Setting zoom level

Set without your knowledge then? All I can tell you guys is I used to have the same problem and made it a point to experiment with different combinations of a handful of settings that looked likely to be relevant, and what I concluded is what I first posted here. I can't absolutely guarantee there aren't other factors, first because I probably don't view .pdf files enough for it to be considered a sufficient data pool and second because I didn't contact Adobe for confirmation. But I can confirm what I wrote has worked for me, and I'd wager will work for the majority of users on the majority of documents. If it matters later I'll check and post the version of software installed on my desktop.

"That didn't do it, nor did any of the other solutions given here."

Seroczynski7, I beg to differ. This is NOT an open issue, and Adobe will likely not get involved for that reason. The solution, with the various factors to take into account, is exactly as I wrote it, about 4 postings up.

I stated at the bottom of that post that I was unsure if/how the document creator's settings can affect the steps I wrote; differently stated, to what degree he or she can override those steps. You saying it didn't work gives us a very persuasive clue that the doc creator very likely DOES have final say in the matter. I was going to say as much, but before I got around to it our friend Mr. 7,000+ posts :) interceded and provided confirmation of this last piece of the puzzle for us.

So: is the doc one of the few where the creator has forced the view? Don't bother even trying to change it then... Adobe has decreed you not be able to. For all other docs you can set your view preference according to my other post.

Why not use Adobe Reader alternative ? Likely, you have it installed on your PC already

Funny how this topic always keeps coming back, and how little bits and pieces of the complete solution show up here and there throughout the thread but never together in one place

To make Adobe Reader X always open every instance of every document to one's preferred view settings, three (3) things must be set correctly, i.e. must not interfere with or cancel each other out, so go to program Preferences ( under Edit, or just do Ctrl+K ) and follow these three steps and you'll be good:

1.     Preferences > Page Display category

          - This is where you define what your preferences are in the first place, more specifically in the Page Layout and Zoom fields. So set these up first.

2.     Preferences > Documents category

          - If you have the two fields above set to your liking, then in this category all you have to do is make sure the Restore last view settings when reopening documents checkbox (likely up at the top) is un-checked. Make sure and then proceed to the last step.

3.     Preferences > Accessibility category

          - Similar to the previous step in that you're ensuring certain things are not checked: look for Override Page Display about halfway down the page and make sure the Always use Page Layout Style and Always use Zoom Settings checkboxes are un-checked.

That's all… in brief, you're just setting your preferred default page layout and zoom choices, and then making sure three specific checkboxes are not checked. That'll make Adobe Reader X use your choices with every single document, and every time they're opened.

Note: I do not know how, or if, a document's creator specifying view preferences in the document itself would affect these steps, if at all. But it is my understanding that this is a step most document creators rarely employ.

You probably used Google to find this page. By using Help (F1) in Adobe reader X and keyword "zoom" one can find:

Change the default magnification

1. Choose Edit > Preferences.
2. Under Categories, select Page Display.
3. Open the Zoom pop-up menu and choose a default magnification level.
   

Unfortunately , Adobe Help search takes 4-5 clicks against 1-2 clicks via Google search.

Using Acrobat a content author can configure the Initial View of a PDF in the PDF's Document Properties.

Any such configuration determines the initial view of the PDF when opened by Adobe Reader or Acrobat.

Been that way back to Acrobat 4.x.

This permits the content author to establish a desired initial view for their product or to establish a common initial view for PDFs deployed by a business.

If the value "Default" is selected or an item is not ticked then the Adobe Reader / Acrobat Preferences settings come into play.

Be well...