--- title: "Read, search and move around a PDF in the editor" description: "Read a PDF without tools in Read mode, search its text, jump to a page, zoom and fit, use page thumbnails, and adjust the editor's own display settings." url: https://help.pdfbetter.com/editing/read-search-navigate-pdf/ collection: "Editing & annotating" section: "Viewing & printing" updated: 2026-10-18 publisher: "PDFBetter (AI Generated Inc.)" --- # Read, search and move around a PDF in the editor > Open **More** (**⋯**) → **Read mode** for just the document. Press `⌘/Ctrl` `F` (or **Search** in the toolbar) to find text, use the page bar at the bottom to jump and zoom, and **Pages** for thumbnails. ## Read mode Click **More** (**⋯**) at the top right and choose **Read mode** ("Distraction-free reading"). The toolbars and side panels go away and the top bar shows **Read mode**. You can still select and copy text, but nothing can be changed. To leave, choose **More** → **Exit read mode**; on a phone, tap **Edit** at the top right. The [PDF reader](https://pdfbetter.com/tools/pdf-reader/) tool opens a document straight into Read mode. ## Search the text 1. **Open search**: Press `⌘/Ctrl` `F` or click **Search** in the toolbar. On a phone, tap **⋯** → **Search**. 2. **Type what you're looking for**: Matches are listed with their page. Use **Previous match** and **Next match** to step through them; the counter shows where you are, for example `3 of 12`. 3. **Mark them if you like**: **Highlight this match** or **Highlight all** turns matches into highlight annotations. Undo removes them in one step. On long documents the editor reads the text first (**Reading text… 20/140 pages**). If it says **This document has no searchable text**, the PDF is a scan: run [OCR](https://help.pdfbetter.com/editing/make-scanned-pdf-editable-ocr/) to add a text layer, then search again. To change words rather than find them, use **More** → **Find & replace** in the toolbar ([how replacing works](https://help.pdfbetter.com/editing/edit-existing-pdf-text/)). To search by meaning instead of exact words, use the AI assistant's **Search** tab. ## Move between pages and zoom - **Page bar:** the floating bar at the bottom has **Previous page**, **Next page**, a page number box (type a number and press `Enter` to jump), **Zoom out**, **Zoom in** and a fit button that switches between fitting the width and the whole page. - **Keyboard:** `Page Up` and `Page Down` change page, `+` and `−` zoom, `⌘/Ctrl` `0` fits the width. Every shortcut is in [Keyboard shortcuts](https://help.pdfbetter.com/getting-started/keyboard-shortcuts/). - **Thumbnails:** click **Pages** in the toolbar to see every page; click one to go there. The same panel reorders, rotates, duplicates and deletes pages ([details](https://help.pdfbetter.com/editing/manage-pages-in-editor/)). - **Phone:** pinch to zoom, tap the page indicator to show pages, and tap the zoom chip to fit the width again. ## Editor display settings Click the gear (**Settings**) in the narrow side rail on the right of the editor; on a phone, tap **⋯** → **Settings**. These switches are **Saved on this device**, not in your account: | Setting | What it does | | --- | --- | | **Wizard** | Shows hints while you fill out documents. | | **Field marker** | Shows the marker in the margin that moves you between fields. | | **Spell check** | Underlines typos in fillable fields, using your browser's dictionary. | | **Smart guides** | Shows alignment guides when you drag text, fields and images. Hold `Alt` while dragging to turn them off for one move. | | **Navigation toolbar** | Shows or hides the page and zoom bar at the bottom. | ### Search finds nothing, but I can see the word on the page. The page is probably an image (a scan or a photo). Run [OCR](https://help.pdfbetter.com/editing/make-scanned-pdf-editable-ocr/) first. If it's a normal PDF, try turning off **Whole words** or **Match case** in Find & replace. ### Can I open a PDF just to read it, without editing? Yes. Use Read mode, or a [view-only share link](https://help.pdfbetter.com/sharing/create-share-link/) when you send it to someone else. ## Related articles - [Keyboard shortcuts](https://help.pdfbetter.com/getting-started/keyboard-shortcuts.md): Press ? anywhere in the dashboard or the editor to see the shortcuts for that screen. The essentials: ⌘ K to search, U to upload, T for text, S to sign, ⌘ Z to undo and Tab to move between form fields. - [Manage pages, page numbers and watermarks in the editor](https://help.pdfbetter.com/editing/manage-pages-in-editor.md): Click Pages in the toolbar to open thumbnails: drag to reorder, and use the buttons to rotate, duplicate, delete, crop, resize or insert pages. Page numbers and watermarks are in the toolbar too; headers, footers and Bates numbers are separate browser tools. - [Edit the existing text in a PDF](https://help.pdfbetter.com/editing/edit-existing-pdf-text.md): Switch the editor from Fill out to Edit PDF (or press E), click a line of the document's text and type. The new text is drawn over a cover patch in the closest standard font; the old characters stay in the file unless you redact them. - [Make a scanned PDF editable and searchable with OCR](https://help.pdfbetter.com/editing/make-scanned-pdf-editable-ocr.md): Open the OCR PDF tool, upload the scan, pick the Languages and pages and click Recognize text. The result looks identical but has a searchable text layer; click Open in the editor to change its text. OCR is counted per page recognized. - [Print a PDF from PDFBetter](https://help.pdfbetter.com/editing/print-pdf.md): Click Done → Print (or the printer icon in the top bar), then Print. PDFBetter prepares a flattened copy and opens your browser's print dialog, where you pick the printer, pages and scale. Printing counts as a download, so it needs a free account. --- Source: https://help.pdfbetter.com/editing/read-search-navigate-pdf/ · PDFBetter Help Center · Last checked against the product 2026-10-18. Questions: support@pdfbetter.com