There must be an easier way for me to open a PDF file. I now must download the PDF file. I then open the download file via Explorer and then scroll to find the file. Then I must open with Open with Adobe Acrobat. Is there an easier way? Thank you Ed
Open a pdf
- Thread starter Eddie
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Firefox and Chrome can usually preview them. Somewhere in the settings there should be options under content types, and for a pdf there should be an option to preview. Adobe Reader usually detects your browser and adds a plugin for it, perhaps your plugin has been disabled?
Are you on a computer, phone or tablet?
Haven't used anything Microsoft since I dropped Windows 5+ years ago, but I thought that Microsoft dropped Explorer for Edge and was in the process of dropping their own Edge technology for a Chromium based product. Is your browser years out of date? If so, that's dangerous. FTR-- Chrome and Firefox both do .pdf's quite nicely. For some reason, I've got Firefox listed as my primary document viewer on downloads over Atril and it works just fine.
Here's an article about Microsoft dropping Edge.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/microsoft-chromium-browser-everything-you-need-to-know/
(Just reread your post I guess Explorer is windows explorer, not your browser-- haven't touched Windows since Win7, and have forgotten most of the terminology).
Here's an article about Microsoft dropping Edge.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/microsoft-chromium-browser-everything-you-need-to-know/
(Just reread your post I guess Explorer is windows explorer, not your browser-- haven't touched Windows since Win7, and have forgotten most of the terminology).
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I find for most users it's easier to set the default PDF viewer to Microsoft Edge in the "Default App Settings" area. Edge does a decent job of opening PDF files without the need to download them first like other programs require.
Why Adobe Acrobat Reader will open some off the web but require you to download others is stupid to me but I see it all the time.
1) Click Start
2) With the start menu open type: Default App Settings
3) Click on "Default App Settings"
4) Click on "Choose Default apps by file type" (At the bottom)
5) Scroll down to .PDF (Scroll Bar on the right side - hidden until you move the mouse there)
6) Click on the current App or the "+" beside .PDF (Depending on how yours is displaying currently)
7) Select "Microsoft Edge"
8) Close Window.
Why Adobe Acrobat Reader will open some off the web but require you to download others is stupid to me but I see it all the time.
1) Click Start
2) With the start menu open type: Default App Settings
3) Click on "Default App Settings"
4) Click on "Choose Default apps by file type" (At the bottom)
5) Scroll down to .PDF (Scroll Bar on the right side - hidden until you move the mouse there)
6) Click on the current App or the "+" beside .PDF (Depending on how yours is displaying currently)
7) Select "Microsoft Edge"
8) Close Window.
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I am using Foxfire and have added an app to open PDR pages off the web. I will be trying it over the next few days and will report back. Thank you for directing me to a solution. Ed
You can use Firefox and it will just call on Edge to open up the PDF as required, just in case your current app doesn't work properly.
You can use whatever app or extension you want to open your PDFs, but Firefox can and will do it by natively.
If you hit the three bars, then scroll down to the gear icon (for options), you can make sure you are in the General tab, and then scroll down to the Applications section on the right. In that little window, scroll down until you see Portable Document Format (PDF). If you click the menu on the right, it should give you an option to Preview in Firefox. You might need to restart the browser, but from that point on, you should be able to view these PDF files within the browser, without having to go through that drill down like you described in your first post.
![[Linked Image]](https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/attachments/usergals/2019/04/full-70814-31628-firefox.png "[Linked Image]")
If you hit the three bars, then scroll down to the gear icon (for options), you can make sure you are in the General tab, and then scroll down to the Applications section on the right. In that little window, scroll down until you see Portable Document Format (PDF). If you click the menu on the right, it should give you an option to Preview in Firefox. You might need to restart the browser, but from that point on, you should be able to view these PDF files within the browser, without having to go through that drill down like you described in your first post.
That is what I ended up doing paulri. ED
Great.
One more thing--if you are using Windows "Open With" command to open a PDF file in Adobe (for files that are not online, but are on your computer) I think you can change the default setting, and have Windows always open up PDFs in Adobe when you double click on them (instead of making you use the right click, open with command.
Is this something you'd like me to explain, or are you ok with what you got here already?
One more thing--if you are using Windows "Open With" command to open a PDF file in Adobe (for files that are not online, but are on your computer) I think you can change the default setting, and have Windows always open up PDFs in Adobe when you double click on them (instead of making you use the right click, open with command.
Is this something you'd like me to explain, or are you ok with what you got here already?
I am OK with what I have now but, may change the default setting later to allow me to open windows PDF files witha double click. Thank you much. Ed
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