In Adobe Acrobat DC and Acrobat Reader DC, switching to your preferred page mode usually disables continuous scrolling. This is not ideal when editing or reviewing multiple PDF documents where pages always jump above the fold; Things can get confusing fast. This means that you have to repeatedly spend precious seconds accessing the Acrobat menu bar to re-enable normal scrolling.
Fortunately, Adobe Acrobat DC and Acrobat Reader DC allow you to enable scrolling for your preferred page mode by default. You can also add quick shortcuts to enable scrolling directly above the Acrobat toolbar. Let’s check out exactly how you should go about doing all this below.
Enable Scrolling in Adobe Acrobat by Default
At the time of writing, the latest versions of Adobe Acrobat Pro/Standard DC and Acrobat Reader DC fit pages to their width with continuous scrolling enabled. However, if you choose to switch to an alternate page mode (Fit One Full Page, One Page View, or Two Page View), you will find that scrolling is disabled.
This is especially true for Fit to Full Page mode (accessible from the Page View Modes menu), which unlike Single Page View and Two Page View, does not offer an additional option to instantly switch between scroll-enabled modes.
If you don’t want to waste time not only switching between page modes but also repeatedly enabling continuous scrolling, you can override the default page view settings via the Acrobat Preferences panel. The steps below should show you how.
Stage 1: In Adobe Acrobat DC or Acrobat Reader DC, open the Edit menu and then click Preferences.
Step 2: Click the Accessibility side tab.
Stage 3: Under the Override Page View section, check the box next to ‘Always use Page Layout Style’. Use the drop-down menu next to it to select One Page Continuous or Two Page Continuous, depending on the page mode you want.
One Page Continuous displays a single page, while Two Page Continuous displays two side-by-side pages. Both options have continuous scrolling enabled by default.
Step 4: Under the same section, check the box next to ‘Always use Zoom Setting’. Then choose your preferred zoom setting.
Note: You can skip this step if you want to stick to the default One Page or Two Pages zoom setting.
For example, Fit Page will fit a full page by default, while Reflow changes text when resizing or zooming in/out a page. You may want to go back and fiddle with these options to find the setting that works best for you.
Step 5: Click OK to save your changes.
And that’s it. By default, Adobe Acrobat DC and Acrobat Reader DC always open PDF documents in your preferred page view mode with scrolling enabled.
Adding Scroll Shortcuts to Adobe Acrobat
Although you always set a scrolling page mode by default in Adobe Acrobat DC and Acrobat Reader DC, you may still want to switch between page modes when actively viewing certain PDF documents. Once again, this can result in continuous scrolling being disabled.
However, you can work around the issue to some extent by placing special shortcuts for Fit One Full Page, One Page View, or Two Page View page modes that will enable scrolling directly in the Acrobat user interface.
Start by right-clicking an empty area on the Acrobat toolbar. In the context menu that appears, hover over Page Display Tools and then select Enable Scrolling and Two Page Scrolling.
This should put two custom icons that you can easily use to switch to One Page View or Two Page View mode with scrolling enabled. You can also use the Single Page View shortcut to enable continuous scrolling after using the Fit to One Full Page option.
Note: If you don’t see the options listed above, you may want to update Adobe Acrobat DC or Acrobat Reader DC to their latest versions. Open the Help menu and then click Check for Updates.
Enable Scrolling in Adobe Acrobat (Mobile)
Mobile versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader/Premium for Android and iOS come with continuous scrolling already enabled by default.
However, if you seem stuck in Single Page view, tap the Page View icon at the top of the app and then Continuous Scrolling while viewing any PDF document. This should re-enable continuous scrolling.
keep scrolling
Overriding the default Adobe Acrobat DC and Acrobat Reader DC page settings will help you avoid having to manually change page modes with scrolling always enabled. Also, putting a few special icons to scroll for your preferred page view mode would do wonders.
While you’re at it, you might also want to explore ways to get rid of the annoying Tools pane of Acrobat Reader DC. It’s a terrible UI design app that you should seriously consider removing permanently to get any serious work done.
Next: PDFelement is a great alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC. Check out how both of these PDF editors stack up against each other.
