How do I get Firefox to open PDF Files in the browser, instead of trying to save them or open them in Apple Preview?
Hi,
I am trying to figure out how to open all PDF files in Firefox instead of it asking me to download them or open them in Apple Preview.
I am talking about "PDF File" not "Portable Document Format (PDF)" - which is set to open with Firefox Preview.
Maybe my issue is that I don't understand the difference between these two content types; why they are listed as separate content types in Firefox Preferences; and why Firefox Preview isn't an option for the first one. If someone could explain this issue for me, maybe that would clear things up.
It seems that most PDFs are interpreted as "PDF Files" rather than "Portable Document Format (PDFs)", and I am almost always asked to save them, if not always. No other browser I use requires me to think about this distinction. Why is Firefox different? Is it an open source / licensing issue? Also, if the distinction between these two file types is important, the Mozilla instructions located here should absolutely make a mention of it: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/view-pdf-files-firefox
Thanks!
All Replies (4)
Firefox only uses the builtin PDF Viewer when the servers sends the file as application/pdf. When another content type or a content-disposition header is send then you get an open with download dialog.
The entry that show Preview in Firefox is probably about this specific content type.
Hi,
Thanks for your response (and I apologize for the delay).
Is there any way around this issue? If what you say is true, then - based on my experience - it means that most if not all websites are not using the "application/pdf" header for their files, rendering Firefox Preview useless. Do other people have this problem? I'm still wondering why I have this issue with Firefox and not other browsers.
If the site isn't following format then there is nothing FF can do about it. You need to contact the site Webmaster and inform them of the problem.
I don't think this is an issue with the websites I'm visiting. Maybe I wasn't clear above, but a significant number of pdfs are not being opened in Firefox Preview for me - something like 50% - way too many for me to bother contacting websites. Nor would that accomplish anything for me to try to contact most of these websites (large companies, government agencies, etc.)
If I visit the same website with a different browser, it opens the pdf in whatever pdf viewer it uses in the browser. I use Firefox at home and Chrome at work. This is either a Firefox issue or an issue with my understanding of the situation. It's the pdf viewer's responsibility to be able to handle different file headers appropriately.
Do I just need to accept that Firefox downloads pdfs responds to most pdf file headers by asking me how to save the file? Or am I missing something? Is this a licensing issue, where Google has a deal with Adobe that Mozilla does not?
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