Is my PDF uploaded to a server?

No. The file is read and rendered by your browser with PDF.js. It never leaves your device.

Does rotating the pages change my file?

No. Rotation only affects the display. Your PDF stays exactly as it was.

Why doesn't search find anything?

Either the words are not in the document, Match case is ticked, or the PDF is a scan without a text layer. Scanned pages can't be searched because OCR isn't included.

Why can't I find the Full screen button on my phone?

Some mobile browsers, notably Safari on iPhone, don't allow full screen for web page elements. The button is only shown when your browser supports it.

Can I open a PDF that is protected by a password?

Yes, if you know the password: the tool asks for it and opens the file locally. It can't open the file without it.

PDF Viewer – Open, Read and Search PDF Files Online

Open and read a PDF in your browser without uploading it. Zoom, rotate, jump between pages with thumbnails and search the text with highlighted matches.

How to open and read a PDF

Drop a PDF file on the drop zone, or click it to choose one. The pages appear in a scrolling view, fitted to the width of the viewer.
Scroll to read, or use the arrow buttons (Previous page, Next page) around the page number. Type a number in the page box and press Enter to jump straight to that page.
Click Thumbnails to show a column of small page previews; click a preview to go to that page. The current page is highlighted.
Use the zoom menu or the Zoom out and Zoom in buttons.
Use Rotate left and Rotate right to turn the pages by 90°.
Type a word or phrase in the search box to find it in the document.
Click Full screen to give the pages the whole screen, and Exit full screen (or Esc) to come back.

Zoom and rotation

Fit width makes the page as wide as the viewer, which is the most comfortable setting for reading text. Fit page shows the whole page at once, useful for slides and posters. Both adjust automatically when the window or the full-screen view changes size. You can also pick a fixed level from 50% to 400%, and the zoom buttons step through intermediate levels from 25% to 500%. 100% corresponds to the real size of the page on a typical screen.

Rotation only changes how the pages are displayed here. The file itself is not modified. To save rotated pages, use a PDF rotation tool instead.

Searching the text

Search starts as you type. Matches are highlighted in yellow on the pages and the current one is outlined in orange; the counter shows, for example, “2 of 7”. Press Enter or Next match for the next result, Shift+Enter or Previous match for the previous one. Tick Match case to tell “Paris” from “paris”. A phrase is found even when it runs onto the next line. While you are in the viewer, Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on a Mac) puts the cursor in the search box.

Search needs a text layer. If the PDF is made of scanned images, the tool says there is no text to search: OCR is not included.

Password-protected PDFs

If a PDF needs a password to open, the tool asks for it. Type the Password and click Open. The file is decrypted in your browser only for display; nothing is saved or sent anywhere. Without the password, the file can’t be opened.

What this viewer does not do

It is a reader: you can’t select or copy text, add comments, fill in forms, sign or print from it. Use a dedicated tool for those tasks. Very large documents are displayed progressively: only the pages near the visible area are rendered, which keeps memory use low.

Privacy

Everything happens on your device. The PDF is not uploaded, stored or shared, and it disappears when you close the page.

PDF Viewer