Skip to main content
J
jaystar1945
New Participant
October 31, 2018
Answered

How can I hide the Tools Pane when opening a pdf in Acrobat?

  • October 31, 2018
  • 5 replies
  • 172080 views

Whenever I open an existing pdf document, by default Acrobat always includes the right-hand side "tools pane", which takes up about 1/3rd of the window pane.  To minimise it, I have to always go to >>View,>>Show/Hide,>>Tools Pane>> then toggle/click.  Or on my laptop shift+Fn Key+F4.

How can I change this to not include the Tools Pane in full and just have it in its minimised form, like icons on the right-hand side, which is how it shows when I manually hide it.

    Correct answer S_S

    How do I do this on a Mac?

     


    Hi @Christopher247958186ope,

     

    Hope you are doing well. Thanks for writing in!

     

    There isn't a similar registry code for Mac as in Windows. But, this is what you can try instead:

     

    Go to > Folder > "~/Library/Preferences/com.adobe.Acrobat.Pro.plist" or "~/Library/Preferences/com.adobe.Reader.plist"

     

    Edit or create the below keys and set their value:

    bSaveAsDefault - false

    bRestroLastViewSettings - false

    bRHPSticky - false

     

    Or, you can use the terminal to do the following:

     

    For Acrobat Pro ->

    defaults write com.adobe.Acrobat.Pro bRHPSticky -bool false
    defaults write com.adobe.Acrobat.Pro bRestoreLastViewSettings -bool false

     

    For Acrobat Reader ->

    defaults write com.adobe.Reader bRHPSticky -bool false
    defaults write com.adobe.Reader bRestoreLastViewSettings -bool false

     

    Note: Make sure Acrobat is quit completely before making these changes. You can even go to Utility Manager > Acrobat > Stop Process.

     

    Let us know if this helps.


    Regards,
    Souvik.

    5 replies

    L
    LemonPeeler
    Known Participant
    October 8, 2025

    Thank you, jaystar1945, for bringing this to Adobe's attention.  Like others, we open hundreds of PDF files in the free Adobe Reader and it is insanely maddening that we must close the Bookmark Panel each time in order to view the page.  The only thing more frustrating is the lack of williness on Adobe's part to fix the problem after so many complaints. 

     

    Our Adobe Reader window is often in half-screen mode so we can see other documents on the desktop.  The bookmark panel easily obscured 1/3 of the document for each document we open.  Setting a new default for each document is not a viable solution.  There needs to be a default setting for ALL documents that toggles this panel off when opening documents.

     

    Given the high cost of annual subscriptions for the Adobe Pro version, we had to invest in Tungsten's Power PDF perpetual license which addresses this problem and adds many other useful features for a more reasonable one-time purchase.

    H
    harsh_3740
    New Participant
    October 5, 2025

    The below suggested solution by the user Marvelous_soul6483 works for tool pane but not for Bookmark pane. Kindly, provide me the solution for the bookmarks side bar too.

    Tools Pane

    To prevent the Tools pane from opening by default in Adobe Acrobat go to: Menu > Preferences > Documents and select "Remember last state of All tools pane when opening documents," then collapse the Tools pane, and save.

    F
    F_e_r_n
    New Participant
    January 16, 2025

    From what i can see this issue has been a problem for alot of poeple using this program since 2018, its 2025 and its still an issue. 

    S
    ScraggyScale
    Participating Frequently
    January 17, 2025

    +1. It works but only in DC releases - see Old Thread. In Acrobat Classic these check boxes does nothing. Poor QC. I also wasn't able to report this through adobes support chat as they always told me to "upgrade" to the latest release. Just a joke these support centers...

    S
    SARFARAZ311327402lon
    New Participant
    July 11, 2024

    Permanently close the left-hand side, "All tools" pane in Adobe Reader

    In the Preferences window, select the Documents category.
    Check the box that says Remember current state of Tools Pane.
    This setting ensures that the tools pane will remain minimized if it was minimized the last time you used Adobe Acrobat Reader.

    It will work 100%.

     

    Thanks,

    Sarfaraz Mohammed

    try67
    try67
    Community Expert
    October 31, 2018

    Permanently close the Tools pane in Acrobat Reader DC

    H
    Horrgakx
    Inspiring
    September 16, 2019

    This doesn't work for me, I'm using version 2015.006.30033, this option to disable the tool bar doesn't appear.  I'm not sure if this is because I'm using a 2015 version (?) but there is no option to update because I'm in a controlled corporate environment.

      T
      Tammy5D9B
      New Participant
      October 23, 2023

      It does on mine since the last update with the new look - and all the suggestions listed don't work (they did before).  The tools pane opens EVERY time I open a document.  Please fix this.


      This is so annoying when your window is half screen size and you are working on 2 things.  Having to click to close the tools pane with 15 or more PDF's at a time is so frustrating.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE fix this.

        Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
        Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices