4 Ways to View & Download PDF Documents on an iPhone

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Easily get your iPhone to open and read PDFs with this in-depth guide

Co-authored by Rain Kengly

Last Updated: April 30, 2023 Fact Checked

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Using Safari

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Opening Email Attachments

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Downloading PDFs

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Enabling Spoken Content

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Q&A

When using Safari, Chrome, or the Mail app, your iPhone will automatically open PDF files for easy viewing. You can choose to save PDFs to your device, or you can sync it to the Apple Books app for offline viewing. If you download a PDF to your iPhone, you can easily find it in the "Downloads" folder of the Files app. You can also read the documents aloud by adjusting your Accessibility settings. This wikiHow will show you how to open, read, and download PDF files using an iPhone.

Things You Should Know

In Safari, tap a PDF link. Pinch the screen to zoom in and out, or long-press text, highlight it, and copy it.
Tap the "Share" icon and select the Apple Books app or "Save to Files".
Find downloaded PDFs in the Files app → "Browse" → "On My iPhone" → "Downloads".

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Using Safari

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1
Navigate to a PDF link in the Safari app. You can also use the Google Chrome app to open PDF files.
- Be sure to update your iPhone.
2
Tap the PDF link. PDF files open natively in the Safari app. Tapping a link to a PDF file will display the PDF file in the browser.
- You can also create a PDF from a screenshot.
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3
View the file. You can pinch the screen to zoom in and out.
- To copy text, long-press the text, and then drag the two circles to select the text. Tap Copy, and then paste it in another app.
4
Send the PDF to Apple Books (optional). You can add the PDF file you're viewing to your Apple Books app (or other PDF reader). This will allow you to access the PDF at any time, even without a network connection.
- Tap the Share button at the bottom of the page. This looks like the rectangle with an up-arrow.
- Tap the Books app.
  - If you don't see the app, scroll to the far right of the listed apps and tap More. Tap Books from the Apps list.
- Open Apple Books to view your PDF.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Opening Email Attachments

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1
Open the email with the PDF file. Open the message so that you can see the attachment link at the bottom of the screen.
- You can use the iOS Mail app, the Gmail app, or another mail app.
This will open the PDF in the Mail app's PDF viewer.
3
View the file. You can pinch the screen to zoom in and out.
- To copy text, long-press the text, and then drag the two circles to select the text. Tap Copy, and then paste it in another app.
- If the PDF file was created by scanning a page, you may not be able to highlight text.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Downloading PDFs

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1
Open a PDF file in Safari. Tapping a link to a PDF will open it in the browser.^{[1]
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- Use this method to download and save PDF files to your iPhone.
2
Tap the Share
icon. This will be at the bottom of the page.
- A pop-up menu will open.
3
Tap Save to Files. You can choose to select a location, but it will default to the Downloads folder.
- If you have iCloud synced to your device, you can choose to save there instead.
4
Tap Save. This will be in the top-right corner.
- The file will be saved to your device.
Open the Files app. This looks like a blue file with a white background. You can find this in your App Library.
6
Tap Browse. This will be in the bottom-right corner.
- You should see a list of Locations.
- If you don't see it, tap Browse again to turn to the correct page.
This will be next to a phone icon.
This should be the first folder. It will have an icon of a down-arrow in a circle.
You'll see a list of downloaded files. To open your PDF, tap it.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Enabling Spoken Content

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1
Open the Settings app. This looks like a grey cog icon.
- Use this method if you want your iPhone to read PDFs aloud.
This will be towards the middle of the page, underneath Home Screen.
You can find this below Motion.
4
Toggle on
"Speak Selection". This will enable you to select which text you want spoken aloud.
- If you want to read the entire document without selecting it, toggle on Speak Screen.
  - A speech controller will appear on the side of your screen.
Open a link, file, or use the Apple Books app.
6
Highlight the text you want spoken and tap "Speak". You may need to tap the arrow to find the option.
- If you don't see the Speak option, you may need to save it to your iPhone first. Then, open the PDF from the Files app.
- If you selected Speak Screen, tap the speech controller and tap the Play icon. Tap the Pause icon to stop.

Community Q&A

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Question

How do I convert a PDF into a Word document?

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Community Answer

I convert PDF into Word and PPT and other formats by using an app called PDFelement. You can open the PDF file and then select tie Convert function. The work will be done!

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Question

When the PDF is saved, either in iBooks or email, can it be viewed offline later?

Community Answer

When a PDF is sent to yourself via email, it can be viewed offline as long as the document is downloaded to your device.

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Question

How do I read a PDF on my Android?

Community Answer

There are several apps on the Play Store that can read PDF files. Adobe Acrobat Reader is probably the most common go-to, as it is also the most common program for the job on other platforms. However, you aren't stuck using it. Just search for PDF Reader on the Play Store and see what you like.

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