This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

I can't open PDF files on Firefox anymore

  • 5 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 13 views
  • Last reply by mateokross

more options

I used to be able to open pdf files on the browser but can't anymore. Whenerver I open one a grey tab opens up and the pdf is redownloaded. I have the "Preview in Firefox" option set in the browser options and can't figure out why it stopped working.

I used to be able to open pdf files on the browser but can't anymore. Whenerver I open one a grey tab opens up and the pdf is redownloaded. I have the "Preview in Firefox" option set in the browser options and can't figure out why it stopped working.

All Replies (5)

more options

I forgot to add that I can open online pdf files but not the ones stored on my pc.

more options

What default pdf viewer do you have installed?

more options

I had none as I only used firefox. I recently installed adobe acrobat though.

more options

mateokross said

I used to be able to open pdf files on the browser but can't anymore. Whenerver I open one a grey tab opens up and the pdf is redownloaded.

mateokross said

I forgot to add that I can open online pdf files but not the ones stored on my pc.

Do you mean, it gets downloaded again from the original source website, or instead of showing the PDF, Firefox gives you the dialog to Open or Save the file?

Does the saved file open normally in Adobe Reader (or Acrobat)?

more options

Oh wow it just fixed itself. I tried opening a file with the internet off to check if it was redownloading the pdf from the original site or creating a copy and it just worked normally. It used to give me the open or save dialog or save it directly depending on the setting in firefox.