Do one of the following:
- Drag down the horizontal ruler to create a horizontal guide, or drag to the right of the vertical ruler to create a vertical guide.
- Double-click a location on the horizontal ruler to create a vertical guide, or double-click a location on the vertical ruler to create a horizontal guide.
Move Ruler Guides
To move ruler guides, select the Hand command, click and hold the guide, and then drag it to a new location.
Delete Ruler Guides
To delete ruler guides, please do one of the following:
- To delete a guide, click the guide to select it, and then press the Delete key.
- To delete all guides on a certain page, scroll to the page, right-click the ruler area, and choose Clear Guides on Page.
- To delete all guides, right-click in the ruler area, and choose Clear All Guides.
Transparency Grid
Transparency grid is used to visualize transparent areas by displaying a checkerboard grid behind transparent objects. To show or hide the transparency grid, please go to File in the Ribbon (or Foxit PDF Reader in the menu bar) > Preferences > Page Display, and check or uncheck Display transparency grid in the Page Content group.
Line Weights View
In Line Weights View, the lines will be displayed with the weights defined in the PDF file. When Line Weights View is turned off, the lines will be displayed with the constant stroke width (1 pixel), regardless of zoom. Foxit PDF Reader will display PDF files in Line Weights view by default. To turn on or off Line Weights view while reading PDF files, please do any of the following:
- Click View in the Ribbon >View Setting >Page Display (or choose View in the menu bar >Ruler & Grids), and then select or unselect the Line Weights.
- Press the shortcut key Control + Command + 5.
View PDF/A Files
By default, Foxit PDF Reader will open PDF/A-compliant documents in PDF/A mode (i.e. read-only mode) to prevent modification. When you open a PDF/A-compliant document, a notification message will be displayed. To work with PDF/A files, do the following:
- To turn off PDF/A mode and edit the document, click Enable Editing on the notification message. This operation will affect the settings in PDF/A view mode preference. To set the preference about PDF/A view mode, go to File in the Ribbon (or Foxit PDF Reader in the menu bar) >Preferences >Documents, and select the desired option from the drop-down list in PDF/A View mode group.
- To keep reading in PDF/A mode, click Disable Editing on the notification message.
- If you do not want to see the notification message the next time you open PDF/A files, check the Don’t show again option. To redisplay the notification message, please go to File in the Ribbon (or Foxit PDF Reader in the menu bar) >Preferences >General, and check the Show PDF/A message again option in the Notification Messages group.
View PDF Portfolios
PDF portfolios are a combination of files with different formats such as Microsoft Office files, text documents and image files.
To view a PDF portfolio, please do the following:
- You can open a PDF portfolio in the same way as you open a PDF file. Please refer to “Open a PDF File” for more information.
- By default, files in a PDF portfolio are displayed in the Layout view, with the preview of the selected file displayed in the right pane. Follow the steps below to change the view mode, if necessary.
- Click Detail in the Portfolio tab to display the details of files in a PDF portfolio. In the Detail view mode, you can right-click on any file or blank area and select View to specify which properties you would like to display in the file details list. Click a column name to sort files by certain property in an ascending or descending order.
- Click Cover Sheet in the Portfolio tab to display the cover sheet of the PDF portfolio.
- Click Preview Pane in the Portfolio tab, and choose Right or Bottom to display the preview pane at the right or bottom of the document pane respectively. Choose Off from the Preview Pane drop-down list to hide the preview pane.
- Click Default View in the Portfolio tab, and choose an option from the drop-down list to specify the default view for the currently opened PDF portfolio. The default view setting will take effect the next time you open the PDF portfolio.
- To open and read a file in the portfolio, do any of the following in the Layout or Detail view mode.
- Double-click a file.
- Select a file and click the Open button in the upper right corner of the document area.
- Right-click a file and choose Open File in Native Application.
Tip: Files in a PDF portfolio will be opened in its native application if you have installed the native application on your device with macOS 10.14 or higher.
- To view the properties of a document in a PDF portfolio, do any of the following in the Layout or Detail view mode.
- Right-click a file in the portfolio, and choose Show Information from the context menu.
- Select a file in the portfolio, and click the Properties button in the upper right corner of the document area.
Work on 3D Content in PDFs
Set 3D Preferences
Foxit PDF Reader lets you view, navigate, measure, and comment on 3D content in PDF documents. The Model Tree, the 3D toolbar, and the right-click menu of 3D content can help you work on 3D content easily. You can show/hide parts of a 3D model, set different visual effects, rotate/spin/pan/zoom a 3D model, create and manage 3D views with different settings, add comments/measurements to a part of a 3D model, and more.
Note: By default, Safe Reading Mode is enabled, and whether the option has been selected or not, when you open a PDF with 3D content for the first time, a dialog box pops up to ask whether you trust the document to enable/activate the 3D content in it, and you can select an option to trust the document one time only or always trust the document. Selecting Trust this document always in the dialog box also adds the document to the privileged locations, and the dialog box will not prompt next time you open the PDF. See also Privileged Locations. Note that the dialog box does not necessarily pop up when you open a 3D PDF. Sometimes it pops up only when you click on the 3D content in the PDF. When it pops up is determined by the activation settings of the 3D content. And the message displayed in the pop-up dialog box varies depending on your trust settings for Foxit PDF Reader.
Display 3D Models
Foxit PDF Reader provides the Model Tree and various navigation tools and options for you to show or hide parts of a 3D model, turn it around to view it from all orientations, even look at the inside structure clearly by hiding and turning parts around.
When you open a 3D PDF and enable the 3D model, the 3D toolbar appears above the upper-left corner of the 3D canvas (an area where the 3D model appears). The lower-left corner of the canvas shows the 3D axes (X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis) that indicate the current orientation of the 3D model in the scene. Note: If the 3D model is not enabled (or activated) after you open the PDF, only a 2D preview image of the 3D model is displayed in the canvas.
Tip: For most 3D-related tools and options, you can find them from the context menu after right-clicking the 3D model.
Show/Hide Parts of a 3D Model
When the 3D model is enabled, click the Model Tree panel in the navigation pane, where you can view the 3D scene structure and the preset views. Check/uncheck the appropriate checkbox to show/hide the corresponding part of the 3D content. You can also click the Toggle Model Tree icon on the 3D toolbar to show or hide the Mode Tree panel.
The Model Tree panel contains three panes: the Structure pane, the View pane, and the Object Data pane.
- The Structure pane: The topmost pane in the Model Tree panel. In this pane, you can view the tree structure of the 3D content and show/hide parts of the 3D content.
- The View pane: The middle pane in the Model Tree panel. It shows a list of available 3D views associated with the 3D content. You can create and manage 3D views.
- The Object Data pane: The lower pane in the Model Tree panel. It displays the information such as properties and metadata associated with an object/part you select in the Structure pane or the View pane.
Navigate through a 3D Model
On the 3D toolbar (or after right-clicking the 3D model and choosing Tools), select a desired 3D navigation tool to manipulate the 3D model.
- Rotate Rotating a 3D model allows you to turn it around in the desired direction. Click the model, hold the left mouse button, and move the mouse in the direction you want it to rotate.
- Spin Spinning a 3D model turns a 3D model in parallel around the X-axis and Y-axis. Click the model, hold the left mouse button, and move the mouse in the direction you want it to spin.
- Pan The Pan tool allows you to move the model vertically and horizontally. Click the model, hold the left mouse button, and move the mouse in the desired direction.
- Zoom With the Zoom tool selected, click and drag the left mouse vertically to move toward or away from the 3D model. If you right-click and drag an area on the 3D model, that area will be magnified and fill the document window.
- Walk The Walk tool is useful for navigating through an architectural 3D model like rooms or buildings. For example, the 3D model is a two-story building and you can simulate walking through the building. Click and drag the mouse vertically up and down to go forward and backward, and drag the mouse horizontally left or right to turn left or right in the building. The Walk tool maintains a constant elevation as you drag the mouse. So moving upstairs or downstairs in the building is not available for the Walk tool (You need to use the Fly tool instead).
- Fly The Fly tool lets you navigate through the 3D model while maintaining the surface orientation, which is useful when viewing an architectural or a landscape model. When “flying” through a model, you are not constrained by the elevation, so you appear to “fly” over an area in a model. With the Fly tool selected:
- Click and drag the left mouse in the direction you want to look at. The Fly tool moves the view more slowly (which seems to increase the magnification) the closer you approach an object.
- Right-click and drag the mouse does not change the magnification.
- Scroll the mouse wheel to move backward and forward in the scene.
The Display Settings for a 3D Model
From the 3D toolbar (or after right-clicking the 3D model and choosing View Options), choose an option as appropriate to modify the display settings for a 3D model.
- Use Orthographic/Perspective Projection Click the Use Orthographic/Perspective Projection icon on the 3D toolbar to toggle between displaying perspective and orthographic projection of the 3D model.
- Model Render Modes Click the Model Render Modes icon on the 3D toolbar and choose a desired mode from the drop-down list for the appearance of the 3D shape.
- Enable Extra Lighting Click the Enable Extra Lighting icon on the 3D toolbar and choose a desired lighting effect from the drop-down list.
- Background Color Click the Background Color icon on the 3D toolbar and choose a desired color from the color picker for the space surrounding the 3D content.
3D Views
In the View pane of the Model Tree panel and in the Views list on the 3D toolbar, you can see a list of available views. Select the desired view to switch among the views. You can also create 3D views with custom display settings and manage existing views.
Display a View
In the View pane of the Model Tree panel:
- Select an existing view to display the view.
- Click on the Previous View or Next View icon at the top of the View pane to switch to the previous or next view in the views list. (You can also find Previous View or Next View in the Options menu or in the context menu after right-clicking anywhere in the View pane.)
- Click on the Default View icon at the top of the View pane to display the default view of the 3D model. The default view lets you quickly revert to the initial or a predefined view that is set as default at any time as you work on 3D content. To change the default view, see also “Manage 3D Views”.
On the 3D toolbar, you can also select a view from the Views list to display it, or click on the Default View icon to switch to the default view of the 3D model. Or, just right-click anywhere anytime in the 3D canvas, choose Views, and select a view to display it.
Create a 3D View with Custom Display Settings
- Customize the view as needed. For example, specify the parts to show or hide in the view, and use the tools in the 3D toolbar to set how the parts are displayed.
- When you’re done, click the Create View icon in the View pane of the Model Tree panel. (Alternatively, you can click on the Views list in the 3D toolbar and choose Manage Views from the drop-down menu. Then click the New View button in the pop-up Manage Views dialog box to create a view.)
- In the pop-up View Properties dialog box, select options for the display settings to include in the new view and click OK. (Note: If you deselect one option, the corresponding setting for it will not be included in the new view. Instead, the previously displayed setting for this option will be used.) Select the Don’t display this dialog from “Create View” button option, so that you won’t be prompted to select options again and the current settings will be used next time you create a view.
- The new view will be listed in the Views list in the View pane. To rename it, double-click the name and enter the new name.
Manage 3D Views
With multiple views created, you can use the Manage Views dialog box to perform view management. You can reorder the views in the View pane of the Model Tree panel or in the Views list on the 3D toolbar, delete a view, and set a view as the default view.
Click on the Views list on the 3D toolbar and choose Manage Views to open the Manage Views dialog box. Then do any of the following:
- Click New View to create a 3D view. See also “Create a 3D View with Custom Display Settings”.
- Select a view and click Move Up or Move Down to adjust the order. The box on the right displays a preview of the order.
- Select a view and click Delete View to remove the view from the list.
- Select a view and click Use As Default to set the view as the default view of the 3D model.
- Select a view, enter the name in the text box, and click Rename to rename the selected view.
Add a 3D Measurement to a 3D Model
With the 3D Measurement Tool, you can measure the distance between two points and the angle between two edges of a 3D model.
- On the 3D toolbar (or after right-clicking the 3D model and choosing Tools), select 3D Measurement Tool.
- Then the measuring toolbar and the 3D Measurement Tool Info window appear in the upper-right and lower-right corner of the 3D canvas respectively. You can drag them anywhere within the 3D canvas as needed.
- Select measurement types, snapping types, and set the scale ratio on the measuring toolbar. The 3D Measurement Tool Info window displays the information about the measurement (such as the current measurement result and scale ratio) and acts as a wizard for your measurement.
- Select 3D Point to Point Measurement to measure the distance between two points on the 3D model. Click the first point, move the pointer to the second point, and click. Then the result information (the current measurement result) appears. Move the pointer and click a third time where you want to locate the result information.
- Select 3D Perpendicular Dimension to measure the perpendicular distance between two straight edges that are parallel. Click the first point on an edge, move the pointer to the second point on the other edge, and click. Along with the result information, the line leaders on both sides of the measurement points appear as you move the pointer. Move the pointer and click a third time to determine the leader length and set the location of the result information.
- Select 3D Radial Dimension to measure the radius of a circular part or a round shape you specified/clicked. With the 3D Snap To Radial Edges option enabled, move your cursor to the edge of a circular part so that a circle appears, and double-click to confirm the measurement. Along with the result information, an arrow appears as you move the pointer and points to the measured circle. Move the pointer and click to set the location of the result information. Without 3D Snap To Radial Edges option enabled, click on three points to specify a round shape you want to measure and then click to specify the location of the result information.
- Select 3D Angle Measurement to measure the angle between two edges (or three points). Click three points (A, B, and C) on the 3D model to measure the angle between the line BA and the line BC. Along with the result information, the line leaders on both sides of the first and third measurement points (A and C) appear as you move the pointer. Move the pointer and click a third time to determine the leader length and set the location of the result information.
- 3D Snap To Edge Endpoints: Snap to the endpoint of an edge when moving the cursor toward the end of the edge.
- 3D Snap To Linear Edges: Snap to a straight-line segment of an edge when moving the cursor over the edge.
- 3D Snap To Radial Edges: Snap to the circumference of a circular part when moving the cursor over the circular part.
- 3D Snap To Silhouettes: Snap to the silhouette for a part (the apparent edge of the part, e.g., the side of a cylinder) when moving the cursor over the part.
- 3D Snap To Planar Faces: Snap to the geometric plane for a face of a part when moving the cursor over the face.
If the 3D measurement is added to an existing view, the 3D measurement will be listed under that view.
- (Optional) Clicking on the result information highlights it, and the icon (four-way arrow) appears. By dragging the icon, you can adjust the location of the result information.
- (Optional) To delete a 3D measurement, right-click it in the View pane of the Model Tree and choose Delete.
- 3D measurements added to a 3D model are associated with the corresponding views. The measurements associated with a view will be invisible once you switch to another view, but will show again when you switch back to the view. However, if you delete a view, the associated 3D measurements will also be removed.
- You can press theEsckey to exit the 3D Measurement mode and return to the navigation mode (such as Rotate) at any time as you measure the 3D model.
Comment on a 3D Model
Add a 3D Comment to a 3D Model
You can use the Add 3D Comment tool to add a 3D comment to a particular part of a 3D model, for example, to provide the coordinate information or the name of the part. A 3D comment contains a text box and a connector line that connects the text box and the part of the 3D model you want to comment on.
- On the 3D toolbar (or after right-clicking the 3D model and choosing Tools), select Add 3D Comment.
- Put the cursor over the desired position you want to comment on and click. Then move the cursor and click again to set the location of the text box.
- In the pop-up dialog box, enter a comment string, and click OK to complete or click Cancel to discard the comment.
In the Default View of the 3D model or with no existing view selected, adding 3D comments creates a new view in the View pane of the Model Tree, with the default name of “CommentView[n]”. You can double-click the view name to rename it. The 3D comment will be listed under the created view (as a child of the view), named “3DComment1”, “3DComment2”, and so on.
If the 3D comment is added to an existing view, the 3D comment will be listed under that view.
- The 3D comment will also be listed in the Comments panel in the navigation pane.
- (Optional) After adding the comment, click on the text box, and a handle (a small square icon) appears in the upper-left corner of the text box. Click and drag the handle to resize the box. If the text box is not large enough for the text content, the text exceeding the boundaries of the text box will be invisible.
- (Optional) To edit a 3D comment, click the icon beside it in the Comments panel and choose Edit.
- (Optional) To delete or reply to a 3D comment, right-click it in the View pane of the Model Tree (or right-click it in the Comments panel), and choose Delete or Reply.
- Comments added to a 3D model are associated with the corresponding views. The comments associated with a view will be invisible once you switch to another view, but will show again when you switch back to the view. However, if you delete a view, the associated 3D comments will also be removed.
- You can press the Esc key to exit the 3D Comment mode and return to the navigation mode (such as Rotate) at any time as you add a 3D comment to the 3D model.
Add Comments using the Tools in the Comment Tab
You can add comments to a 3D view using the commenting tools in the Comment Ribbon.
- Click Comment in the Ribbon, and choose a commenting tool.
- Click inside the 3D canvas to create a comment.
In the Default View of the 3D model or with no existing view selected, adding comments creates a new view in the View pane of the Model Tree, with the default name of “CommentView[n]” ([n] is a number that depends on how many existing Comment views are listed in the View pane. For example, if there are two Comment views before the new view is created, n will be 3.). You can double-click the view name to rename it. The comment will be listed under the created view (as a child of the view), named after the comment author. In front of the name shows the icon of the comment type. Clicking the comment in the View pane to view more information on the comment in the Object Data pane.
If the comment is added to an existing view, the comment will be listed under that view.
- The comments added from theCommenttab are associated with the corresponding views. They will be invisible once you switch to another view, but will show again when you switch back to the corresponding view.
- For comments added using the commenting tools from theCommentRibbon, after their associated views are deleted, you can still find them in theCommentspanel.
- The Pencil comments added will not be listed under any view and will be always shown until they are deleted.
Convert 3D Measurements to Comments
You can convert 3D measurements to comments to be reviewed, annotated, and replied to.
- In the View pane of the Model Tree panel, expand a view, right-click a 3D measurement you want to convert, and choose Convert to Comment.
The conversion leaves the name of the original measurement (unchanged) as the name of the converted comment, and the comment is still listed in the same view in the View pane. If you click the comment in the View pane, the Object Data pane will show the author who converted the measurement and the conversion time.
The converted comment is also displayed in the comments list in the Comments panel in the navigation pane.
- (Optional) You can edit, delete, and reply to the comment in the Comments panel by right-clicking the comment and choosing Edit/Delete/Reply. Or delete and reply to the comment directly in the View pane of Model Tree by right-clicking it and choosing Delete/Reply. (Note: A comment converted from a 3D measurement is still associated with the corresponding view. If you delete the view, the comment will also be removed.)
- (Optional) You can also move the result information. Please refer to “Add a 3D Measurement to a 3D Model”.
- (Optional) To change the comment back to a 3D measurement and remove all the associated comments, right-click it in the View pane and choose Remove Associated Comment, or right-click it in the Comments panel and choose Delete.
Search & Index in PDFs
Find Text in the Current PDF
Click in the Search field on the title bar and click on the Show matching text results box in the drop-down menu (or press the shortcut keys Command + F) to open the “Search” window, which appears in the top-right corner of the document area.
- Input text in the search box.
- Click to set the search criteria.
- Whole Words Only: Limit the search to match only whole words.
- Case-Sensitive: Make the search case sensitive.
- Include Page Text: This option is checked by default, which allows you to search the text on PDF pages. If you only want to search the text in certain elements (like bookmarks or comments), deselect it and check the corresponding option(s) in the search criteria list.
- Include Bookmarks: Enable you to search for a word in the whole text, including bookmarks.
- Include Comments: Enable you to search for a word in the whole text, including comments.
- Highlight All Text: Highlight all the text search results in the document.
- Properties: Enable you to specify the color and opacity for highlighting the search results.
- Press Enter to search the text in the currently opened PDF file.
- Click Previous or Next to jump to the previous or next search result.
Advanced Search
Foxit PDF Reader supports the advanced search function, which enables you to do the following: search a string in a single PDF file, multiple PDF files under a specified folder, PDFs in a PDF portfolio, or a PDF index. When the search finishes, all occurrences will be listed in a tree view. This will allow you to quickly preview the context and jump to specific locations. You can also save the search results as a CSV or PDF file for further reference.
Before doing an advanced search, you can go to File in the Ribbon (or Foxit PDF Reader in the menu bar) > Preferences > Search to specify search preferences.
- Search
- Ignore Asian character width: With this option selected, both half-width and full-width instances of the Asian language characters in the document will be found.
- Ignore Diacritics and Accents: Ignore the diacritics and accents to find items with any variation of the alphabetical characters. For example, if you type “resume”, both “resume” and “résumé” will be found.
- Always show more options in advanced search: Select this option to show the additional search criteria options available besides the basic options in the Search panel.
- Show document title in search results: Check this option to display document titles in search results. However, if a document does not contain a title, its file path will be displayed in search results. If this option is unchecked, Foxit PDF Reader will display file paths in search results.
- Maximum number of documents returned in Results: Specify the number of documents to be displayed in the search results. You can input any integer between 1 and 10,000.
- Range of words for Proximity searches: Specify the number of words between which the search terms occur from each other when executing proximity searches. It is set as 900 by default, and you can input any integer between 1 and 10,000.
- Maximum Cache Size: Specify the maximum cache of search information for the Fast Find. The default value is 100 MB. You can input any integer between 5 and 100,000.
- Purge Cache Contents: Delete all the caches of search information.
If fast find is enabled, the cache of search information will be generated when you perform a search. When the cache reaches the limit size you specified, the earlier cache contents will be deleted automatically. And if you execute searches in PDFs that include both index and fast find cache, index will be used as the priority for searching.
Search for Text and Patterns
- Click in the Search field on the title bar, and choose Advanced Search.
- From the Where would you like to search dropdown list, check one of the following to define the search field.
- To search the text in the current PDF document, select “In the current PDF document”. This option is not available if no document is open.
- To search the text in all PDF documents in a specific folder or disk, select All PDF Documents in > choose one of the disks or user-selected search paths. Foxit PDF Reader will show the path of the currently opened document for easier location.
- To search the text in all the PDF documents that are currently opened in Foxit PDF Reader, select All open PDF documents.
- To search the text in selected documents in PDF portfolio, please select Selected PDFs in portfolio. This option is only available when a PDF portfolio is opened in the current session.
- To search text in the PDF portfolio, please select All PDFs in portfolio. This option is only available when a PDF portfolio is opened in the current session.
- To search PDF indexes, please choose Select Index. This option helps you search the index of the entire set of documents quickly if your PDF document or document collections include a full-text index. If you have added indexes in Foxit PDF Reader before, you can also choose Currently Selected Indexes option directly to search your currently selected indexes. For more information, please refer to “Search PDF indexes”.
- Match exact word or phrase: Search for instances that match the entire word or phrase (including the spaces) you specified in the text search box.
- Match any of the words: Search for any instances that match at least one of the words.
- Looks like search pattern: Search for patterns like phone number, social security number, or email address in the PDF file. This option is not available when you search PDF indexes.
- Match All of the words: Search for any instances that match at least one of the words, but not necessarily in the order you type the words. If the document does not contain all of the words you type, no matched results will be found. This option is available only for searching a full-text PDF index.
- To limit the search to match only whole words, check Whole Words Only. For example, if you search for the word Read, the word Reader will not be found. This criterion is only available for text search.
- To make the search case-sensitive, check Case-Sensitive. For example, if you search for the word text, the words Text and TEXT will not be found. This criterion is only available for text search.
- By default, Foxit PDF Reader will search the text on PDF pages. If you only want to search the text in certain elements (like bookmarks or comments), uncheck Include Page Text, and then select the corresponding option(s) in the search criteria list.
- To search words in comments, please check IncludeComments.
- To search words in bookmarks, please check Include Bookmarks. This criterion is only available for text search.
- To search words in attachments, please check Include Attachments.
- To search for two or more words that are separated by no more than a specified number of words specified in the Search preferences, please check Proximity. This option is available in index search when Match of All of the words is selected.
- To find instances that contain the stem of the specified search word, please check Stemming. For example, if you search for “opening” with Stemming option checked, instances of “open”, “opened”, “opens”, and “opening” will be found. This criterion applies to text search and index search, and is not available if either Whole Words Only or Case-Sensitive is selected.
- To highlight all the text search results, please check Highlight All Text.
- To limit search in order to match criteria such as document properties and metadata, check the option in Use these additional criteria group, and specify the additional criteria, including Author, Date Created, Subject, etc. These options are only available when you execute advanced text search in multiple PDF files.
Tip: The additional search criteria options are collapsed by default. You can click More to show all the options. To keep expanding and displaying the additional search criteria options all the time, please go to File in the Ribbon (or Foxit PDF Reader in the menu bar) > Preferences > Search, and check the Always show more options in advanced search option in the Search group.
- Click Search button.
- Each item listed includes a few words of context and an icon that indicates the type of occurrence. Check the search results with the following steps:
- If necessary, click the plus sign (+) to expand the search results.
- (Optional) For advanced search in multiple documents or portfolios, you can select an option from the Sort By drop-down list near the bottom of the Advanced Search panel to sort the search results by date modified, filename, or location.
- To collapse the file path and have a quick view about the file name, check Collapse File Path option at the bottom of the Advanced Search panel.
- Click a search result directly to view it in the PDF file.
- (Optional) Click the Save button in the Advanced Search panel, and choose Save results to PDF or Save results to CSV to save the search results.
- (Optional) Click New Search button to start a new search task.
Note: For each search, layers, form fields, and digital signatures in the document will also be searched automatically. If some of the search results occurs on a hidden layer, when selecting the results in the Advanced Search panel you will be prompted whether to make that layer visible.
Search and Highlight
After searching, users may need to mark up the searched text strings in a highlight color. With Foxit PDF Reader’s Search & Highlight feature, users can perform an advanced search and highlight the searched text strings quickly.
- Do any of the following to open the Search & Highlight panel:
- Choose Comment in the Ribbon >Search & Highlight.
- Click in the Search field on the title bar, and choose Search & Highlight.
- Search the text strings or search by patterns as needed.
- After the search completes, you can see a Highlight icon next to the Save button in the Search & Highlight panel, a check box in front of each searched instance and each file path, and the Check All option above the New Search button.
- Select the check box of the instance you want to highlight and click the Highlight icon . (Tip: Click the check box in front of a file path to select all instances found in the file; select theCheck Alloption to select all instances found in the search.)
- (Optional) you can also change the highlight color as needed. Change the color from the appearance properties of the markup and set the properties as default. (For details, please refer toChange the Appearance of Comments.) Then perform a new search to apply the new color to searched results.
Search PDF Indexes
If your PDF document or document collections include a full-text index created by Foxit PDF Editor (for Mac and Windows), you can improve your search efficiency by simply searching the index for target words rather than each document separately. Steps are as follows:
- Click in the Search field on the title bar and choose Advanced Search to open the Advanced Search panel.
- From the Where would you like to search dropdown list, choose Select Index to add indexes.
- In the pop-up Index selection dialog box, click to add an index. All the indexes you added will be displayed in the index list in Index selection dialog box. You can select an index, and click to get its file information, or click to remove it from the list, if necessary. Once added, the index files will be marked as checked for you to execute index search by default. Before application, review the indexes in the list, and uncheck the unnecessary one. Upon completion, click OK to close the Index selection dialog box.
- When you have successfully added the indexes, the Currently Selected Indexes option will be selected by default. If you want to search the currently selected indexes next time, you can also choose this option from the Where would you like to search dropdown list directly.
- Follow the steps in “Search for Text and Patterns” to proceed with your search.
Tip: An index created by Foxit PDF Editor for document collections usually includes an XML file, log file, and support folder. To ensure successful search, all the index files should be available when you search an index in Foxit PDF Reader.
Take a Snapshot of Selected PDF Contents
Use the Snapshot tool to take a snapshot of selected PDF contents and paste it in other applications.
- Click Home >Snapshot;
- Drag across the area that you want to copy; or right-click on the document and choose Select All to select all of the contents;
- (For copying selected area) You will be prompted that the selected area has been copied to the clipboard, click OK in the dialog box;
- Paste the selected image to other application(s) as desired.
Navigate PDF Files
Scroll Pages Automatically
- To enter the automatic scrolling mode, choose View in the Ribbon >AutoScroll, or press the shortcut key Shift + Command + H.
- Do the following to control the automatic scrolling:
- To increase or decrease the scrolling speed, press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key, depending on the direction of scrolling. To change the scrolling speed to a preset level, press a number key (9 for the fastest, 0 for the slowest).
Tip: When the automatic scrolling reaches the slowest speed, pressing the Up/Down Arrow key will scroll up or down pages respectively.
- To reverse the direction of scrolling, press the minus sign (-) key.
- To jump to the next or previous page, press the Right Arrow key or Left Arrow key respectively.
- To pause or continue automatic scrolling, press the Space key.
- To stop automatic scrolling, click AutoScroll in the View toolbar, or press the Esc key or shortcut key Shift + Command + H.
Tip: To scroll through pages continuously, Foxit PDF Reader will automatically change the page display mode to Continuous (if it is in Single Page view) or Continuous Facing (if it is in Facing mode) when you enter into the automatic scrolling mode. After exiting the automatic scrolling, you can change the page display mode from the View menu or toolbar. For more information, please refer to “Change the Page Display Mode”.
Jump to a Specific Page
Use the page navigation tools on the status bar at the bottom to jump to a specific page easily.
Page indicator: Shows the current page and the total number of pages of the opened PDF file. To jump to the page specified, you can input the page number and press Enter, or click the Down arrow and select a page number from the list.
Previous Page: Jump to the previous page.
Next Page: Jump to the next page.
Tip: Alternatively, you can go to View in the menu bar > Go to, and then choose one option from the drop-down menu to jump to a specific page. From the drop-down menu, you can also choose to jump to the first page or the last page of the PDF file.
Jump to the Previous View or Next View
Do one of the following to go to the preview view or next view:
- Click the Previous View button or Next View buttonon the status bar at the bottom.
- Click View in the menu bar >Go to >Previous View or Next View.
Jump to a Specific Chapter by Bookmark
- Do any of the following to open the Bookmarks panel:
- Click View in the menu bar >Navigation Panels >Bookmarks.
- Click View in the Ribbon >View Setting >Navigation Panels >Bookmarks.
- Click the Bookmarks button in the Navigation panel.
- (Optional) To quickly search and find the specific bookmarks, input the keywords in the Search box in the Bookmarks panel. Foxit PDF Reader will list all the bookmarks matching your search with the keywords highlighted in yellow.
- Click the bookmark to jump to the specific chapter.
Tips:
- When viewing bookmarks, you can press theCommandkey and scroll your mouse (or clickorat the top of the Bookmarks panel) to increase or decrease the text size of bookmarks.If a bookmark is too long to be displayed in the Bookmarks panel, you can right-click the bookmark (or click the Options menuat the top of the Bookmarks panel) and selectWrap Long Bookmarksto wrap it to multiple lines for a better view. To unwrap, deselectWrap Long Bookmarks.
- Clicking theFind Current Bookmarkiconat the top of the Bookmarks panelhighlights the bookmark corresponding to the content in the current document view, which can be helpful to find a bookmark as well as show you where you are.
- You can ignore the page zoom settings specified in the bookmark properties so as to ensure a consistent view when navigating PDFs using bookmarks. To enable this feature, chooseFilein the Ribbon (orFoxit PDFReaderin the menu bar)>Preferences>Page Display, and then check theForbid the change of the current Zoom factor during execution of ‘Go to Destination’ action (these actions can be launched from bookmarks)option.
Jump to a Page by Thumbnail
- Do any of the following to open the Pages panel:
- Click View in the menu bar >Navigation Panels >Pages.
- Click View in the Ribbon >View Setting >Navigation Panels >Pages.
- Click the Pages button in the Navigation panel.
- Click the thumbnail to jump to the specific page.
Navigate with Article Thread
PDF articles are optional electronic threads defined by the PDF author, which lead readers through the PDF contents presented in multiple columns and across a series of pages. If you are reading a PDF file that contains articles, you can view the article names and navigate through them easily in the Artilce panel.
- Follow one of the steps below to open the Articles panel if it is hidden:
- Choose View in the menu bar >Navigation Panels >Articles.
- Click View in the Ribbon >View Setting >Navigation Panels >Articles.
- Click the Articles icon in the navigation pane. If you cannot find the Articles icon in the navigation pane, right-click anywhere along the left sidebar on the navigation pane, and choose Articles.
- In the Articles panel, do any of the following to start viewing:
- Double-click the article you want to view.
- Right-click the article you want to view and choose Read Article from the context menu.
- Select the article you want to view and choose Read Article from the options menu in the upper left corner of the Articles panel.
- The pointer will change into and you will be switched to the beginning of the article (the area of the first defined article box). The page view may zoom in or out automatically so that the current part of the article fills the screen, with the first line appearing in the upper left corner.
- During the article viewing, do any of the following:
- Click in the article or press Enter to navigate to the area of next article box.
- Shift-click in the article or press Shift + Enter to navigate to the area of previous article box.
- At the end of the article (the area of the last defined article box), clicking in the article will return to the beginning of the article and exit the article reading mode.
- Before viewing an article, make sure you have selected the Hand tool and the optionMake Hand Tool read articlesin theFiletab (orFoxit PDF Readermenu)>Preferences>General.
- You can selectHide After Usein the options menu in the upper left corner of theArticlespanel to hide the panel after the article viewing starts.
Open a File Attachment
Open a file attachment embedded in a PDF file
- Do any of the following to open the Attachments panel:
- Click View in the menu bar >Navigation Panels >Attachments.
- Click View in the Ribbon >View Setting >Navigation Panels >Attachments.
- Click the Attachments button in the Navigation panel.
- Double-click the file that you want to open with Foxit PDF Reader, or right-click the file and choose Open from the context menu.
- In the Open File Attachment dialog box, choose the option as desired, and click OK.
Open a file attachment pinned in the PDF file
The file attachment pinned in the PDF file is usually displayed with a pin icon. You can double-click the pin icon to open it with Foxit PDF Reader.
Word Count
Similar to Microsoft Word, Foxit PDF Reader counts words, characters, pages, lines and other information in all or part of your document. With no text selected, click View in the Ribbon > Word Count, and you will see a pop-up Word Count box for the statistics of the entire document. For a partial word count, just select the text you want to count, and then click View in the Ribbon > Word Count; or right click the selected text and choose Word Count from the context menu.
Trust Settings
You can customize trust settings for Foxit PDF Reader, which is helpful to make your PDF workflow both secure and efficient. To specify the settings, click File in the Ribbon (or Foxit PDF Reader in the menu bar) > Preferences > Trust Manager. Based on your settings in the Trust Manager preferences, Foxit PDF Reader will display different prompt messages when you try to execute an action that is blocked by the security settings. You can also specify the trust settings for a particular action in the prompt messages.
Safe Reading Mode
Safe Reading Mode enables you to control unauthorized actions and data transmissions that efficiently avoid attacks from malicious content and viruses.
Enable or Disable Safe Reading Mode
The Safe Reading Mode is enabled by default. To change the setting, please follow the steps below.
- Select File in the Ribbon (or Foxit PDF Reader in the menu bar) >Preferences >Trust Manager.
- To disable the Safe Reading Mode for trusted documents that are protected by Microsoft Rights Management Services or valid digital signatures, check Disable Safe Reading Mode for Trust Documents, and click Advanced Preferences to specify the type of trusted documents.
- To disable the Safe Reading Mode for all the documents, uncheck Enable Safe Reading Mode.
- Click OK to apply the settings.
Bypass Security Restrictions in Safe Reading Mode
If you are in Safe Reading Mode, a warning dialog box will appear when a PDF tries to complete a restricted action from an untrusted location or file. However, you may need to execute certain actions under the current restricted security settings. In this case, you can select trusted files and folders, and exempt them from security restrictions. This security feature ensures that Foxit PDF Reader operates under security level conditions that meet your working environment.
To specify the trusted files or folders, please follow the steps below:
- Choose File in the Ribbon (or Foxit PDF Reader in the menu bar) >Preferences >Security.
- Click Add File to add trusted files to the privileged locations.
- Click Add Folder Path to add a trusted folder of multiple files.
- (If needed) Click Remove to remove trusted items from privileged locations.
- Click OK to confirm and apply the settings.
Allow or Block the Links to Websites in PDF Files
To safeguard against any unauthorized or malicious access, Foxit PDF Reader will display a security warning when you click a web link in a PDF file, and will only connect to the website after you allow the operation. You can customize the URL access settings in the Trust Manager preferences.
- Choose File in the Ribbon (or Foxit PDF Reader in the menu bar) >Preferences >Trust Manager.
- In the Internet Access from PDF Files outside the web browser group, click Change Settings.
- Specify the following options in the Manage Sites dialog box:
- To allow access to all websites, check Allow PDF files to access all web sites.
- To restrict access to all websites, check Block PDF files access to all web sites.
- To restrict access to specific web sites, do the following:
- Check Custom setting. Then input the URL address in the Host name field, and click Allow or Block to allow or block the access to that website respectively.
- All the URLs that you have configured will be listed in the Web Sites list. To remove the access setting for a URL, select it in the Web Sites list, and click Delete.
- For the URLs not included in the Web Sites List, check one of the following options to set the default behavior when users try to connect to the websites.
- Always ask: When you try to access websites not listed as allowed or blocked, Foxit PDF Reader will always display a security warning to ask for your further action.
- Allow access: Allow the access and directly open the website in your web browser.
- Block access: Directly block the access to the website. Foxit PDF Reader will display a Security Block message to inform you that the connection to the website is blocked.
Enable or Disable JavaScript Actions
JavaScript actions are enabled by default. To disable the JavaScript actions, choose File in the Ribbon (or Foxit PDF Reader in the menu bar) > Preferences > Trust Manager, and uncheck Enable JavaScript Actions.
Configure Security Settings for File Attachments
If you are in the Safe Reading Mode, a message will pop up to ask for your further action every time you try to open an attachment from PDF files. You can configure the security settings about how to open a certain type of file attachments by choosing File in the Ribbon (or Foxit PDF Reader in the menu bar) > Preferences > Trust Manager > File Attachment Security Settings. For more information, please refer to “Configure Security Settings”.
Automatic Foxit Approved Trust Lists and European Union Trusted Lists Updates
The certificates in Foxit Approved Trust Lists (FATL) and European Union Trusted Lists (EUTL) are the trusted root certificates that are stored in a Foxit server and have been verified by Foxit and other authorities. You can enable the application to automatically check and download new or updated root certificates in FATL or EUTL from the server to local trusted certificate list. Any certificate-based signature created with the certificate in FATL or EUTL is trusted when the signed document is opened in Foxit PDF Reader.
To enable the automatic updates from FATL or EUTL, do the following:
- Click File in the Ribbon (or Foxit PDF Reader in the menu bar) >Preferences >Trust Manager.
- In the Automatic Foxit Approved Trust Lists (FATL) updates group and the Automatic European Union Trusted Lists (EUTL) updates group, you can find the following options: