Full Screen Presentation Mode: Page Navigation With A Left-click Fails When Zoomed In Beyond Page Fit

[rakunavi]

Hello all,

When Presentation Mode is enabled in Full Screen Mode, a left‑click advances to the next page and a right‑click goes back to the previous page. However, I found that when the option “Keep current page layout and zoom when switching to/from Full Screen mode” is enabled, the left‑click does not advance to the next page if the current view is zoomed in beyond “Page Fit” (i.e., when only part of the page is visible).

Below are the test procedures shown in the verification video for both PDF‑XChange Editor and Adobe Acrobat.
Please note that the sample file attached has its initial zoom level set to “Page Width” in the document properties.

• Animation.gif
  The capture software used (ScreenToGif) displays a yellow circle around the mouse cursor when the left mouse button is clicked
  and a red circle when the right mouse button is clicked, so you can tell which mouse button was clicked just by looking at the screen.

• sample.pdf

PDF‑XChange Editor

1. Switch to Full Screen Mode and confirm that left‑click advances to the next page and right‑click goes back to the previous page.
2. Open the Preferences dialog and enable the option “Keep current page layout and zoom when switching to/from Full Screen mode.”
   
   
   • figure1.png
3. In Full Screen Mode, confirm that left‑click no longer advances to the next page.

Adobe Acrobat (Assuming the old UI mode is enabled)

1. Press Ctrl+L to switch to Full Screen Mode and confirm that left‑click advances to the next page and right‑click goes back to the previous page.
2. In the Preferences dialog, disable the option “Fill screen with one page at a time.”
   
   
   • figure2.png
3. Confirm that left‑click and right‑click still work correctly in Full Screen Mode.

As an additional note, in Acrobat’s new UI mode, right‑click does not go back to the previous page even when the option “Left click to go forward one page; right click to go back one page” is enabled. This appears to be a bug specific to the new UI mode. In that case, switching to the old UI mode or using Shift + click will allow you to go back to the previous page.

• figure3.png

Hoping that the above information will be of some help to you.
Thank you for your hard work on this great software.

Best regards,
rakunavi

- PDF-XChange Editor PRO Version: 11.0.1
- Adobe Acrobat Reader Continuous Release Version 2026.001.21662
- OS Version: Windows 11 Pro / Home 25H2 Build 26200.8655
- PC Model: GMKtec Nucbox M7 Pro with HUION Kamvas Pro 19 / Lenovo IdeaPad C340-15IWL

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, rakunavi

left‑click does not advance to the next page if the current view is zoomed in beyond “Page Fit” (i.e., when only part of the page is visible).

To my knowledge, this is intentional. I will pass it along for review, but I cannot promise a change here.

Kind regards,

[rakunavi]

Hello Daniel,

Thank you for contacting the developers.

I am a bit surprised to hear that it was intentional, and I would love to know the reasoning behind it. By the way, Foxit PDF Editor (13.1.2.22442) behaves the same way as Acrobat. For your reference, I have attached a verification video below. The operation steps are exactly the same as those shown for Acrobat.

• Animation.gif
  The capture software used (ScreenToGif) displays a yellow circle around the mouse cursor when the left mouse button is clicked
  and a red circle when the right mouse button is clicked, so you can tell which mouse button was clicked just by looking at the screen.

Best regards,
rakunavi

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, rakunavi

As much as I would love to pretend there is some wise esoteric answer to the question of "why" we implement certain features in a unique way, sadly there is rarely something so special as an explanation. This is one such case - It is, simply because it is; Perhaps it will change in the future, but I cannot offer any promises at this time.

Kind regards,

[rakunavi]

Hello Daniel,

Thank you again for taking the time to look into this behavior.
I understand that there may not be any particular intention behind the current implementation.
In that case, I hope it is helpful if I share how this behavior appears from a user’s perspective, and why the current design can feel unintuitive in actual use.

From a user standpoint, the main difficulty is that the navigation behavior changes depending on the zoom level, even though users are often unaware of what their current zoom level is. As a result:

• Users expect left‑click to always advance and right‑click to always go back, regardless of zoom.
• When this does not happen, it feels inconsistent, because the user has no clear indication that the internal state (zoom > Page Fit) has changed the meaning of the click.
• Although the cursor shape technically changes (arrow vs. hand), users do not usually monitor cursor shape during a presentation, and on touchscreens there is no cursor at all.

In addition, PDF files commonly contain pages of varying sizes and orientations.
When viewing such documents at a fixed zoom level, it is normal for the next page to appear partially or entirely outside the screen.
Because this is an inherent property of PDFs, users generally do not expect the navigation method itself to change simply because the next page is not fully visible.

By contrast, applications like PowerPoint behave differently for understandable reasons:
all slides share the same size, and PowerPoint provides a quick way (right‑click) to return to a “fit to screen” view before advancing.
PDF‑XChange Editor does not currently offer an equivalent one‑click method to return to Page Fit using only the mouse, which makes the behavior feel even less predictable.

For these reasons, a zoom‑independent navigation model—
left‑click always advances, right‑click always goes back—
would feel more consistent and easier to understand, especially in Presentation Mode where simple, reliable mouse‑only control is essential.

This is not meant as a criticism of the current design, but rather an explanation of how it can be perceived from the user side.
I hope this perspective is useful when considering future refinements.

Thank you for your attention and for your continued work on the software.

Best regards,
rakunavi

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, rakunavi

We do greatly appreciate the feedback. As always, it has been passed along to the Dev team for review, but I cannot make any promises of what may or may not change until I have heard confirmation.

Kind regards,