This tutorial shows how to create buttons to page views in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat. A page view is the part of the PDF you see on your screen when you create the button link. Therefore, you can link the button to anything viewable in your PDF, such as a specific part of a page, a form, an image, or an embedded video.
We’ll also look at how to edit existing page view buttons and distribute buttons across multiple pages.
Quick Links:
- How to Create Buttons to Page Views
- How to Edit Page View Buttons
- How to Distribute Page View Buttons across Multiple Pages
The process to create buttons to page views in PDF attachments and portfolios is more complex than the steps shown here, so we will cover that topic in a separate tutorial.
Before we begin…
What Is the Difference between Page View Buttons and Internal Links?
Page view buttons and internal links both help readers move to specific parts of your PDF. However, buttons can be duplicated in the same spot across every page or a specific page range. Internal links can’t be duplicated; however, they are easier to blend with the surrounding text.
To learn more about internal links, visit “How to Create Internal Links in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat.”
This tutorial is also available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.
Watch more than 100 other document software tutorials on my YouTube channel.
The images below are from Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. The steps are the same in Adobe Acrobat Standard DC, Adobe Acrobat 2020, and Adobe Acrobat 2017. Adobe’s free PDF display software, Acrobat Reader, does not provide a way to create buttons. However, buttons created in Acrobat will work in Reader.
Important Note: Acrobat’s buttons may not work in all apps and/or devices. Therefore, you should test your buttons in a variety of environments if your audience will access your PDF with apps other than Adobe Acrobat, Acrobat Reader, or a standard web browser.
How to Create Buttons to Page Views
- Select the Tools tab.
- Select Rich Media in the Tools Center.
- Select Add Button in the Rich Media toolbar.
- Move the button outline to the location where you want to create the button.
- Click that location if you want to accept the default button size. Alternatively, you can click and drag your mouse to resize the button outline.
- Type the name of the button in the Field Name text box. (This does not have to be the same as the label that will appear in the button.)
- Select the All Properties link.
- Select the Actions tab in the Button Properties dialog box.
- Ensure that Mouse Up is selected in the Select Trigger menu.
- Select Go to a page view in the Select Action menu.
- Select the Add button.
The Create Go to View dialog box will appear.
- Leave the Create Go to View dialog box open as you scroll to the part of the PDF that the button should link to (i.e., the button’s destination).
Important note: The button will link to the view of the PDF shown on your screen rather than to a specific page. This view does not have to be at the top of a page.
- Select the Set Link button.
The Button Properties dialog box will reappear.
- Select the Options tab.
- Enter the text you want to appear in the button in the Label text box.
- (Optional Step) Select the Appearance tab.
- (Optional Step) Select your button’s border color, line thickness, fill color, line style, font size, text color, and font style.
- Select the Close button.
- (Optional Step) Select the Close button in the Rich Media toolbar, and then test your new button. (The button won’t work if the Rich Media toolbar is open.)
How to Edit Page View Buttons
You can edit an existing button’s action (i.e., where it links to) and appearance. These steps will work for any action buttons in your PDF, not just page view buttons.
Skip to step 3 if your Rich Media toolbar is already open.
- Select the Tools tab (see figure 1).
- Select Rich Media in the Tools Center (see figure 2).
- Select Select Object in the Rich Media toolbar.
- Right-click the button, and then select Properties from the shortcut menu.
- To edit the action, select the existing action in the Actions tab.
- Select the Delete button.
- Add a new action as shown in steps 9 through 13 above.
- Continue to edit the button properties in the Options tab (see figure 13) and the Appearance tab (see figure 15), as necessary.
- Select the Close button (see figure 17).
How to Distribute Buttons across Multiple Pages in PDFs
You can distribute (i.e., copy) your page view buttons across all the pages in your PDF or across a specific page range. These steps will work for any action buttons in your PDF, not just page view buttons.
Skip to step 3 if your Rich Media toolbar is already open.
- Select the Tools tab (see figure 1).
- Select Rich Media in the Tools Center (see figure 2).
- Select Select Object in the Rich Media toolbar (see figure 19).
- Right-click the button, and then select Duplicate Across Pages from the shortcut menu.
- Select the All or From radio button in the Duplicate Field dialog box. If you selected From, enter a page range in the text boxes.
- Select the OK button.
- Select the Close button in the Rich Media toolbar (see figure 18).
Your button should now be distributed across multiple pages.
Related Resources
How to Create Navigation Buttons in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat
How to Add Tooltips to PDFs in Adobe Acrobat (PC & Mac)
How to Create External Links in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat
Three Ways to Create Bookmarks in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat
Updated August 15, 2021
Hi Erin,
This has been super helpful. I am having trouble with “duplicate across pages”. Every time I try this, it changes from a landscape box to a portrait label box on every following page. Any ideas?
Hello, Ann. Thank you for visiting! I’ve never had that issue while trying to duplicate a button, so I’m afraid I don’t have any advice. If you think this is a glitch in the software rather than an issue with one PDF, you may want to report the problem to Adobe. Best of luck!
Fantastic tutorial. But I can’t seem to either edit one of the buttons I created and then uplicated. The edit does not refresh on the duplicated to buttons. I also couldn’t find a way to then delete the one button on all the pages either.
Am I missing something,somewhere?
Thank you for visiting! Open the Rich Media toolbar, select the Select Object tool, and then right-click on the first button. Then, select Select All from the shortcut menu. This should select the duplicated buttons. Edit the first button as you normally would and the duplications should also be edited. Sadly, this doesn’t work if the buttons are duplicated across multiple PDFs. Best of luck!