Navigating PDF Documents
By the Syncfusion DevTutorials team · Last updated
Move through any PDF: scroll, jump to a page number, use the page buttons, thumbnails, bookmarks, and a clickable table of contents.
A two-page letter is easy to read from top to bottom. A 300-page manual, contract, or textbook is not: you need to get to the right page fast. In this lesson, you'll learn every way to move through a PDF: scrolling, jumping to a page number, the page buttons, page thumbnails, bookmarks, and a clickable table of contents. You'll practise on the user manual for a coffee machine.
Open the PDF sandbox and click Open the practice PDF in the exercise below, or follow along with the city guide that's already open.
Open a PDF
You met the basics in Chapter 1. A few more things are worth knowing:
- From an email: click the attachment. It usually opens in a preview; use Download to keep a copy.
- From a website: the PDF opens in a browser tab. The browser's own viewer has the same buttons you're learning here.
- Recent files: desktop apps such as Adobe Acrobat Reader list your recent PDFs on their Home screen, so you can reopen a document without hunting for it.
- Protected PDFs ask for a password before they open. Without it, the file can't be read at all.
Once a PDF is open, the viewer usually starts at page 1, at a size that fits the window.
Now that the document is open, let's start with the simplest way to move through it: scrolling.
Scroll pages
Scrolling moves smoothly through the document, page after page:
| How | What it does |
|---|---|
| Mouse wheel or two fingers on a touchpad | Scrolls up and down |
| Scroll bar on the right | Drag it to move quickly through a long document |
| Page Down / Page Up | Moves about one screen at a time |
| Down arrow / Up arrow | Moves a little at a time |
| Home / End | Goes to the start or the end |
Scrolling is perfect for reading, because you never lose your place. For jumping to a page far away, the tools below are much faster.
A jump just means going straight to a page without seeing the ones in between.
Keyboard shortcuts in the viewer only work when the viewer has focus. If a key does nothing, click once on the page first, then try again.
Go to a specific page
The page box in the toolbar (1 of 12) is the fastest way to reach a page you know the number of:
- Click in the page box (or select the number already there).
- Type the page number, such as
7. - Press Enter.
If you type a number bigger than the last page, the sandbox goes to the last page; some other apps show an error instead.
Page numbers in the file don't always match the number printed on the page. Here's why.
Page numbers vs. printed numbers
The page box counts every page in the file, starting with the cover as page 1. Some documents print their own numbers that start later. For example, a chapter may be printed as "page 1" even though it is page 5 in the file. Some PDFs include page labels, which make the page box show the printed page numbers instead. If a contents page says "page 42" and you land in the wrong place, check the number printed at the bottom of the page and adjust.
The page buttons move you one page at a time — and straight to either end of the document.
Previous, next, first, and last page
| Button | Shortcut | Moves to |
|---|---|---|
| Show previous page | Left arrow | One page back |
| Show next page | Right arrow | One page forward |
| Show first page | Ctrl + Home (or Ctrl + Left arrow) | Page 1 |
| Show last page | Ctrl + End (or Ctrl + Right arrow) | The final page |
The first and last page buttons are the quickest way to reach the end of a document, where you'll often find contact details, an index, or a signature page.
When you don't know the page number, the navigation pane on the left has two ways to help: thumbnails and bookmarks.
Page thumbnails
Click Page Thumbnails (the first button in the navigation pane on the left). A column of small pictures appears: one for every page, with its number underneath. The page you're on is highlighted.
Thumbnails are best when you remember what a page looks like but not its number: "the page with the big table" or "the one with the diagram". Scroll the thumbnails and click the one you want.
Bookmarks
Click Bookmarks (the second button in the navigation pane). If the author added bookmarks, you see a list of headings, like a table of contents that's always on screen. Click a heading to jump straight to it.
- Bookmarks can be nested: a small arrow next to a heading opens its sub-headings, just like folders.
- Not every PDF has bookmarks. If the panel is empty, use thumbnails or the contents page instead.
- In long documents, keep the Bookmarks panel open while you read: it shows where you are in the structure.
Use the right tool for the job: the page box when you know the number, bookmarks when you know the section's name, and thumbnails when you know what the page looks like.
One more navigation tool lives inside the page itself: the contents page.
Table of contents
Many PDFs have a contents page near the start, just like a printed book. In a well-made PDF, its headings are links: when you hover over one, the pointer changes to a hand. Click it, and the viewer jumps to that section.
Links can be anywhere in a PDF, not only on the contents page: "see Section 8" in the middle of a paragraph might take you to Section 8. Blue or underlined text is usually a link.
To get back to where you were after following a link, many desktop apps have a Previous view command (Alt + Left arrow in Adobe Acrobat Reader). In the sandbox, use the page box, thumbnails, or bookmarks to go back.
A contents page in a scanned PDF is only a picture: its headings can't be clicked. Read the page number, then type it in the page box.
A few simple habits will help you move through any document quickly.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | What happens | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Typing in the page box without selecting the old number | 4 becomes 14, or nothing happens | Select the number first, then type |
| Keys don't move the page | The viewer doesn't have focus | Click on the page once |
| Bookmarks panel is empty | The author didn't add bookmarks | Use thumbnails or the contents page |
| Following a link and getting lost | You don't know how to get back | Note the page number before you click |
| Expecting the printed number to match | You land a few pages early | Read the number at the bottom of the page and adjust |
Exercise
Here is your chance to try each way of moving through a document.
Click Open the practice PDF below. It opens the 12-page manual for the Brightway Barista 300 coffee machine. Each task asks you to find something with a particular tool: type the answer and press Check.
What to remember
- Scroll (wheel, scroll bar, Page Up/Down) to read pages in order.
- Type a number in the page box and press Enter to jump to any page.
- Previous/Next (arrows) and First/Last (Ctrl + Home / Ctrl + End) move by page or to either end.
- Thumbnails find a page by how it looks; Bookmarks find it by its heading.
- Headings on a contents page are often links: click to jump.
- File page numbers and printed page numbers can differ.
In the next lesson, you'll change how pages are shown: zoom, fit, page display, full screen, and rotation.