How to view two PDF pages side by side

Choose View > Page layout > two-page in PDF by Zaweba and the document is shown two pages at a time, side by side. There's also a two-page scrolling layout for reading in pairs as you scroll, and a cover page option that keeps the first page on its own so the rest line up as left and right pages, the way a printed book does.

Side by side viewing is how many documents were designed to be seen. A magazine, a brochure, a book or a report with charts facing the text it describes all make more sense when you see the spread rather than one page at a time.

The page layouts

View > Page layout offers single page, single page continuous, two-page and two-page scrolling, with cover page and gaps between pages as extra choices.

Two-page shows one spread at a time and steps to the next pair. Two-page scrolling lays the pairs out in a long strip so you scroll through them smoothly. Single page and single page continuous are the one-at-a-time versions of the same pair.

Lining up the spreads

Open the document and choose View > Page layout > two-page. If you prefer scrolling, choose two-page scrolling instead.

Look at the first spread. In most books and magazines, page 1 is a right-hand page on its own, with pages 2 and 3 facing each other. If what you see is pages 1 and 2 together, the spreads are out by one. Turn on cover page and the first page stands alone, so every spread after it pairs correctly.

Decide on gaps between pages. With gaps off, a spread reads as one piece, which suits a picture that runs across the fold. With gaps on, each page is clearly separate, which some people find easier for text.

Small screens and odd pages

Check the spread with a picture that crosses the middle. If it joins up, the layout is right. If it doesn't, toggle cover page.

On a small screen, two pages side by side can make the text tiny. Full screen gives you more room: press F11 or Ctrl+L. Read mode, on Ctrl+H, is another reading view to try.

For a document with landscape and portrait pages mixed, single page continuous may read better than pairs. Pick the layout per document rather than sticking with one.

If a page appears on its side, Rotate view (Ctrl+Shift+Plus or Minus) turns the display without changing the file, so you can read it comfortably and leave the original alone.

Two documents side by side

Sometimes what people mean by side by side is two different PDFs, or two versions of one. For a careful check of what changed between versions, File > Compare files opens the old and new side by side and scrolls them together, marking each change in words, formatting and pictures. That's a different job from reading spreads, and it has its own tool for it.

Page layouts in PDF by Zaweba are quick to change, so you can switch to two-page for a brochure and back to single page for a letter in a moment. The app opens big files quickly, which helps when you're flicking through a thick catalogue a spread at a time.