Stop PDFs from displaying inside Google Chrome

When I click on a PDF link in Chrome, it opens automatically inside the browser window. How can I get it to download instead and open with an external viewer?

Update: I implemented djhowell's solution but Chrome still seems to be handling PDF files differently from regular files. When I click a PDF link it opens in Adobe Reader, but normally files download to a folder first.

I also find it weird that this is controlled by Reader and not Chrome. Are there not any file-type controls in Chrome anywhere?

DisgruntledGoat

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 4 068

Please consider my answer, I think it cover your needs a little better, if so, you should change your selection of the right one – Rafareino – 2015-08-21T16:09:02.470

I checked too, it seems that Chrome has tendency to choose what to do with files for you... I'm actually surprised there is not "file association" to be found, to choose the program/plugin to use for a particular extension. – Gnoupi – 2009-08-27T18:50:27.120

I find even such topics in the Google Group for Chrome : http://groups.google.com/group/chrome-google/browse_thread/thread/c5021888f980beab# , people who would like to switch to another viewer, and can't.. No answer..

– Gnoupi – 2009-08-27T18:55:03.040

Added an update but the conversations in the Chrome support forums don't seem encouraging. – djhowell – 2009-08-27T19:28:24.580

Answers

You can disable the Adobe plugin in Chrome, which will force Chrome to download the PDF.

It's under Settings > Privacy and security > Content Settings > PDF documents. Or enter chrome://settings/content/pdfDocuments in your browser address bar to go straight there.

jrc03c

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 7 626

If I do this, the PDF gets opened in an external viewer (yes, as requested by the OP). What, if want to have it downloaded (just like any unknown MIME-type)? – Frank Nocke – 2016-01-22T09:50:26.803

1That's the right answer! – nickd – 2010-07-22T10:09:06.763

4The chrome://plugins page isn't available anymore in Chrome. – Royi – 2017-05-26T10:40:07.717

8a probably faster way to do the same thing: go to chrome://plugins (in firefox, that would be about:plugins), and disable the acrobat reader plugin – Babu – 2010-08-23T13:24:57.707

As I mentioned in my answer I don't have Adobe Reader installed any more but this looks like the best solution for those that do. – DisgruntledGoat – 2011-05-20T11:55:19.167

2In version 12 of Chrome, I see Chrome PDF Viewer listed as a plugin. Disabling this does what is asked, downloads the pdf to a file. – KeithB – 2011-06-19T15:18:56.730

browse to chrome://plugins and disable Chrome PDF Viewer

louic

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 131

This seems to be the only answer that solves DisgruntledGoats "Updated" problem (aside from Doug's basically identical answer posted a day after this one). It's definitely the one that helped me! – Fred Hamilton – 2011-01-21T16:43:37.253

Are you using Adobe Acrobat/Adobe Reader to display the PDFs? If so, it is probably Abode's behavior you need to modify.

Here are the steps I had to take:

Open Adobe Reader
Edit menu, Preferences
Select Internet from the Categories list
Uncheck Display PDF in browser
Press OK

If you are using another application to view PDFs the steps are likely similar.

Re: Update

By any chance do you have both Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat installed? You may have to repeat the above steps in the other application.

Chrome is a little weird in that its default behavior is to download everything and make you open it yourself. When you click a PDF link do you see the filename in the "download bar" along the bottom of the window? If so, try right-clicking on it and un-check "Always open files of this type" if it is checked.

djhowell

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 3 535

beat me by 50 seconds, CG :) – None – 2009-08-27T17:39:40.307

Thanks for the answer but it hasn't worked 100%, see update. – DisgruntledGoat – 2009-08-27T18:37:44.120

the issue of downloading the file to a local folder first seems to related to this thread: http://superuser.com/questions/30823/google-chrome-opening-excel-spreadsheet-annoyance

– None – 2009-08-27T19:30:29.943

To answer your update: No, I don't see the file in the download bar, the PDF just opens when I click it. The behaviour you describe is what I want to see, i.e. the same as all other files. – DisgruntledGoat – 2009-08-30T17:19:52.957

In Google-Chrome: open a new tab, go to about:plugins and disable "Chrome PDF Viewer". This seems to have done the trick for me.

jdferreira

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 181

Another option is that Chrome, instead of downloading PDF's, launches them in the system defined PDF Reader.

The way to stop it is in the Content Settings in Chrome's Settings:

Royi

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 276

Kind of sorted this; I uninstalled Adobe Reader and installed SumatraPDF instead! Much better and lightweight app.

DisgruntledGoat

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 4 068

that depends on your default PDF reader, for Adobe try this:

Edit > Preferences > Internet

clear the box Display PDF in Browser

Molly7244

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation:

As of April 2017, (Google Chrome 57.0.2987.98) the chrome://plugins page has been removed. Google has been moving everything to the settings page. This answer has been said in several different ways above, but the fastest way to shut it off is to go here:

chrome://settings/content/pdfDocuments

There is a single toggle "Open PDFs Using a Different Application". Turn this on.

Ref: What Happened to chrome://plugins in Google Chrome?

Ref: Depreceate chrome://plugins (on bugs.chromium.org)

Brien Malone

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 343

Edit: as pointed by @Tanath in the comments, this method not seems to work anymore!

To me seems that the desired behavior was to be able to save the files instead of open them in another application, so, I think a more accurate answer should be:

Press and Hold down the Alt (Meta) key in your keyboard while you click in the PDF link.

Rafareino

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 278

This isn't working for me. Even with alt pressed it's automatically opening them. – Tanath – 2016-12-22T15:24:30.707

Me neither, probably removed! I will edit my answer to make it clear. – Rafareino – 2017-01-18T13:30:36.053

Thanks so much...had to try all the answers till I landed on this....Chrome is so &*#^@$ up in some ways - taking away control over unloading of tabs from extensions, and now this...how many times will they change stuff around...aaaargh – killjoy – 2017-09-27T16:12:22.097

How about pressing CTRL + S and saving the file after it opens it? Works ok if you are not into downloading a lot of PDF's

TokicT

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 11

it still doesn't seem to work, for example, if the PDF is password protected – cnst – 2015-11-28T05:01:45.437

this will not work if the pdf is not served as a static resource, but rather through some other kind of request. Then chrome will say 'file not found' when you try to save. You may instead choose to print it, and in the print-dialog choose save as pdf, but this is very cumbersome and unintuitive. – Superole – 2017-08-23T10:57:26.330

1This is an old question and I don't think that worked at the time. The only problem with your solution is that (in my experience) large PDFs take a long time to load in the browser (not including download) and sometimes don't work. – DisgruntledGoat – 2014-01-09T10:47:42.173

According to Adobe's page on displaying PDFs in various browsers, in order to have Chrome not open the PDF within the browser, after you've opened a new tab to chrome://plugins, you'll need to shift-click "Disable" on the currently enabled plug-in to display PDFs.

Otherwise, it will still open in the browser, it just uses different plug-ins to display it.

To have Chrome download PDFs instead of displaying them in the browser, shift-click Disable for the currently enabled viewer. This leaves both viewer plug-ins disabled so the PDFs won't display in the browser.

Once you do this, it will download the PDF, instead of opening it within Chrome.

Lucas Fowler

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 31

The following worked for me:

Go to chrome://settings/
Click + Show advanced setting
in Downloads

3a. check 'Ask where to save each file before downloading'

3b. click on the button Clear auto-open settings

Note: 3b is fundamental to override the fact that PDFs are handled differently from other files.

Background: this happened to me as well because once I downloaded a pdf file, clicked on the small arrow next to the file in the download bar at the bottom, and choose 'always open with system viewer'. Since then, PDF files were saved in the "Download" folder and opened directly.

pietro

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 219

1This didn't work for me. Clicking PDF links still automatically opens in my PDF viewer, when it used to automatically save, as desired. I never chose always do this for these kinds of actions. – Tanath – 2016-12-22T15:16:53.773

For me it worked after I have restarted Chrome. – pietro – 2016-12-24T09:19:09.430

1That didn't help me, sadly. – Tanath – 2016-12-24T14:29:45.617

The actual problem is not that you have a PDF extension, it is that at one point you checked the box that said "always open with system viewer" it is very easy to do by mistake.

To fix this (for Chrome) you need to go into settings and in the search bar, search: "auto-open" then under the downloads section you will notice a button that states "Clear auto-opening settings", click that (a couple times, just to make sure) and that's it, now the files will just download and be sitting in your downloads section/file. Screenshot of Chrom Settings_Clear Auto-Open

Chris Pesqueira

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 1

2This duplicates another answer and adds no new content. Please don't post an answer unless you actually have something new to contribute. – DavidPostill – 2017-01-20T21:13:55.257

As per the new settings in the Chrome Version 59.0.3071.115 (Official Build) (64-bit):

Settings> Advanced Options> Privacy and Security (Look under this)> Content Settings> PDF Documents> Open PDF using a different application

Reeshabh Ranjan

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 133

I was looking for a code-side solution, not a browser solution. Turn out, just had to change my POST to a GET. Worked like a charm. Then Chrome didn't give me any more trouble with PDF downloading.

Forrest

Posted 2009-08-27T17:15:20.900

Reputation: 101