Setting the Default Display Zoom in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat

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This guide was created or last modified prior to 2019, and screenshots or individual steps may now be out of date. If you need assistance with the steps below, please email the Help Desk at ts@dornsife.usc.edu.

When creating and opening PDF files, the display zoom (the zoom magnification at which the PDF automatically displays) can be a variety of sizes. You can control the automatic display size of PDF files by adjusting the display zoom in the application preferences. Complete the following steps to set the default zoom for your workstation.

Open Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat.
Open the Preferences menu. This is located under the File or Edit menu options for Windows users, or under the Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat menu for Macintosh users. The Preference menu displays.
Select Page Display, located on the left side of the screen. The Page Display options display on the left.
In the Default Layout and Zoom section, set the Page Layout to automatic.
Next, set the Zoom option to 100%. 100% is the recommended setting. You can select a value that suits your needs.
Select the OK option, located at the bottom of the screen, to save your changes.

Your default display zoom is now set. PDFs will automatically display at this rate.