PDF Viewer
Open a PDF to read it, jump to a page from the thumbnails, look up a word or send it to the printer. The viewer only shows the file: it is never changed or uploaded.
Add one PDF file to view.
or drop a file here
Your PDF is handled inside this browser tab and is never uploaded.
How to use it
- Press ‘Choose a file’ or drop a PDF on the tool. It opens at page 1, and each page is drawn as you scroll to it.
- Press ‘Page list’ to show or hide the thumbnails, then click one to jump to that page. On a wide screen the list is open from the start.
- Type a number into the page box (‘Page number’) and press Enter, or step with ‘Previous page’ and ‘Next page’.
- Open the zoom menu and choose ‘Fit width’, ‘Fit page’ or a fixed percentage. ‘Zoom in’ and ‘Zoom out’ move one step at a time.
- Type a word into ‘Find in document’ and press Enter. The matches are marked one at a time: Enter goes to the next one, Shift + Enter to the one before.
- Press ‘Print’ when you want paper. The pages are prepared first, which takes a moment for a long file, and then your browser's print dialog opens.
What it does
Opens in the browser tab
The PDF is drawn right in the page, on a computer or a phone, with nothing to install. Pages are painted as they scroll into view, so you can start reading a long report before every page has been drawn.
Thumbnails and page jumps
The page list shows a small picture of every page, and one click lands you on it. The page box, the previous and next buttons, and the Home and End keys get you around a long document.
Zoom that is remembered
‘Fit width’ stretches the page to the width of the window, and ‘Fit page’ shows one whole page at once. The plus and minus buttons step between 25% and 400%, Ctrl with the mouse wheel zooms too, and your choice is kept on this device for next time.
Turn a sideways page
‘Rotate view’ gives the pages a quarter turn each time you press it, which fixes a scan that came out sideways. It changes only what you see and print; the file itself stays as it was.
Search, select and click
‘Find in document’ ignores capitals, marks the match you are on and counts them all, as in 3 of 12. Text can be selected and copied, web links open in a new tab, and links inside the document jump to the page they point to.
Print and pass it on
‘Print’ draws each page as a picture first, so the paper copy looks the same in any browser. ‘Full screen’ lets the viewer fill the display. The ‘More’ menu hands the same file to Edit PDF, Sign PDF, Compress PDF and other tools.
Good to know
A viewer is a light way to look at a PDF before you act on it: read a lease before you sign it, find the clause about notice periods in a contract, check how an invoice will print, or page through slides on a phone. It is for reading only. When something needs changing, the ‘More’ menu offers other tools under ‘Use this file with’, and the file goes along without being chosen again.
Searching and copying depend on a text layer. A scanned PDF is only a picture of each page, so there is nothing to find or copy until PDF OCR has recognized it. Search compares your word with short runs of text, usually one line at a time, so a phrase that wraps onto the next line may be missed; try a single word from it. A PDF that needs a password to open cannot be viewed here, so remove the password first with Unlock PDF.
Printing hands every page to your browser's print dialog as a 150 dpi picture, so the paper copy matches the screen in any browser. One side effect: a PDF made by choosing a PDF printer in that dialog would hold pictures instead of text.
Questions and answers
Can I read a PDF here without installing a PDF app?
Yes. Choose or drop the file and it opens in the tab on a computer or a phone, in current Safari, Chrome, Edge or Firefox. On a narrow screen the page list starts out hidden, and ‘Fit width’, the default, sizes the page to the screen.
Why can't I search or select the text in my PDF?
It is most likely a scan, which is only a picture of each page. Run it through PDF OCR first, then open the searchable copy here.
What if the PDF asks for a password?
This viewer cannot take a password. If you know it, remove it with Unlock PDF and open the unlocked copy here.
Does Rotate view change my file?
No. It only turns what you see and print. To save pages in a new orientation, use Organize PDF.
Can I print only a few pages?
‘Print’ prepares every page and then opens your browser's print dialog, where you can usually enter the pages you want. On a long file you save preparation time by taking those pages out first with Split PDF.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. Your browser opens and draws the PDF on your own device. It also keeps the file in its own storage for up to two hours, so another tool can open it without asking you to choose it again, but nothing is sent to a server.