How to read a PDF in full screen

Press F11 to read a PDF in full screen in PDF by Zaweba. Ctrl+L does the same job. The page fills the screen with nothing else around it, which is the most comfortable way to read a long document or show one to a room.

Most of a screen is normally taken up by menus, panels and the Windows taskbar. Full screen hands all of it to the page, so the text is bigger at the same zoom and there's nothing to distract you.

Full screen and read mode

The app has two ways to clear the decks. Full screen, with F11 or Ctrl+L, takes over the whole display. Read mode, on Ctrl+H, is a second reading view worth trying; switch between the two and keep whichever suits the document.

There's also automatic scrolling with Ctrl+Shift+H. The page moves up steadily on its own, so you can read a long article without touching the mouse. It suits something like a manual you're following while your hands are busy.

Setting up full screen the way you like

Full screen has its own options in Preferences. You can show one page at a time, which turns the document into something close to a slideshow. You can choose a black background, which looks better for presentations and is easier on the eyes in a dim room. And you can have pages turn every so many seconds, which is handy for a looping display on a screen in a shop window or at a stand.

The app can also follow the Windows light or dark theme, which affects the parts of the window around the page when you are not in full screen.

Starting and leaving full screen

Open the document and go to the page you want to start from. Press F11. Move through it as you normally would.

If you're presenting, set the full-screen options first: one page, black background, and, if you want it to run on its own, the number of seconds between pages. Then press F11 and let it go.

To leave, press F11 or Ctrl+L again.

Before you go full screen

Choose the page layout before going full screen. For a brochure or book, View > Page layout > two-page shows spreads. For slides, single page is the natural choice.

If a document opens sideways, Rotate view turns the display without changing the file, so fix that before you start.

For a slideshow made from a PDF, Pages > Page transitions adds effects between pages, and those play in full screen. Set them up first, then press F11.

Long reading sessions are easier with a little help: read mode for a change of view, automatic scrolling for hands-free reading, and View > Read aloud if you'd rather listen for a while.

Reading tools in the View menu

Full screen is one of several reading tools in the View menu, alongside page layouts, rotate view, rulers, layers and read aloud. PDF by Zaweba opens files quickly and works offline, so going from a file in your folder to a clean, full-screen page takes a double-click and one key.