In a display system and a display control method according to the present invention, a display specification data, which represents specifications of a display unit, is detected. A layout data of a document data is detected, the layout data being integrally stored with the document data and representing a page layout of data elements of the document data that are displayed on the display unit. The display unit is controlled such that the document data is displayed on the display unit in conformity with the detected display specification data and the detected layout data.