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Firefox insists on displaying downloaded pdf files rather than allowing Acrobat to view them

Ken Brown
Ken Brown
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When I click on a pdf file, Firefox opens and displays the file, rather than handing it off to Acrobat, which is my preference. I'm running Firefox 122.0.1 and Windows 11 Firefox seems to ignore the settings in General, Applications. (See attached image) 

    If I set to Always Ask, Firefox displays the file without asking.
    If I set to Save File, Firefox does not save the file.  It displays pdf instead.
    If I set to Windows Default Application, Firefox displays the file.  
         (Note: Acrobat is set in Windows as my default app for pdfs.  If I find a pdf with Windows Explorer and open it there, Acrobat is launched and it displays the file.  IOW I've confirmed that Acrobat is set as my default app for pdfs)
    If I set to Acrobat, Firefox displays the file.

I see nothing in Firefox Settings showing an Add-in for pdfs Any ideas?

When I click on a pdf file, Firefox opens and displays the file, rather than handing it off to Acrobat, which is my preference. I'm running Firefox 122.0.1 and Windows 11 Firefox seems to ignore the settings in General, Applications. (See attached image) If I set to Always Ask, Firefox displays the file without asking. If I set to Save File, Firefox does not save the file. It displays pdf instead. If I set to Windows Default Application, Firefox displays the file. (Note: Acrobat is set in Windows as my default app for pdfs. If I find a pdf with Windows Explorer and open it there, Acrobat is launched and it displays the file. IOW I've confirmed that Acrobat is set as my default app for pdfs) If I set to Acrobat, Firefox displays the file. I see nothing in Firefox Settings showing an Add-in for pdfs Any ideas?
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All Replies (1)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 25 Contributor
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Hi Ken, does this vary by site?

The standard settings should work for ordinary PDF downloads. For example, here's a link to Mozilla's AI Year in Review report: https://blog.mozilla.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/278/files/2023/12/Mozilla-2023-AI-Year-in-Review.pdf

But there are some sites that serve Firefox their own HTML-based viewer instead of sending a download, and Firefox doesn't have a setting to prevent that. These site viewers often do not have a download button because they want to control distribution of their content.

Are you noticing a pattern like that?