The complete manual.

What PDF Viewer is

PDF Viewer is a fast, private PDF viewer and editor for Android. It opens any PDF for reading, and goes beyond viewing with full-text search, freehand annotations, form filling and page management. Files never leave your device — there is no account, no cloud, and no tracking.

What it does:

• Open and read any PDF with smooth paging and pinch-to-zoom
• Full-text search with highlighted matches and match navigation
• Annotate with pen, highlighter and eraser, with undo/redo
• Fill in form fields: text, checkboxes, radio buttons and dropdowns
• Manage pages: rotate, delete, reorder by drag & drop, export a selection, append other PDFs
• Save by overwriting the original or as a new file
• Recent files list for quick reopening
• A short intro walkthrough on first launch, toolbar tooltips and one-time tips per mode
• Light / dark / system theme, eight color schemes plus Material You
• Built-in language switcher (English / German), independent of the system locale
• No ads, no tracking, no third-party servers

Under the hood, pages are rendered with Android's built-in PdfRenderer, while editing operations (search, annotations, forms, page changes) are performed with the PDFBox library on-device.

From file to finished in four taps

On the home screen, tap Open PDF and pick a file. The document opens in the viewer. Swipe to page through it and pinch to zoom. Use the toolbar to search, edit (annotate), fill forms, or manage pages. When you are done editing, tap Save and choose whether to overwrite the original or create a new file. Tap the home icon to return to the start screen.

First launch

The first time you start PDF Viewer, the app introduces itself — and then keeps helping quietly in the background as you explore.

Intro walkthrough

A short, five-card walkthrough runs on first launch: Welcome, Search, Annotate, Forms and Manage pages. Swipe or tap Next to move on, Skip to leave it at any point, and Get started on the last card to enter the app.

You can replay it whenever you like: Settings → General → Show intro again.

Tooltips and one-time tips

Every icon in the viewer toolbar has a tooltip — press and hold an icon to see what it does.

In addition, each mode shows a short tip the first time you enter it, and never again afterwards:

• Viewer — tap the page indicator at the bottom to jump straight to a page.
• Search — the arrows jump between matches, across pages too.
• Annotate — one finger draws, two fingers zoom and pan.
• Form — tap a field directly to fill it in.
• Pages — press and hold a thumbnail, then drag to reorder pages.

Opening a PDF

From the app

Tap Open PDF on the home screen. Android's file picker (Storage Access Framework) opens, letting you choose a PDF from local storage, Downloads, Google Drive, or any provider on your device. The app only reads the file you pick; it has no broad storage permission.

Recent files

Documents you have opened appear under Recently opened on the home screen, newest first. Tap one to reopen it. Tap the × on an entry to remove it from the list, or clear the whole list from Settings (see General).

From another app

PDF Viewer registers as a PDF handler. From a file manager, email attachment, or browser download, choose Open with → PDF Viewer and the document opens directly in the viewer.

Viewing

Paging & zoom

Swipe left and right to move through the pages. Pinch with two fingers to zoom in and out for comfortable reading; while zoomed in, drag with one finger to pan around the page. A small indicator at the bottom shows Page X of Y.

Go to page

To jump straight to a page, tap the page indicator to open the Go to page dialog and type a page number, or drag the page slider along the bottom edge. Both let you move through long documents quickly.

Finding text

Tap the search icon in the viewer toolbar and type your query. Matches across the document are highlighted, and a counter shows the current match and the total (for example 3/12). Use the up and down arrows to jump between matches; the view scrolls to each one automatically. Text search is powered by PDFBox, which extracts the document text and the position of each hit.

Annotations

Tap Edit to enter annotation mode. Choose a tool:

Pick a color from the palette, then draw directly on the page. One finger draws, two fingers zoom and pan — the strokes stay aligned to the page thanks to an inverse transform, so you can annotate small details precisely. Undo and Redo step back and forward through your strokes.

When you save, the annotations are burned into the PDF — they become part of the document itself, so they display in any other PDF reader.

Filling forms

If a PDF contains an interactive form (an AcroForm), tap Form. The form fields are overlaid on the page. Tap a field to fill it in:

• Text fields — type a value.
• Checkboxes — tap to toggle.
• Radio buttons — pick one option from a group.
• Dropdowns / choice lists — select from the available options.

Saving writes your entries back into the form fields of the PDF, so the filled document can be shared or printed.

Page management

Tap Pages to open a thumbnail grid of the document. From here you can reshape the document:

• Rotate — turn a page 90°.
• Delete — remove a page.
• Reorder — press and hold a thumbnail, then drag it to a new position. When you drag near the top or bottom edge, the grid auto-scrolls so you can move a page across long documents.
• Export selection — save only the selected pages as a new PDF (an extract).
• Append — add the pages of another PDF to the end of the current one (merge).

Two ways to save

When you save after annotating, filling a form, or changing pages, a dialog offers two choices:

• Overwrite original — write the changes back to the file you opened.
• Save as new file — keep the original untouched and write a new PDF (with a descriptive suffix such as -annotated, -filled, -edited, or -extract).

Home screen

The home screen shows the Open PDF button, your recent files, and a slim line with the app version and two links — Visit website and More apps — followed by a divider. The links open in your browser and follow the app's language.

A menu button (☰) in the top-left corner opens a navigation drawer with a Help & Support entry. A bottom navigation bar switches between Home and Settings.

Settings

Open the Settings tab. The Appearance section controls how the app looks and speaks; the General section holds everything else.

Theme

Choose System, Light, or Dark. System follows your device's dark-mode setting.

Color scheme

Pick from eight color schemes — Green, Blue, Purple, Orange, Red, Teal, Pink, Grey — each shown with a color swatch. On Android 12 and newer, Dynamic (Material You) derives the colors from your wallpaper. Changing the scheme applies instantly across the whole app and is remembered.

Language

Choose System, Deutsch, or English. The app language is independent of your phone's system language; changing it restarts the app screens so every label switches immediately.

General

Rate the app

Opens the Google Play listing so you can leave a rating or a review.

Show intro again

Replays the first-launch walkthrough — a quick tour of the features.

Clear recently opened

Empties the recent files list after a confirmation. The entry shows how many documents are currently in the list.

Help & support

The Settings screen and the home drawer both link to Help & Support. It contains an expandable FAQ covering opening, searching, annotating, forms, page management, quick navigation, saving, and appearance, plus:

• Send feedback — opens an email to the developer with the app version pre-filled in the subject.
• Rate the app — opens the app's Google Play listing.

Your files stay yours

PDF Viewer does not collect, transmit, or share any personal data. There are no analytics, no crash reporting to a third party, and no advertising IDs. Documents are read and edited entirely on your device.

Network use is limited to actions you start yourself: opening the website or “More apps” link, sending feedback by email, or opening the Play Store listing. Files are accessed only through Android's Storage Access Framework — the app sees the single document you choose, nothing else.

The full policy is on the privacy page.

What you need

Android version

Android 8.0 (API 26) or newer.

Material You

Dynamic color requires Android 12 (API 31) or newer.

Permissions

None beyond the file you pick — access runs through Android's Storage Access Framework.

Support

• Email: agrauf67@gmail.com (Help screen → Send feedback pre-fills the app version).
• Website: djvlk.de/pdfviewer

What's new

A native iOS version (viewer) is in development.

Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Andreas Grauf. All rights reserved.

PDF Viewer is published under the developer account “djvlk”. See also the terms of use.

Document version matches app version 1.1.0.