Difference between "Open in...", "Copy to..." and "Import to..." actions.

When you share a PDF document from another app on iOS, there are three different ways of opening it in PDF Viewer. This article describes them one-by-one, allowing you to choose the one that suits your needs the most.

Open in PDF Viewer

This action is displayed in the horizontal list of app icons when your PDF document is already in a writeable location.

When you choose this action, your PDF document will be opened in-place and all changes will be saved to its original location.

Copy to PDF Viewer

This action is also displayed in the horizontal list of app icons but only when your PDF document is not in a writeable location (e.g. when you open it in Safari or you received it as a mail attachment).

When you choose this action, iOS will first ask you where you want to copy your PDF document into and then it will open it. All changes will be saved to the location you chose.

Import to PDF Viewer

This action is visible in the vertical list of different actions. It behaves similarly to "Copy to PDF Viewer", except it's available even if your file is already in a writeable location, allowing you to copy it anyway.

When you choose this action, iOS will first ask you where you want to copy your PDF document into and then it will open it. All changes will be saved to the location you chose.

In addition, this action allows you to convert websites to PDF documents and open them in PDF Viewer all in one tap.

If you always want to copy your files to another location before opening them in PDF Viewer, "Import to PDF Viewer" action might be the best choice for you.