This document explains how to open PDF documents in Adobe Reader for iPad on iOS 7.
Latest versions for Adobe Acrobat DC for iOS:
- For iPad, see How to open PDF documents in Adobe Acrobat DC for iOS (iPad version).
- For iPhone, see How to open PDF documents in Adobe Acrobat DC for iOS (iPhone version).
Older versions for Adobe Reader for iOS:
- For iPhone on iOS 7, see How to open PDF documents in Adobe Reader for iOS (iPhone on iOS 7 version).
- For iOS 5 or 6, see Opening PDF Files in Reader for iOS (iPhone and iPad).
Basic Principle
If you see nothing but a PDF document, tap anywhere on the PDF document to display a toolbar. Chances are, the toolbar contains the Share icon or the "Open in..." label that you can tap. If you still cannot find the "Open in Adobe Reader" option anywhere, long-press (press & hold) the PDF document.
Here is the Share icon for iOS 7.
Table of Contents
Select the app that you want to transfer your PDF document from:
Note: Tap/click images below to enlarge and see more details. (Jive scales thumbnail images badly and makes them appear blurry on any web page.)
Mail displays either an attachment icon or the preview image of an attached document in the body of an email depending on its file size and the number of pages in the attached document.
Mail is known to have problems with many different types of attachments (not just PDF attachments). Please take a look at Problem #1 in How to avoid known PDF email attachment problems and make sure that an entire email message is fully downloaded before you open each attachment in Mail.
(a) Tap the attachment icon
When you see the PDF attachment icon in the body of an email message,
1. Tap the icon to open the PDF document in Apple's built-in PDF viewer.
Please note that Apple's built-in PDF viewer does not render annotations (sticky notes, highlight, freehand drawing, handwritten signatures, etc.) nor filled form fields. Some pages may appear mostly blank or empty. Don't worry. Annotations and form fields are not lost. You just need to open the PDF document in Adobe Reader. 
2. Tap the PDF document again to display the toolbar (if not shown already).
3. Tap the Share icon in the top toolbar.
4. Select "Open in Adobe Reader" from the menu that appears.
(b) Long-press the attachment icon
Here's a quicker way to open a PDF attachment by bypassing Apple's built-in PDF viewer.
1. Long-press (press & hold) the PDF attachment icon.
2. Select "Open in Adobe Reader" from the menu that appears.
(c) Long-press the preview image of an attached PDF document
For a single-page PDF document, Mail usually (but not always) displays the preview image of the PDF document in the body of an email.
1. Long-press (press & hold) the preview image.
2. Select "Open in Adobe Reader" from the menu that appears.
Safari
When you tap on a link to a PDF document on a web page, Apple's built-in PDF viewer displays the PDF document inside Safari. However, there is no "Open in Adobe Reader" option when you tap the Share icon on the left side of Safari's top toolbar.
1. Tap the PDF document to display another bar below the top toolbar.
2. Tap "Open in Adobe Reader" (if shown) or "Open in...".
3. Select "Open in Adobe Reader" from the menu that appears.
iBooks
Unfortunately, iBooks does not offer an "Open in" option. If you want to get a PDF document from iBooks into Adobe Reader, you need to email the PDF document to yourself and open it from Mail.
1. Tap the PDF document to display the toolbar (if not shown already).
2. Tap the Share icon on the left side of the top toolbar.
3. Select Email from the menu that appears.
Dropbox
Dropbox has its own built-in PDF viewer. However, similarly to Apple's built-in PDF viewer, it does not render filled form fields.
1. Tap the Share icon on the right side of the top toolbar.
2. Tap "Open In..." from the menu that appears.
3. Select "Open in Adobe Reader" from the menu that appears.
Acrobat.com
Adobe Reader for iOS provides the integrated cloud storage support for Acrobat.com.
First, you need to create a free account at Acrobat.com.
Once you upload your PDF documents to Acrobat.com from other Windows or Mac computer(s) via the desktop version of Adobe Reader or a web browser, you can sign in Acrobat.com and download the PDF documents to your iPad in Adobe Reader for iOS.
1. Launch Adobe Reader for iOS.
2. Go to the Reader home screen.
3. Tap "My Account" in the lower left corner.
4. Tap the Sign In button in blue. If you have not created an Adobe ID yet, you can optionally create one.
5. Enter your Adobe ID and password.
6. Tap the Sign In button.
7. Confirm that you are signed in.
8. Tap Acrobat.com in the left pane to see the PDF documents stored on Acrobat.com.
9. Tap a PDF document to download from Acrobat.com and open it in Adobe Reader.
iTunes
You can also transfer the PDF documents on your Windows or Mac desktop/laptop computer to Adobe Reader using iTunes.
See the last section "How to transfer PDF documents from your computer to your iPad/iPhone" in How to backup and restore PDF documents on your iPad/iPhone using iTunes.
If the app that you are using is not listed above, try following the basic principle described at the beginning of this document and look for the Share icon or "Open in...".
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