Customize toolbar

Choose which buttons the toolbar shows, how it is displayed, and add your own buttons for any command or external viewer. Everything is set in the advanced settings file.

Available in version 3.6 or later.

Most people use ToolbarCustomLayout to trim the toolbar to the buttons they use. At a glance:

Button layout (ver 3.7+): ToolbarCustomLayout picks the built-in buttons and their order.
Display mode (ver 3.7+): Toolbar = show / overlay / hide; F8 cycles through them.
Custom buttons: ToolbarText or ToolbarSvgIcon in the Shortcuts setting adds a button for any command.
External viewer buttons: ToolbarText / ToolbarSvgIcon in ExternalViewers.

Open the settings file #

Menu: Settings → Open Advanced Settings File…
Command Palette: Ctrl + K, then Open Advanced Settings File...

It opens in your default text editor.

Ver 3.7+: ToolbarCustomLayout lists the built-in buttons you want, in the order you want them:

ToolbarCustomLayout = CmdFindFirst | PageInfo CmdGoToPrevPage CmdGoToNextPage | CmdZoomOut CmdZoomIn

entries are command ids, separated by spaces (commas and semicolons work too)
| (or Separator) inserts a separator
PageInfo is the page number box (Page: 3 / 120); leave it out and it isn’t shown at all
leaving a button out is how you hide it. Keep the toolbar and fill it with the buttons you use
an empty value (the default) means the standard layout
names that aren’t built-in toolbar buttons are ignored (see the log with -log)

The following is the standard toolbar written out, as a starting point to edit down:

ToolbarCustomLayout = CmdOpenFile CmdPrint | PageInfo CmdGoToPrevPage CmdGoToNextPage | CmdNavigateBack CmdNavigateForward | CmdToggleReadAloud | CmdZoomFitWidthAndContinuous CmdZoomFitPageAndSinglePage CmdRotateLeft CmdRotateRight CmdZoomOut CmdZoomIn | CmdFindFirst | CmdToggleEditPDF

Note: some buttons only show when they apply, so a listed button may stay hidden. For example, Read Aloud needs ToolbarShowReadAloud and Find needs a searchable document. Rotate needs a rotatable document, and Edit PDF needs an editable PDF.

Edit PDF toggles a second row of annotation tools. Highlight, underline, squiggly and strike out are enabled only while text is selected.

Some buttons have a drop-down. Zoom In and Zoom Out list the zoom levels, and Save in Edit PDF lists the ways to end the session. Read Aloud has voice and speed. Rest the mouse on the button to open the drop-down after a short delay, or right-click to open it at once if it is not already shown.

Ver 3.7+: the Toolbar advanced setting controls how the toolbar is shown:

show : pinned at the top of the window (the default)
hide : no toolbar
overlay : floats over the page, sized to its natural width and horizontally centered. It is hidden until the mouse moves near the top of the page

Toolbar = overlay

To cycle show → overlay → hide:

Keyboard: F8
Menu: View → Show Toolbar
Command Palette: Ctrl + K, then Toggle Toolbar (CmdToggleToolbar)

Add a button for a command #

In the Shortcuts array, add a definition with ToolbarText (a text label):

Shortcuts [
    [
        Cmd = CmdPrevTab
        ToolbarText = Prev Tab
    ]
    [
        Cmd = CmdNextTab
        ToolbarText = Next Tab
    ]
    [
        Name = Send By Mail
        Cmd = CmdSendByEmail
        Key = Shift + M
        ToolbarText = ✉
    ]
    [
        Cmd = CmdNavigateBack
        ToolbarText = ←
    ]
    [
        Cmd = CmdNavigateForward
        ToolbarText = →
    ]
]

CmdNextTab is one of the commands
Next Tab is shown in the toolbar
if you provide Name, it is available in the Command Palette

The toolbar with these buttons (after the built-in Find and Edit PDF buttons):

Toolbar with Prev Tab, Next Tab, send by mail, back and forward buttons

Buttons you add (ToolbarText / ToolbarSvgIcon) always come after the built-in ones. See customize shortcuts for full docs on the Shortcuts setting.

$ opens the command palette in favorites mode (a floating list that closes when it loses focus). For a toolbar button, add a shortcut with ToolbarText or ToolbarSvgIcon:

Shortcuts [
    [
        Cmd = CmdNavigateFavorites
        Name = Favorites
        ToolbarText = $
    ]
]

The table of contents (document bookmarks) is % or Shift + F12. For a toolbar button use CmdNavigateTableOfContents the same way.

Add a button for an external viewer #

See customize external viewers.

Using SVG icons #

Ver 3.7+: set ToolbarSvgIcon to an SVG icon. It is rendered like built-in toolbar icons (theme text/background colors are applied automatically). If both ToolbarSvgIcon and ToolbarText are set, the icon is used.

Use Tabler Icons SVGs (24×24, stroke="currentColor", fill="none"). The built-in toolbar icons use the same format.

Shortcuts [
    [
        Cmd = CmdNavigateBack
        Name = Back
        ToolbarSvgIcon = <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" stroke-width="1" stroke="currentColor" fill="none" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"><rect x="0" y="0" width="24" height="24" stroke="none"></rect><path d="M9 14l-4 -4l4 -4" /><path d="M5 10h11a4 4 0 1 1 0 8h-1" /></svg>
    ]
    [
        Cmd = CmdNavigateForward
        Name = Forward
        ToolbarSvgIcon = <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" stroke-width="1" stroke="currentColor" fill="none" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"><rect x="0" y="0" width="24" height="24" stroke="none"></rect><path d="M15 14l4 -4l-4 -4" /><path d="M19 10h-11a4 4 0 1 0 0 8h1" /></svg>
    ]
]

Name is the button’s tooltip. If omitted, the command’s default name is used.

Using Unicode symbols #

As an alternative to SVG, use Unicode symbols in ToolbarText. They are drawn as button labels using the UI font.

Symbols supported by Windows’ Segoe UI font: http://zuga.net/articles/unicode-all-characters-supported-by-the-font-segoe-ui/

To find one, search for a term such as arrow, then copy and paste the symbol (e.g. →) into the settings file.

Tips #

Start from the standard ToolbarCustomLayout above and delete what you don’t use.
Hiding a button doesn’t disable the command. It’s still in the menu, the command palette and on its keyboard shortcut.
Use Toolbar = overlay to get the vertical space back and still reach the toolbar from the top of the page.
Set Name on a custom button to get a readable tooltip and a Command Palette entry.
If a ToolbarCustomLayout entry has no effect, run with -log, which logs unknown names.

Open the settings file #

Choose which buttons are on the toolbar, and in what order #

Show, hide or overlay the toolbar #

Add a button for a command #

Command palette on the toolbar #

Add a button for an external viewer #

Using SVG icons #

Using Unicode symbols #

Tips #

See also #