show only one pdf in windows task bar

[peru5E2B]

Hello, I want to know is there are a way to disable the option of see all the pdf that I have open in the task bar I mean istead of see this:

Just see one (the last that i have open):

But still having the other pdf files open and inside the program choose the pdf that I want using the top bar.

Is there a way to do this?

[Karl Heinz Kremer]

This is a windows feature, and as far as I know, you don't have any control over how many documents it will show. 

[Bernd Alheit]

The application can control this. Firefox and Chrome shows only the last active tab.

[peru5E2B]

Thats what exactly what I want to do, do you know is there are a way to do that?

[Bernd Alheit · Accepted solution]

Adobe Acrobat doesn't have this feature.

[nofb1]

That's a misconception; many applications have the control over this. It's actually a (bad) feature you have to implement using Windows' API.

[try67]

You can enable the option to show the files in tabs (assuming you're using Acrobat or Reader DC), and then all the files you open will appear under a single window.

[peru5E2B]

Yeah, I have that option enable and the files are open just in a single windows but windows saw me all the files open when I choose it in the task bar.

[Karl Heinz Kremer · Accepted solution]

Yes, this is something that Windows does, and the individual application (at least based on what I know) does not have control over this. 

[peru5E2B]

Ok thanks you, I hope adobe update the product to enable some option to do this.

[peru5E2B]

I mean I'm pretty sure that the aplicaction should have control on it, like photoshop, chrome, firefox, etc.

[ls_rbls · Accepted solution]

There is no option to do this because this is not a design behavior nor an irritating user User Interface(UX) flaw of the Adobe Acrobat software, but only Microsoft Windows operating system.

Every other program like Adobe Acrobat, such as Microsft Office (except for web browsers), will annoyingly display in the same way like Adobe Acrobat is showing in the task bar.

In addition, Adobe Acrobat is not a web browser.

The feature that we all have been longing for is called Tabbed Browsing, which is exclusive of web browsing programs (which require an Internet connection).

We've been confusing design behaviors that are entirely different.

If we dig a little more about how computer programs are designed to interact with a specific operating system, it all becomes obvious.

That said, and contrary to the misconstrued popular beliefs in these support forums, Not because we can open and group several  PDFs documents in their own individual tabs inside of a single Adobe Acrobat window working space it means that this is  "Tabbed Browsing".

While convenient, the experience of opening several PDFs inside of one Adobe Acrobat window,  the same is not true for Microsoft Office programs (or any other software intended to run locally in a computer).

Note, that the equivalent to Adobe Acrobat tabs Preference, in  Microsoft Office would be clicking on  "View" ==>> "Switch Windows".

EMPHASIS ON Switch Windows not tabs; meaning that multiple instances of the MS Office program(s) will containerized every opened document on its own separate windowed process.

Let's try, for instance, opening Notepad.exe or Microsoft Outlook, three or more times; and then hover the mouse pointer over its icon on the task bar... what do you see?

Can you tab-browse that program like you would with  Microsft Edge, Mozzilla Firefox or Google Chrome web browsers?  

And can you see the mutliple annoying thumbnail previews for those two programs too?

You'll soon realize that Each document (or instance of the program), they all will be opened (and handled by the operating system not the program that is running locally on that operating system) as individual tasks.

Therefore the opened programs will be displayed in its own container window when you hover the mouse pointer over the corresponding icon in the taskbar.

[Amandeep28445645hb7d]

Everyone blaming Windows here. This is a Adobe problem. You can have multiple tabs open in Chrome or Edge and Windows doesn't show preview of each tab. In fact, a competitor pdf reader Nitro Pro is great and doesn't have this error. You can have 20 tabs in the same windows and you can open the same tab over and over just by clicking at the taskbar icon. Another annoying this in Adobe this causes is that you can't minimize the program just by clicking at the traskbar icon again. Because it takes you to the option of choosing from multiple windows. I have personally switched to Nitro Pro but unfortunately, I can't speak for everyone at my workplace.

[ls_rbls]

++ EDITED REPLY, fixed typos and rephrased some paragraphs to clarify intent

I'll have to admit that you are absolutely right.

But I will speak for myself when  I say that I blame Microsoft wholeheartedly.

You mentioned that this is an Adobe problem, but it is not that simple when Microsoft itself doesn't provide that capability in their own excellent software such as Microsoft Office, nor the File Explorer.

So, in this context, it is important to differentiate what is tabbed-browsing from a multi-tab feature.

Tabbed-browsing was introduced in web browsers by Mozilla back in 2006, while the multi-tab feature (to include virtual desktops) has been around in Unix-like operating systems (like GNU/Linux) since the 1990's.

To be precise, multi-tab was introduced before that, but it wasn't popular until a mainstream of Linux distributions became what they've always been.

Multi-tab is a built-in capability that is unique of the X-Window system for Unix OS's (not Microsoft's).

And the X-Window system used to interface beautifully with a plethora of Unix/Linux Window Managers, like KDE, Gnome, Enlightenment, Afterstep, Blackbox, to name a few powerful and feature-rich desktop environments (none of them used to look like Microsoft Windows at all).

And aside from opening countless multi-tabs on any program, those window managers would also allow the user to customize countless virtual desktops and many user-sessions without worrying about crashes or dealing with blue screens of death (unique of Microsoft Windows environments).

From what I've read, Microsoft has been working for decades with the multi-tab feature.

Just recently they fully deployed it as an experimental feature, needles to say that it is as recent as the past 3 years (maybe available  through the insider program only; it is not fully released to the publicyet... or maybe I'm wrong?).

So,  it makes sense to me that NitroPDF jumped on-board with that feature now, while Adobe Acrobat set the PDF standards back in the 90's  allowing many software vendors  (like NitroPDF) to be self-entitled as competitors.

In other words, 30 years later , PDF editing software vendors  can unleash a little feature like that in Microsoft Windows through partnership programs and proclaim themselves as "Competitors".

But it is Microsoft who ultimately dictates how and who will get to do what from their partners and resellers... they control that.

In addition, unless all of NitroPDF's code has been re-written completely from scratch, the PDF foundation that still empower all of those competitors (as you say) to actually become competitors will always be Adobe's (like it or not).

Nevertheless, if you look at my Adobe Community Expert profile, I joined this community back in 2019.

About 70% or more of my 7,200 voluntary contributions I've dedicated to helping Microsoft users with their computer issues in these Adobe communities ( for free!).

Microsoft doesn't pay me to come here and help frustrated Microsoft Windows customers, nor will ever hire me for having in my resume words like "open-source", "Free Software Foundation", "CopyLeft", or "GNU/Linux" in it.

So, I think I've earned my right to fingerpoint and blame Microsoft in the same way they would to an individual or entity.

I regret the fact that Microsoft has blamed the GNU/Linux project(s) before as a cancer, yet having the boldness to take over the open source Linux and Android projects and implement it with their own operating systems as a subsystem of their own; meanwhile, stalling what used to be a very fast-pace and efficient developmental cycle in the open-source communties.

In fact, multi-tab, tabbed browsing, multi-user sessions and virtual desktops used  to work great right off the bat before any version of Microsoft Windows took over the open source communties.

NOTE:

Have you ever palyed around with the RaspberryPi and build a full blown home theater and media streaming service out of it ? (I am not talking about Microsoft IoT...that would also be an insult to that project )... 

Here Microsoft! another idea for free that you can claim as your own in 20 more years, after you abandoned your Xbox media center (XBMC) to the open-source communities.

When (and if ) you do fiddle enough with linux on a RaspberryPi device.... that is my point exactly!

Updates to the features that we are talking about were acquired over night, and  they were unique and solid in GNU/Linux distributions .

Nowadays, almost every mainstream Linux distro out there also looks, behaves, is backdoored, and crashes, and have a feel like that of Microsoft Windows 10 and 11 (or a cross between macOS and Windows... ).

Sadly, those GNU/Linux communuties now they have to stick to Microsoft's developmental cycle and partnership programs too.

So yeah... I blame Microsoft on this one not Adobe.