PDF is such a common file format that you probably work with these files often. It's a shame, so, that not all PDF readers feature an easy-to-utilise dark mode.

If you take the rest of your system set up in night mode—with light text on a dark groundwork—opening a PDF at night could shock y'all with its overwhelming effulgence. This is an especially annoying problem if y'all often read PDFs at night or for long periods at time, such as with PDF textbooks.

We'll show you how to use Adobe Acrobat Reader in dark mode for an experience that's easier on your eyes.

How to Use Dark Mode in Adobe Reader

To toggle dark mode for your PDFs in Adobe Acrobat Reader, follow these steps:

  1. Open up Adobe Reader and head to Edit > Preferences (using the Ctrl + K shortcut if y'all wish).
  2. There, choose the Accessibility tab from the left sidebar.
  3. Next, wait for the Document Colors Options section at the top. Within this, check the Supercede Document Colors checkbox, then choose the radio push for Employ High-Dissimilarity colors.
  4. SelectWhite text on black from the dropdown box next to High-dissimilarity color combination. This theme is equivalent to dark fashion, and is easiest on the eyes. If you lot want, yous tin also try Green text on black, which volition look like an old-school terminal.
  5. Now, click OK to go out the Preferences window. Yous should immediately run across that any opened PDFs now display in dark mode. Whatever PDFs you view in the futurity will use this dark theme, too.
Adobe Reader Color Contrast Option

Note that this merely affects text, so it won't flip the colors of images and other content. This might make it tough for you to see some items on the page after the switch, so take a expect around before you exit night way enabled in Adobe Reader all the time.

Adobe Reader Dark Mode Example

If y'all're non happy with how your PDF looks in the nighttime theme, you tin tweak the colour scheme on the aforementioned Accessibility options page mentioned above. Effort using the Custom Color option for a greyness background instead of black, for example. That might be easier for you to see.

And if y'all ever open a PDF and don't want to use night style, yous tin can turn this setting off. Just open Edit > Preferences once more and uncheck the Replace Certificate Colors box to remove the setting.

How to Change Adobe Reader's Theme to Nighttime Mode

Aside from changing the colors of the bodily PDFs, Adobe Reader includes ii themes for its other elements (like its homepage and the menu bar). By default, these follow your system's theme setting, simply you tin change the Adobe Reader theme if it's not displaying in dark mode automatically.

To do this, become to View > Brandish Theme in Adobe Reader's top card bar. In that location, you lot can choose from Light Gray and Dark Gray options. Dark Greyness is closer to nighttime mode; it's non fully black, just is the best choice for dark mode fans.

This is independent of the option above, so y'all can use the dark theme for PDFs while keeping the calorie-free theme for the menu elements, if yous similar.

Adobe Reader Color Theme

The Best Ways to Become PDFs in Dark Mode

With these two small tips, you tin can give Adobe Reader a decent dark mode. It's not perfect, but information technology'southward better than blinding yourself with bright elements across the software.

If y'all don't like Adobe Reader'due south dark theme, why not effort another PDF reader? Some other PDF software supports dark style, too. You tin as well open up PDFs in your browser and use a dark mode extension to invert them.

Prototype Credit: Elena Elisseeva/Shutterstock

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Ben Stegner (1800 Articles Published)

Ben is the Editor in Chief at MakeUseOf. He left his IT job to write total-time in 2016 and has never looked dorsum. He's been covering tech tutorials, video game recommendations, and more as a professional person author for over eight years.

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