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pdf files not listed in the preferences/application list, pdf won't load

  • 3 replies
  • 6 have this problem
  • 5 views
  • Last reply by ronin65

jljonathan
jljonathan
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I am using Mountain Lion and have Adobe reader 10.1.4 installed. When I click on a site to download a pdf file, I get a blank screen and no download (worked fine before mountain lion) I went to the preferences/applications screen and pdf isn't listed in the app list. How can I get to appear there so that I can assign an action to use reader to open it.

I am using Mountain Lion and have Adobe reader 10.1.4 installed. When I click on a site to download a pdf file, I get a blank screen and no download (worked fine before mountain lion) I went to the preferences/applications screen and pdf isn't listed in the app list. How can I get to appear there so that I can assign an action to use reader to open it.

Chosen solution

With earlier versions of MacOS, some users have reported that they have to disable the Acrobat plugin in Firefox and fall back on the Mac's default PDF reader when this happens. To try that, use

Tools > Add-ons > Plugins category

Does it work on Mountain Lion?

As for preferences, it is tricky to manually edit the settings file (mimeTypes.rdf) so hopefully that won't be necessary.

Read this answer in context 👍 9

All Replies (3)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Chosen Solution

With earlier versions of MacOS, some users have reported that they have to disable the Acrobat plugin in Firefox and fall back on the Mac's default PDF reader when this happens. To try that, use

Tools > Add-ons > Plugins category

Does it work on Mountain Lion?

As for preferences, it is tricky to manually edit the settings file (mimeTypes.rdf) so hopefully that won't be necessary.

jljonathan
jljonathan Question owner
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I disabled Acrobat as you suggested and it immediately corrected the problem. Then I changed from preview to Reader in the open with dialogue.

ronin65
ronin65
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The suggestion appears to work with Firefox 17.x on OS 10.8.2, but I have to wonder why Mozilla have not sorted this out by now.

I would expect that there are a lot more people who have not found this helpful suggestion than have and I would expect that many of them may have changed browsers as a consequence.