Overview
OpenOptions is a Mapsoft plug-in for Adobe Acrobat that controls how a PDF appears when it is opened. You can preset the initial view, magnification, page layout, starting page number, window sizing and positioning, full-screen behaviour, and whether the menubar, toolbar, and window controls are visible. You can apply the settings to the document open in Acrobat or to a list of PDF files in one go, and save them as named configurations for later reuse and for batch operation.
OpenOptions is accessed from the Acrobat menu at Plug-Ins > Mapsoft > OpenOptions.... Acrobat exposes the same properties through File > Properties > Initial View, but only on a file-by-file basis — OpenOptions adds named configurations and batch application on top.
This guide describes version 1.6.4 (September 2026). Version 1.6.3 changes only the options you set and leaves the rest of each document’s open settings (including the page it opens at) as they were, makes batch processing work with Protected Mode switched on, and lists any files a batch could not process, with the reason.
Protected Mode: supported. OpenOptions runs with Acrobat’s Protected Mode switched on and does not require it to be disabled.
Setting open options for a document
- Open the PDF document in Adobe Acrobat.
- Go to Plug-Ins > Mapsoft > OpenOptions....
- Under Apply to, make sure Active document is selected.
- Choose values from the View, Magnification, and Page layout drop-downs in the Initial view group.
- If the document should open at a particular page, type its number into Page number.
- Set the boxes in the Window options and User interface options groups you want to change.
- Optionally, type a name into the Name Configuration field and click Save to keep the settings for later reuse.
- Click OK to apply the changes to the document, then save the document to keep them.
If the page number is beyond the last page of the document, OpenOptions says so and keeps the dialog open so that you can correct it.
Initial view
Determines how the PDF document displays when it is opened. Each drop-down starts at [Do not change], which leaves that setting in the document as it is.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| View | The panel shown beside the page: Page only, Bookmarks Panel and page, Pages Panel and Page, Layers Panel and Page or Attachments Panel and Page. Default removes the setting, so the reader’s own preference applies. |
| Magnification | The zoom the document opens at: a fixed percentage (50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 200, 400 or 800), Fit in window (the whole page), Fit width, or Fit visible (the width of the page’s contents). Default opens at the reader’s current zoom. |
| Page layout | Single page, Continuous, Continuous - facing pages or Facing Pages. Default removes the setting, so the reader’s own preference applies. |
| Page number | The page that should be displayed first. Leave it blank to keep the page the document already opens at. |
Tip
Page 1 with Magnification Default removes the document’s open page setting altogether, since that is how a PDF opens anyway.
Window options
Controls the size and positioning of the Acrobat window when the document opens. Each box has three states, and clicking moves it on to the next: ticked (turn the option on), grey (leave it as it is in the document) and empty (turn the option off). The boxes start grey.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Resize window to initial page | The window is resized to fit the initial page of the document. |
| Centre window on screen | The window is centred on the user’s screen. |
| Open in full screen mode | The document opens in full-screen presentation mode. The View setting is kept for when the reader leaves full screen. |
User interface options
Hides parts of the Acrobat window when the document is opened. As with the Window options, each box has three states — a grey box leaves the setting alone.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Hide menubar | Suppresses the Acrobat menu bar. |
| Hide toolbar | Suppresses the Acrobat toolbar. |
| Hide windowbar | Suppresses the Acrobat window controls (scroll bars, status bar). |
Warning
Hiding the menubar in combination with full-screen mode leaves no obvious way for an end user to exit. Always keep at least one of these visible, or document the Esc / Ctrl+L shortcut for your readers.
Processing multiple files
To apply the same open options to many PDF files at once, choose Multiple files... under Apply to. You do not need a document open in Acrobat to do this. The dialog grows a Files list:
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Add Files... | Adds one or more PDF files to the list. |
| Add Folder... | Adds every PDF file in a folder, and optionally in its subfolders. (With Protected Mode switched on, OpenOptions asks about subfolders after you have chosen the folder.) |
| Remove | Removes the selected files from the list. |
| Remove All | Empties the list. |
- Add the files, and set the open options you want to change (or choose a saved configuration). OK is available once there are files in the list and at least one option to change.
- Click OK, and Yes to confirm. Answering No returns you to the dialog with the list as it was.
- OpenOptions opens, changes and saves each file in turn. Click Abort in the progress window to stop after the current file.
- When it has finished, OpenOptions reports how many files it processed, and lists any it could not, with the reason — for example a file that is not a PDF, is open in Acrobat or another program, is read-only, or is signed or protected against changes. Such files are left as they were.
Note
Files are saved in place, replacing the originals. Keep a copy of any files you may want to go back to.
Saving and recalling configurations
To save the current dialog values for later reuse, type a name into the Name Configuration field and click Save. The configuration is then available from the drop-down on subsequent runs, and to Mapsoft’s batch tools (Acrobatch and Automator), which can apply it to each document they process. A name may not contain a comma or be longer than 255 characters.
To delete a configuration you no longer need, choose it from the Name Configuration drop-down and click Remove.
Action buttons
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Current | Fills the dialog with the open options stored in the active document. Options the document does not set are shown as off, and the page number is left blank if the document does not set one. |
| Clear | Resets every option to [Do not change] / grey. |
| Save | Saves the current dialog values under the name in Name Configuration. |
| Remove | Deletes the currently selected named configuration. |
| OK | Applies the settings to the active document, or to the files in the list, and closes the dialog. |
| Cancel | Closes the dialog without changing anything. |
| Help... | Opens this online user guide. |
What OpenOptions changes
OpenOptions writes only the settings you change. Everything left at [Do not change], grey or blank stays as it is in each document — so, for example, hiding the toolbar in a batch of files does not change the page or zoom any of them opens at. This is what makes OpenOptions safe to apply across mixed batches of PDFs.
When you change the page or the magnification, the other is kept: a new zoom keeps the page the document opens at, and a new page keeps its zoom. If the document’s open page is shared with a bookmark, the bookmark is not affected.