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Force 2-page (Side by side) view


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Is there any way I can force viewers to view my PDF magazine pages side by side, please?

Obviously, double page spreads are wasted if the file is viewed in single pages. I need a way to export it so viewers get the full effect!

Thanks.

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If you have set up your document to have Facing Pages, then the default when you Export it as a PDF will be "All Spreads", which will show those facing pages side-by-side.

However, you cannot force the user to view it that way.

-- Walt
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I would leave it up to the user. Produce it with facing pages, but if they choose to view it as single pages that is up to them. And it may be needed, depending on the size of screen they're viewing it on.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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As @walt.farrell said,

You can explain (to readers) that  the pages are better view in "book mode". Usually PDF viewer allow to have the 1st page independent and the others as facing pages, but if reader need to zoom to read, they'll prefer having single pages.

Some smart apps or online viewers allow to see full pages or facing pages, and clicking the text will display a special view where texte is flowing as HTML, so it's easier to read, zoom, etc.

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20 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

then the default when you Export it as a PDF will be "All Spreads", which will show those facing pages side-by-side.

However, you cannot force the user to view it that way.

It is worth clarifying that if you export "All Spreads," then each spread will be exported as a single page in the PDF, and in that way you have effectively forced the user to view it that way. Probably that is what Walt meant, but it is not clear.

For reasons others have stated, whether you should force them to view it that way, that is another question. In limited cases, such as internal layout proofing, it might be just the thing needed. For more general publishing, I personally would advise against it.

Since we are in the feature request section, there is an appropriate request in this regard. Besides forcing it by exporting spreads as pages (which Publisher can do), the PDF spec does allow saving a default viewing intent with the PDF, which the user can either choose to respect or override in the settings of his own PDF reader. It would be helpful if, down the road, Publisher could provide options for setting these and some of the other PDF options that people have been requesting.

By way of example, when you export a PDF by pages in InDesign, you still can set whether the default display layout is by single page, facing pages, etc.:

1101364437_ScreenShot2020-04-15at8_25_27AM.png.993ecfe96fb008bafda6b3ef9df1ee4c.png

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On 4/15/2020 at 6:33 AM, garrettm30 said:

the PDF spec does allow saving a default viewing intent with the PDF, which the user can either choose to respect or override in the settings of his own PDF reader. It would be helpful if, down the road, Publisher could provide options for setting these and some of the other PDF options that people have been requesting.

+1  Every publishing program that exports PDF should support this.

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