Open PDF File

Open PDF File

There are multiple ways to open PDF files on a computer or mobile device. We will go through different operating systems and platforms and describe how PDF file could be opened on each of them.

Windows 10

Starting with Windows 10 Microsoft introduced Microsoft Edge browser with PDF viewing functionality. If you download PDF file on Windows 10 and double click on it your file will open in Microsoft Edge.

Prior to Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (version 1709) Microsoft Edge PDF Viewer had navigation, performance problems and limited support of certain PDF features like annotations and interactive forms. But starting with version 1709 Microsoft significantly enhanced Microsoft Edge support for PDF by improving navigation, viewing and annotation support. Also support for fill in forms was added.

If you don’t want to use default Microsoft Edge PDF Viewer you can install Adobe Acrobat Reader from https://get.adobe.com/reader/. If you are using Windows 10 on a computer with a touch interface you may like Microsoft Reader available from Microsoft Store. To install it just search for "Microsoft Reader" in Microsoft Store or Cortana.

Windows 7 or earlier

If you are using Microsoft Windows 7 or earlier and need to view PDF files you should download Adobe Acrobat Reader from https://get.adobe.com/reader/. There are multiple other software packages which can view PDF files but Adobe Acrobat Reader is a de-facto time tested standard.

Mac OS X

Mac OS X has built-in PDF file viewing functionality through the Preview app. To open PDF file with preview app you can either double click on the local file in Finder or click on the downloaded file in a browser. Preview app provides basic PDF viewing functionality but it will not display interactive content in PDF forms. In order to enable PDF interactive and dynamic features you need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader from https://get.adobe.com/reader/.

iOS

iOS allows you to view, mark up and sign a PDF file using Books application from Apple. This application is preinstalled on iOS devices. But if you accidentally deleted it or cannot find it on your device you can install it Apple Store. For information on how to export PDF files from email or webpage and view them on iOS device read https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205751.

Android

Android does not provide PDF viewing functionality on install. You need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader app from Google Play Store for your Android device to be able to view PDF files.