Reader basics

How the screen where you read a PDF is laid out, and how to turn pages, zoom, jump to a page, use the outline and set bookmarks.

Applies to Mendeley and Zotero editions Windows · Linux · Mac · iPad · Android Free

What is on the screen

  • Mac · iPadTop bar: on the left, back, the sidebar, the figure panel, research themes, 1 screen / 2 screens and, where there is room, Open papers and the reader's settings (otherwise they are under …); on the right, Show tools, undo, redo and ….
  • Mac · iPadTool rail: the tools, in a vertical rail at the edge of the page (on the left, or on the right with left-handed controls). Show tools shows or hides it. See The tool rail.
  • Mac · iPadBottom: a status bar with the page, the annotation count, sync, show/hide annotations and the Ink OFF / Ink ON switch. The round button at the bottom right (a page icon) switches to Reading Mode.
  • iPadOn iPhone and in a narrow window there is no status bar: Ink OFF / Ink ON is at the top right next to undo, showing or hiding annotations (with the counts) is at the top of …, sync is the Sync tool on the rail, and the page number shows at the bottom for a moment as you turn pages.
  • WindowsAbove the paper: the PDF | Reading switch, the tools, sync, export, the figure panel and the side panel.
  • AndroidTop left: the side panel, and the button that shows or hides the tool rail. Top right: undo, redo, Open papers, the figure panel, two panes, export, archive, bookmarks, search, sync and ⋮.
  • AndroidTools sit in a rail down the left edge (on the right with Left-handed controls). It holds as many as the screen's height allows; the rest are in the … at its foot. Bottom: the annotation count, the eye (show or hide annotations), Ink OFF / Ink ON, the page and a slider. The round button at the bottom right (a book icon) switches to Reading Mode.
  • Sidebar / side panel: page thumbnails, annotations and the outline.
    • Mac · iPad · AndroidIt also lists the paper's figures and tables.
    • WindowsIt also has Bookmarks, and History for your annotations (see Undo and change history).

The tools can be reordered and hidden. See Customizing the toolbar.

  • Windows · Mac · iPadA paper open on its own has no header above the page, so the page reaches right up to the bar. In two panes, each pane has a header with its name and page.
  • WindowsWith one paper open, its 2 screens and close buttons sit at the end of the toolbar.

Turn pages

  • Scroll, or use the page keys on a keyboard (see Keyboard shortcuts).
  • iPadWhen you scroll, a page bar appears at the bottom. Its tick marks show the pages that have annotations.
  • AndroidTap the left or right third of the page, or use the volume keys.
  • Rectoly remembers where you stopped in each paper and opens it there next time.

Zoom

  • Pinch on a touch screen.
  • Mac⌘ + scroll wheel, or ⌘+ / ⌘−. ⌘0 fits the page width.
  • WindowsCtrl + mouse wheel, or Ctrl+= / Ctrl+−. Ctrl+0 fits the page width. Zoom in, Zoom out, Fit width and Fit page are in the toolbar too.
  • AndroidDouble-tap to zoom in.

Go to a page

  1. Press the page number.
    • Mac · iPadIt reads like "p.3/12", in the status bar.
    • iPadOn iPhone, press the page number that shows at the bottom of the page for a moment as you turn pages (like "3 / 12"). It opens the page bar.
    • WindowsIt is in the toolbar. Ctrl+G opens it too.
    • AndroidIt is the page chip at the bottom.
  2. Type the page number and confirm.

Page flow

Choose how the pages are arranged: a continuous vertical column, a horizontal row, or one page at a time.

  • Mac · iPadIn the reader's settings, Page turning (Vertical / Horizontal / One page at a time). With Horizontal and One page at a time, the page slides sideways as it changes.
  • WindowsSettings › Reader › Page layout (Paged / Vertical / Horizontal).
  • AndroidSettings › Reader › Page layout (One page at a time / Continuous column / Side by side, drag to turn). On an E Ink device, one page at a time is the default while E Ink optimisation is on.

Outline

Open the outline and press a heading to jump there.

  • Mac · iPadThe Outline tool, or the outline in the sidebar.
  • Windows · AndroidThe Outline tab of the side panel.

If the PDF has no outline of its own, Rectoly builds one from the headings and tells you it is estimated.

Bookmarks

Bookmarks mark places you want to come back to.

  • Mac · iPadBookmarks are set in Reading Mode, with the floating bookmark button or ⌘D. The list is under … › Bookmarks.
  • WindowsChoose Bookmark this page in the toolbar, or press Ctrl+D. The list is the Bookmarks tab of the side panel.
  • AndroidTap the star at the top. Long-press it to see the list.

Full screen

On iPad, iPhone and Android, a tap on the page hides the bars and the tool rail, so the paper fills the screen. Tap again to bring them back.

  • iPadTap a page in the PDF view. In Reading Mode, the round pen-tip button on the right edge shows or hides the menus instead (see Reading Mode).
  • iPadA tap does not hide them while a tool such as the sticky note or the HL Pen is waiting for the page, while handwriting or the eraser is on, or while you search. A tap that stops a moving page only stops it.
  • iPadWhile the bars are hidden, the page number still shows at the bottom for a moment as you turn pages.
  • AndroidTap the middle of the page: the buttons, the tool rail and the footer go away. The left and right thirds still turn the page.
  • Windows · MacOn Mac, Windows and Linux the bars always stay.

On phones and small windows

  • iPadOn iPhone and in a narrow window, the top bar keeps back, Show tools, Ink OFF / Ink ON, undo, redo and …; the other buttons are under …. The tool rail starts hidden there: press Show tools to bring it out just under the top bar.
  • AndroidOn a phone, the tool rail starts hidden: the button beside the side panel button brings it out just under the top buttons. Some top-bar buttons move into ⋮.
  • WindowsIn a narrow window, the tools that do not fit go under More tools.

Updated October 10, 2026