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Why can't Firefox open a .pdf sometimes?

  • 1 reply
  • 2 have this problem
  • 11 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

GilDawson
GilDawson
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Sometimes Firefox 45.0 on my MacBook Pro running 10.11.3 will open a .pdf file in a new tab. Sometimes it will instead offer to save it.

The .pdf I'm trying to look at right now is my monthly statement from PayPal. Firefox wants to save it.

I looked in Preferences -> Applications and scrolled down to find *two* entries (See screenshot.), both with pop-up Action menus. The bottom entry looks good with the Action Pop-Up set the "Preview in Firefox".

The top entry Action Pop-up does not have a selection for "Preview in Firefox", so I selected "Use other..." and navigated to Applications -> Firefox -> Firefox.app. This did not seem to help. When I clicked away it reverted to "Use Preview".

Are there two kinds of .pdf files, one that Firefox can view and not the other?

--Gil

Sometimes Firefox 45.0 on my MacBook Pro running 10.11.3 will open a .pdf file in a new tab. Sometimes it will instead offer to save it. The .pdf I'm trying to look at right now is my monthly statement from PayPal. Firefox wants to save it. I looked in Preferences -> Applications and scrolled down to find *two* entries (See screenshot.), both with pop-up Action menus. The bottom entry looks good with the Action Pop-Up set the "Preview in Firefox". The top entry Action Pop-up does not have a selection for "Preview in Firefox", so I selected "Use other..." and navigated to Applications -> Firefox -> Firefox.app. This did not seem to help. When I clicked away it reverted to "Use Preview". Are there two kinds of .pdf files, one that Firefox can view and not the other? --Gil
Attached screenshots

Chosen solution

The built-in Firefox PDF Viewer only supports the content type application/pdf. If the server sends the file with a different content type or as content disposition then Firefox will only offer to save the file.

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cor-el
cor-el
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  • Top 10 Contributor
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Chosen Solution

The built-in Firefox PDF Viewer only supports the content type application/pdf. If the server sends the file with a different content type or as content disposition then Firefox will only offer to save the file.