User Guide¶

Everything PDF Reader can do, and how to use it.

Opening a PDF¶

From inside the App¶

Tap OPEN PDF on the main screen. This opens Android's own file picker, where you choose a PDF from wherever it's stored. PDF Reader only receives the one file you pick; it does not browse the rest of your storage.

From another app¶

Open a PDF from a file manager, a browser download or an email attachment and choose PDF Reader from the app list. You can also set PDF Reader as your default app for PDFs so files always open into it, from Android Settings.

On older Android versions¶

On Android 9 and earlier, the first time you tap OPEN PDF the App may show a permission dialog before the file picker opens. On Android 10 and later this step doesn't happen; no permission is needed to pick a file.

Either way you open it, the file is added to your Recents list.

Your library: Recents and Favourites¶

The main screen has two tabs at the bottom:

Recents - every PDF you've opened, most recent first, each with a small thumbnail of its first page
Favorites - the PDFs you've starred, so you can find them without scrolling through everything

Tap the star icon on any file to add or remove it from your favourites.

Searching your library¶

Tap the search icon and type to filter the current list (Recents or Favorites) by file name. This searches file names only, not the text inside your PDFs.

Long-press a file to start selecting, then tap others to add them. With one or more files selected, use:

Share - send the selected PDFs to another app using Android's share sheet
Delete - remove the selected PDFs from the App and your device

Tabs: reading several PDFs at once¶

PDF Reader can hold more than one PDF open at a time. While reading, tap Tabs in the bottom bar to see every document you currently have open. From there you can:

Tap a tab to jump straight to that document
Swipe a tab away to close it
Tap close all to close everything at once

A small numbered icon in the viewer's toolbar shows how many tabs you currently have open.

Reading a PDF¶

Turning pages and jumping to a page¶

Scroll or swipe through the document, use the Previous page and Next page buttons in the bottom bar, or type a page number directly into the page field at the top to jump straight there.

Zooming¶

Pinch to zoom in or out on any page.

Vertical or horizontal scrolling¶

By default, pages flow vertically. Turn on Horizontal scrolling in PDF Settings (below) to swipe between pages left and right instead, like turning pages in a book.

Selecting and copying text¶

Start a text selection on the page, then use the Copy or Share options that appear to copy the selected text or send it to another app.

Links inside a PDF¶

If a PDF contains a clickable link, tapping it shows a confirmation dialog with the address before anything opens, so you always know where a link goes before you follow it.

Full-screen reading¶

Tap anywhere on the page to hide the toolbar and bottom bar for a full-screen view. Tap again to bring them back.

Password-protected PDFs¶

If a PDF is locked, the App asks you to enter its password. Once you enter it correctly, PDF Reader remembers that password on your device so you're not asked again the next time you open that file.

Reading comfortably at night¶

PDF Reader has two separate ways to make reading easier on the eyes, and you can use either one on its own:

Reading Mode - tap the light bulb icon in the viewer's toolbar to lay a warm amber tint over the page. It's off by default each time you open a PDF; tap the icon again to remove it.
Invert PDF color - a setting in PDF Settings (below) that flips the page's own colours, turning a bright white page dark. This one is remembered between sessions.

PDF Settings¶

Open Settings from the bottom bar while reading to find:

Visual settings

Setting	What it does
Invert PDF color	Flips the page's colours for a dark, inverted view
High quality rendering	Renders pages at higher quality
Anti-aliasing	Smooths page rendering
Keep the screen on	Stops the screen from dimming or locking while you're reading

Scrolling settings

Setting	What it does
Horizontal scrolling	Swipe between pages left and right instead of scrolling down
Page snapping	Off: the view centres on the current page after each swipe. On: a quick swipe jumps straight to the next page

The About screen¶

Open About from the menu on the main screen to rate PDF Reader on Google Play, report a problem by email, view open-source licences, or find the developer's other apps.

Ads¶

PDF Reader is free and supported by ads. See the Privacy Policy for what advertising involves.

Still stuck?¶

See Troubleshooting or the FAQ.