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Matt2636001915o0
New Participant
September 29, 2022
Answered

How to display a 2 page view in PDF

  • September 29, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 74161 views

I've created a book in InDesign that shows best in a 2 page view when converted to a PDF. The problem I'm having is how to get the file to default to a "2 page view" rather than a "single page view" when opened in Adobe Acrobat. I've googled this a handful of times and can't find a solution. Perhaps I'm overlooking it, but I just haven't found an answer.

 

Thanks

    Correct answer Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com

    After the PDF is exported, open it in Acrobat DC Pro and set the following:

    1. File / Properties
    2. Click the Initial View tab at the top.
    3. From the drop down list for Page Layout, select Two-Up (Cover Page) or Two-Up Continuous (Cover Page). The difference between the two is how the PDF will scroll for the user: will it "hop" from one page/spread to the next, or will it be a smooth continuous scroll from spread to spread. Your choice.
    4. Exit out of the dialogue box.
    5. Save and close the PDF. This is important to cement the setting in the PDF.
    6. Re-open the PDF to check that it opens as you intended.

     

    If you're making the PDF from Adobe InDesign, you can set this in the Export dialogue settings and then avoid this step in Acrobat.

    1. File / Export / Interactive PDF.
    2. From the Layout menu, select either Two-Up (Cover Page) or Two-Up Continuous (Cover Page).
    3. Complete the export, and the PDF will open as planned in Acrobat.

     

    NOTE: Do not select the "spreads" option in the upper right. It welds the 2 pages together and prevents many users from viewing the PDF easily. Keep them as separate pages and instead have them viewed side-by-side. Makes everyone happy.

     

    Not difficult to do, but it is not well-documented. Hopefully, this will help.

     

    3 replies

    Peter Spier
    Peter Spier
    Community Expert
    September 30, 2022

    Keep in mind, though, that this is only the way the file will display whgen it is opened in Acrobat. All bets are off with other viewers, and the reader has full control to change the view on their end regardless of waht you might set.

      M
      Miled31339407mfzg
      New Participant
      July 31, 2023

      yes exactly. do you know a way to save the view settings on adobe reader. because on acrobat it saves fine just not on reader. 

      James Gifford—NitroPress
      James Gifford—NitroPress
      Brainiac
      July 31, 2023

      The short answer is no, view settings are set within the document. They are only interpreted by the reader as something of a guideline — if the reader has a very small window, the reader will often change the display mode to attempt to give the user a better view.

       

      But you can embed both starting scale and starting layout in the doc. As long as the user is opening the doc in a compliant reader on a screen large enough to show the spread contents, it will open that way.

       

      If what you want is the contents of two pages, always... make it single double-width pages.

        J
        Jeffrey_Smith
        Community Expert
        September 29, 2022

        When you export, select layout for various 2 up options.

        Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
        Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.comCorrect answer
        Brainiac
        September 29, 2022

        After the PDF is exported, open it in Acrobat DC Pro and set the following:

        1. File / Properties
        2. Click the Initial View tab at the top.
        3. From the drop down list for Page Layout, select Two-Up (Cover Page) or Two-Up Continuous (Cover Page). The difference between the two is how the PDF will scroll for the user: will it "hop" from one page/spread to the next, or will it be a smooth continuous scroll from spread to spread. Your choice.
        4. Exit out of the dialogue box.
        5. Save and close the PDF. This is important to cement the setting in the PDF.
        6. Re-open the PDF to check that it opens as you intended.

         

        If you're making the PDF from Adobe InDesign, you can set this in the Export dialogue settings and then avoid this step in Acrobat.

        1. File / Export / Interactive PDF.
        2. From the Layout menu, select either Two-Up (Cover Page) or Two-Up Continuous (Cover Page).
        3. Complete the export, and the PDF will open as planned in Acrobat.

         

        NOTE: Do not select the "spreads" option in the upper right. It welds the 2 pages together and prevents many users from viewing the PDF easily. Keep them as separate pages and instead have them viewed side-by-side. Makes everyone happy.

         

        Not difficult to do, but it is not well-documented. Hopefully, this will help.

         

        |    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
          James Gifford—NitroPress
          James Gifford—NitroPress
          Brainiac
          September 29, 2022

          There is one option available in Acrobat that is not (always) available in the ID export. Can't remember which one; I had a document for which the choice was grayed out and I had to export, then open in Acrobat Pro to set the right initial view.

           

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