# Open and read a PDF > How to open documents in vivePDF, move between pages, search the text, zoom, change the page display, split the window and read comfortably. URL: https://vivepdf.com/en/docs/open-and-read/ Last updated: 2026-10-18 To open a PDF in vivePDF, click **Open PDF** on Home or in the top bar, or press `Ctrl+O`. The document opens in its own tab in the Viewer, where you can move between pages, search the text and zoom. ## Open a document 1. On Home, click **Open PDF** or press `Ctrl+O`, then choose your file. 2. Or drag files straight onto the window. If you drop several, each one opens in its own tab. 3. If the document is encrypted, **Password required** appears; type the password and the document opens. You are not limited to PDFs: Office documents, e-books, e-mails and pictures dropped on the window open as a PDF copy. Changes to that copy stay temporary until you keep them with **Save as PDF…**. If you have copied a picture or some text, `Ctrl+Shift+V` turns it into a PDF. Very large files open too: vivePDF reads the document in pieces instead of loading it into memory all at once. ### Recent documents and sessions Documents you open stay in the **Recent documents** list on Home. Pin the ones you use often and they are kept in a group of their own at the top. The **Restore last session** action in the command palette brings back the tabs that were open when you last closed the app. When you reopen a document, vivePDF continues where you left off; to read from the start, click **Go to page 1** in the notice. ## Move between pages - Type a page number in the box at the bottom of the right-hand strip, or use its arrows to go to the previous or next page. If the document has page labels such as iii or A-1, you can type those as well. - `Page Up`/`Page Down` and the left and right arrow keys change page, and `Home`/`End` go to the first and last page. - After jumping to another page through a link or the outline, `Alt+←` takes you back and `Alt+→` forward again. - The **Thumbnails** panel on the left shows every page, and the **Outline** panel lists the document's bookmarks. ## Search the document `Ctrl+F` opens the search bar. Type the word you are looking for; the results are listed grouped by page. **Match case** and **Whole word** narrow them down. `F3` moves to the next result and `Shift+F3` to the previous one. > **Searching scanned pages** > > Search only works on pages that have a text layer. If a scanned document returns no results, make its pages searchable with [OCR](https://vivepdf.com/en/docs/ocr/) first. ## Zoom and page display `Ctrl++` and `Ctrl+-`, or the mouse wheel with `Ctrl` held down, zoom in and out. `Ctrl+0` picks **Actual size**, `Ctrl+1` **Fit width** and `Ctrl+2` **Fit page**. To move the page around, hold `Space` and drag. The **Page display** menu in the right-hand strip offers: - **Single page**, **Two pages side by side** or **Two pages, cover page alone** - **Vertical scrolling** or **Horizontal scrolling** - **Automatic scrolling** (`Ctrl+Shift+H`); while it runs, the up and down arrows change the speed and `Esc` stops it - **Page colours**: **Sepia**, **Dark (inverted)** or easy-on-the-eyes options such as white, yellow or green text on black ### Split window `Ctrl+Shift+E` splits the window in two. From **Page display › Split window** you can place the panes **Side by side** or **Stacked**, and **Compare with another document…** opens a different file in the second pane. **Sync scrolling** keeps both panes moving together. ## Comfortable reading - **Reading mode** shows the text of the page in a single column. You can make the text larger or smaller and choose the column width and the **Paper**, **Sepia** or **Dark** theme. - **Read aloud** reads the document in the voice and at the speed you choose. - `F11` switches to immersive mode and shows the document full screen. If you want to present it, see [Present a PDF](https://vivepdf.com/en/docs/present/). - `Ctrl+P` opens the print dialog. Every Viewer shortcut is listed on the [Keyboard shortcuts](https://vivepdf.com/en/docs/shortcuts/) page, and the overall layout of the screen is described under [Interface](https://vivepdf.com/en/docs/interface/).