Making Hand Tool the Default Choice

[vladk5779022]

In Adobe Acrobat Professional, after I select the Selection Tool and close the document, the next document which I open has the Selection Tool selected. (The program remembers the last choice.) What needs to be changed in the settings so that documents may always open with the Hand (Pan) tool selected?

[JR Boulay]

See this related topic:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/acrobat-pro-has-lost-tool-memory/td-p/12485038

[darrellc54457103]

Same here. Adobe opens with cursor every time now. Have to right click on the PDF, select Hand tool. Save/no save, doesn't matter. When I reopen or try any other document, the cursed cursor is there and not the Hand. Anyone? I've check and unchecked the box, that's obviously not the solution. 

[Kealon]

My experience is the same, so it appears the solution may be two-part depending on the starting conditions, as my check box was also unchecked.

The complete solution that will likely apply to all scenarios is (borrowing from @AnandSri and others above) to:

0) Check and Skip to Step 7) if and only if Edit>Preferences>General and "Make hand tool select text & images" is already in an unchecked state, otherwise proceed to step 1)

1) Open Adobe

2) Edit > Preferences

3) Accessibility

4) Uncheck "Always display the keyboard selection cursor"

5) Click "OK"

6) Close Adobe

7) Open/Re-open Adobe with a PDF document

8) Right click on the page area of the open PDF, select "Hand Tool" to move check from "Select Tool."

9) Close Adobe

10) Re-open Adobe with a PDF document and optionally sigh with relief or otherwise emote 😉

[darrellc54457103]

I appreciate your response. My box was unchecked already. Opening a PDF, selecting the hand, closing, reopen, cursor again. I tried to check, then uncheck...nope. 

Still searching for a way to keep the hand!

[electric_videography06767]

Bless you!

[Sherif Saadawy]

I found that if I Right-click my mouse and literally click "Hand Tool", then exit Adobe and reopen it, it now starts with my Hand Tool.  It was that simple and difficult to find at the same time. 

[JR Boulay]

It works fine with Acrobat Pro but not with Acrobat Reader.

In any case you are a genius !!!    (unlike some programmers )

Edit: It only worked once for a few hours.

Please Adobe fix this bug!!!

[noemirPS · Accepted solution]

Interestingly enough - afters hours of searching for a solution this is what worked for me:

• I opened a PDF, right-clicked to select the Hand Tool
• In Edit>Preferences>Accessibility>CHECK "Always display the keyboard selection cursor">Click OK (this was unchecked by default)
• In Edit>Preferences>General - Change Touch Mode to Always (This was Auto-detect by default)

So, essentially I did the reverse of everything I found online and it worked.  I have closed and opened multiple PDF's and the Hand Tool is always the default.  Hope this helps!

[Erica23119311qz3h]

Yes!!! This worked!  Nothing else on this page worked but this did and it makes absolutely no sense!  🙂 thank you!

[Nancy23242313tebw]

Yes, this works!  Thank you!!

[Karl23302067w0tw]

Finally something that works.  Thank you.

[smsaq4u]

Yes!!! This worked!  Nothing else on this page worked but this did!

 thank you!

[Charalampos2368149090dj]

Yes, this works! Thank you!!!

[Raleigh5EB8]

This worked for me! I've spent days trying to get this done. Adobe's tech service couldn't figure it out either. Their final response was, "the hand tool can no longer be enabled by default."

[drlambert100]

I would say that it is a bug that needs attention as I don't have a touch enabled device, but the solution still works.

[Steve24973739182c]

Rock On NoemirPS, 

Your solution was the ONLY one that has worked.  Thank You!!!

It would seem that, logically, Adobe would include in the setup/preferences which of the two tools would the user like as the default, hand or select...   Sometimes it sems as if the coders for these programs think that the simple everyday usage items are not necessary and hide the function away or make it some convoluted path to get the program to do a simple function.

Thanks Again...

[Guest]

It worked by me. Thank You.

[defaultti4llk44rrh7]

You are a champion!

[James25475013rwqh]

Thanks for this - it was the only thing that worked for me!

[Shane254230987hil]

I upgraded to windows 11 and NONE (I repeat NONE!!!!!!!) of these suggestions work. I have just spent over an hour trying to get Adobe to open in Hand Tool Mode in Windows 11. I literally open / view 100's of pdf's every day and this has become quite an annoyance! Please fix this bug!

[defaultti4llk44rrh7]

Im in Windows 11 and the regedit worked for me.

[Shane254230987hil]

I just tried Regedit again and it is working... I did that last week and it reverted back to select for no apparent reason, so I am not convinced it will stay now. Adobe needs to fix this... PLEASE!

[Paul602]

It worked for me, too. So strange that the unexpected and counter intuitive options made it work. It makes me think the settings for the pointer to display as a handtool are bugged. Adobe needs to fix it.

[Silly30003416kio3]

Yep, this worked for me too! Also, the complete opposite of what it says. Thank you!

[Danno-da-Manno_@DAC]

This is perfect! Thanks a bucketload for sharing this noemirPS. The steps you've shared here worked perfectly for me as well.

And, just to kinda "acid-test" it... I not only opened several varying different .pdf docs the same as I've always been doing prior - - - (all of which did in-fact open and continue opening with the 'Hand/Pan' tool now selected by default) - - - but I also then, opened one doc and intentionally then toggled the 'Hand/Pan' tool back to 'Select' tool instead and, while leaving that document open with the 'Select' tool option selected, then once again opened a series of several other docs - - - both via double-click on the actual files, as well as just using the 'Open' file function from within the Acrobat environmenbt itself and... all have consistently continued to now open with the 'Hand/Pan' tool selected, regardless of what method was used to open them, and even more importantly here... even with one or two other docs actively open within Acrobat which had been toggled over to the 'Select' tool instead.

As this has been a longstanding irritant since I recently upgraded to the latest version of Acrobat Pro, (

Acrobat Pro 'Continuous Release'  |  Version 2024.001.20629  |  64-bit), I just can't thank you enough!!!