How to Hide the Right-Hand Tools Pane in Acrobat Reader DC
Question details
The user wants to prevent the right-hand Tools pane from appearing every time they open a document in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to save screen space.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Reading or reviewing PDF documents where maximum screen visibility and minimal interface clutter are needed.
- Observed behavior
- The right-hand Tools pane opens by default alongside documents, reducing the available viewing area, and fails to remember its collapsed state upon restarting the application.
Ensure you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC installed, as interface layout and preference menus may vary slightly in older versions.
Configure Preferences to Remember the Tools Pane State
Adjust the application's built-in preferences so that Acrobat Reader automatically remembers your choice to keep the right-hand Tools pane collapsed on startup.
By default, Acrobat Reader DC resets its workspace layout every time it is opened. Changing a single setting in the Preferences menu forces the application to remember how you left the Tools pane.
Launch Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. Navigate to the top menu bar, click on 'Edit', and select 'Preferences' from the drop-down menu (or press Ctrl + K on your keyboard).
In the Preferences dialog box that appears, look at the Categories list on the left-hand side and click on 'Documents'.
Under the 'Open Settings' section, check the box next to 'Remember current state of Tools pane'. Click the 'OK' button at the bottom to save your changes.
Open any PDF document, click the small right-facing arrow on the vertical divider to collapse the right-hand Tools pane, and then close the application. The next time you open a PDF, the pane will remain hidden.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the tools pane keep opening automatically in Acrobat Reader?
By default, Acrobat Reader DC is designed to expand the tools pane to improve feature discoverability for users. Unless you explicitly check the 'Remember current state of Tools pane' option in your Document preferences, it will revert to this default open state every time.
Is there a keyboard shortcut to quickly hide the right pane in Acrobat Reader?
Yes, you can quickly toggle the visibility of the right-hand tools pane by pressing Shift + F4 on your keyboard while viewing a PDF document.
Can I permanently remove the Tools pane feature altogether?
No, Adobe does not provide a native option to completely remove or uninstall the Tools pane from the user interface. The best available workaround is to configure the software to remember its collapsed state via the Preferences menu.
