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I am unable to download certain PDFs from a website

  • 3 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 15 views
  • Last reply by affintern13

affintern13
affintern13
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My job requires me to log on to a secure website and click on links to download pdf files. When I click on the links, the firefox opens a new tab, but that tab is blank. When I "right click" on the link and select "save link as" from the menu, the file is recognized as a php file and not pdf and I am unable to download it in a readable form. I have tried opening these files in Firefox, Chrome, and Safari and none of them work. However, the files download for other people with the same version of Mac as me without a problem. I have tried changing the preference for PDF to Adobe Reader in the preference>application window as suggested by other online forums and this does not help. I am able to download these same files from an email attachment which has been the temporary solution. Other pdf links from other websites don't download, but pop-up in a tab of the browser and I am able to view them. The IT guy said that he made the file so that it could only be downloaded for security reasons. I don't know if this is a reason why I am having problems with this particular kind of pdf, but not others. However, I'm not sure why I am having the problem, but not other people. I have a MacBook Pro version 10.6.8 and I have firefox 21.0. My Adobe Reader is 11.0.03.

My job requires me to log on to a secure website and click on links to download pdf files. When I click on the links, the firefox opens a new tab, but that tab is blank. When I "right click" on the link and select "save link as" from the menu, the file is recognized as a php file and not pdf and I am unable to download it in a readable form. I have tried opening these files in Firefox, Chrome, and Safari and none of them work. However, the files download for other people with the same version of Mac as me without a problem. I have tried changing the preference for PDF to Adobe Reader in the preference>application window as suggested by other online forums and this does not help. I am able to download these same files from an email attachment which has been the temporary solution. Other pdf links from other websites don't download, but pop-up in a tab of the browser and I am able to view them. The IT guy said that he made the file so that it could only be downloaded for security reasons. I don't know if this is a reason why I am having problems with this particular kind of pdf, but not others. However, I'm not sure why I am having the problem, but not other people. I have a MacBook Pro version 10.6.8 and I have firefox 21.0. My Adobe Reader is 11.0.03.

All Replies (3)

kobe
kobe
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In order to uninstall a possibly unwanted extension, please do the following:

  1. From the Firefox window click the Firefox button at the top left and select Add-ons, or, if the Firefox button is not shown, click the Tools menu and click Add-ons.
  2. Once the Add-on Manager has opened in a new tab, click the Extensions button on the left side of the window.
  3. You should now see a list of your installed extensions on the right side together with buttons on the right side of each extension.
  4. To remove an extension from Firefox, simply click the Remove button on PDF Viewer (what is this?). You should see a message that informs you about the successful removal of the add-on.
  5. Note that some add-ons require a Firefox restart to be removed completely. To perform a Firefox restart after the add-on removal, click the Restart now link in the message.

You can find further information about uninstalling extensions in the following articles:

Disable or remove Add-ons

Remove a toolbar that has taken over your Firefox search or home page

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 25 Contributor
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I wonder whether it is the same site we struggled with in this thread: firefox 21.0 can't download pdf to imac running 10.7.5. How can I get pdfs to download so I read them? Note: long discussion, bring a cup of coffee.

affintern13
affintern13 Question owner
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I had tried disabling PDF VIewer. Now when I open pdfs from the internet, I have to download them instead of seeing them in the browser window (as I expected), but when I try the files from work that I'm having the problem with, a new tab still pops up and it is still blank. It seems like the file is not getting recognized as a pdf.