I DESPERATELY want a user preference that inhibits automatically opening the left side toolbar. I've seen a couple of other comments on the same topic where an Adobe engineer claims that F8 turns off the menu. News Flash: F8 does nothing in my Acrobat Reader AND I ALWAYS want the left-side tools menu hidden, unless summoned. I<b> READ</b> PDFs with Acrobat <b>Reader</b>, I don't need or want to see editing tools. So far (after YEARS of use) I haven't needed to redact, highlight, or annotate (comment), but I can see those capabilities as being potentially valuable when needed, though RARELY.