 2026.001.21691 64-bit

      OS Version: Windows 11 Enterprise 24H2 26100.8655

       

      Would also like to note that while i’m not 100% sure, I do not believe this issue started occurring until we switched from Acrobat 32-bit to 64-bit.

      J
      Jason22659563pq11
      Participating Frequently
      June 29, 2026

      I have this same issue as well. I use this feature for large PDF files where I need to cross reference information. The troubling thing, this Adobe behavior seems to be new. It wasn’t an issue in the past…  It defeats the purpose of having two windows open on one PDF file if you can’t navigate pages independently.

        Meenakshi0101
        Community Manager
        Meenakshi0101Community Manager
        Community Manager
        June 29, 2026

        Hi Jason22659563pq11,

         

        Thank you for reaching out, and sorry for the trouble caused.

         

        Could you please share a short video demonstrating the steps you take when the issue occurs? This will help us understand the workflow and provide the correct information.

         

        Let us know if you need any help.

         

        Thanks,

        Meenakshi

        Anand Sri Bhattacharya
        Community Manager
        Anand Sri BhattacharyaCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
        Community Manager
        June 25, 2026

        Hello @Stvnly,


        I hope you are doing well, and thanks for reaching out. We're sorry for the trouble you had. In Acrobat, when you use Window > New Window, both windows are actually two views of the same document instance, not fully independent copies. Because of this, some navigation actions (including bookmarks/left navigation panel) can stay linked between the views, which can lead to the behavior you’re seeing.

        Does this happen with all sets of PDFs, or with any specific PDF? Assuming you are on the latest build of Acrobat version, and a Windows machine: 26.001.21677, Planned update, Jun 17, 2026, for testing purposes, go to Menu > Preferences > General

        1. Uncheck “Open documents as new tabs in the same window”

        2. Restart Acrobat

        3. Open the same PDF twice from File Explorer (instead of New Window), and check the behaviour.


        Also, capture exact reproduction details. Because this is intermittent, note which window had focus last, whether the bookmark panel was clicked in window 1 or window 2, and whether it happens right after switching focus between the windows. Please note that if the goal is to view two parts of the same file at once with independent navigation, use Window > Split instead of New Window. As with Split, "you can independently scroll, change the magnification level, or switch to a different page in the active pane without affecting the other pane." Use Window > Split for two panes; to return to a single pane, choose Window > Remove split. For more details, please check this article: https://adobe.ly/4wdCHFy


        Let us know how it goes, and share your findings.

        Regards,

        Anand Sri.

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