For longer PDFs, keep the visitor reading experience simple. The PDF Viewer widget can show navigation, thumbnails, zoom controls, and fullscreen controls so visitors can move through a document without feeling stuck.
1 Show Navigation keeps page movement visible. 2 Show Zoom lets visitors enlarge small text. 3 Allow Fullscreen gives more reading space. 4 Show Thumbnails helps visitors jump between documents.
Use Viewer mode first
Open the Templates tab and choose Viewer as the layout type. Viewer mode is the best option when visitors should read the PDF directly on your page.
Keep controls enabled for longer PDFs
For reports, catalogs, ebooks, manuals, and multi-page guides, keep navigation and zoom enabled. Visitors may need to move page by page, zoom into small text, or use fullscreen for a more comfortable reading area.
Use thumbnails when you have several PDFs
When the widget contains multiple PDFs, thumbnails help visitors switch between documents from the viewer area. If you only have one short PDF, you can hide thumbnails for a cleaner interface.
Turn off controls only when the document is short and the page design needs to stay minimal.
If visitors complain that the PDF is too small, keep zoom and fullscreen enabled.
If the viewer is placed in a narrow page section, increase the widget width or allow fullscreen.
Test the viewer on mobile because small screens may need simpler controls and more reading space.