Save, view, and search PDFs

View images, objects, or 3D models

If the PDF author has enabled local saving, you can save a copy of a PDF or PDF Portfolio.

Reader application or web browser

• To save a PDF, click the disk icon  in the toolbar at the upper left of the window.

Reader application only

• To create a copy of a PDF, choose File > Save As.

• To save the PDF as accessible text, choose File > Save As Other > Text.

Why can’t I save a PDF?

Because the PDF author has disabled local saving for security, copyright protection, or other reasons.

If you need to save the PDF, contact the author, and ask them to enable local saving. For more information, see Enable Reader users to save form data in Acrobat Help.

View and navigate PDFs

Do any of the following:

• To enlarge or reduce the page, use the zoom, magnification, and fit options in the toolbar at the top of the window.

• To go to a specific page number, enter it to the right of the Show Previous  and Show Next  buttons in the toolbar.

• To navigate visually, click the Page Thumbnails icon  at the upper left of the window.

• To jump to areas of interest, click the Bookmarks icon   at the upper left of the window.

• To set scrolling and multi-page view options, in Reader, choose View > Page Display menu. In the browser, right-click the Reader toolbar and choose Page Display.

Also see View images, objects, or 3D-models. For more information, see Navigating PDF pages in Acrobat Help.

Zoom into a specific area

• Right-click the document, and choose Marquee Zoom from the pop-up menu. Then drag across the area you want to magnify.

• (Reader application only, not browser) From the View > Zoom menu, choose Dynamic Zoom, Pan & Zoom, or Loupe Tool. For more information about each option, see Adjusting PDF views in Acrobat Help.

Find information in a PDF

To search page content, do either of the following:

• Right-click the document, and choose Find from the pop-up menu. In the upper right of the window, enter your search term, and click the arrows to navigate to each instance.

• To perform a more complex search for whole words, phrases, comments, and other options, do either of the following:

  • In a web browser, click the binoculars  at the left of the window.

  • In the Reader application, choose Edit > Advanced Search.

  At the bottom of the search pane, click Show More Options to further customize your search. For more information, see Advanced Search options in Acrobat Help.

View and search a PDF Portfolio

A PDF Portfolio is a collection of files in various formats created in different applications. You can use the Reader search tools to find text throughout the PDF Portfolio. Type the text you want to find in the Search box in the PDF Portfolio toolbar. The search results show all files where the text was found.

• For PDF files, expand the list to see the results in context. Click a search result to go to the location of the text in the PDF.

• For other types of files, click Open, and then search the file.