Firefox no longer opens PDF files in PowerPDF, even though selected in Options/Applications
Firefox has recently stopped launching PDF files from the web in Nuance PowerPDF, and instead displays the Save dialog every time I click on a link to a PDF file. PowerPDF is selected as the PDF application in Options. I've reinstalled Firefox with no success, even though I was up to date (v 66.0.5) before reinstalling. I've tried changing the Application setting to Always Ask or Save File and then changing it back, but it doesn't help.
On a possibly related note, I see some other posts that refer to a Preview in Firefox application option, but I have no such option.
Any thoughts?
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Hi Andrew17894, Preview in Firefox is usually the first option. It can be hidden using a Policy file, but that would be extremely unusual on a system that isn't managed by an IT department:
Does the problem occur with all PDFs or only PDFs from particular servers? I ask because some servers may send a general Content-Type header for a PDF to bypass the regular handling to prevent viewing in a tab. In that case, Firefox will give you a best guess dialog but you cannot associate the generic type with a particular action since it also is used for EXE files.
I created an extension that works around this problem by intercepting requests and assigning the correct Content-Type to PDFs and a variety of other common files. You could give it a try if you like:
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/content-type-fixer/
When you install it, the extension is snoozing. Click its Zzzz button to start monitoring requests. You can turn it off when you're not using a problem site; there is a tiny bit of overhead involved in checking each new page or download request.
There is no Preview in Firefox option. This seems to happen when I attempt to view PDFs from any web source. For that reason, I will hold off on installing your workaround extension - it worked fine a few days ago, but now it doesn't. Seems like something "broke."
Sometimes the settings file that stores download handling preferences becomes corrupted. You can rename the file and have Firefox rebuild it. Here's how:
Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" Help > Troubleshooting Information
- (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
- type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter
In the first table on the page, on the Profile Folder row, click the "Open Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in File Explorer.
Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:
- "3-bar" menu button > Exit
- (menu bar) File > Exit
Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then rename handlers.json to something like handlersOLD.json. If you see a file named mimeTypes.rdf, rename that one to mimeTypesOLD.rdf.
Start Firefox back up again and typically your PDF handler would be defaulted back to "Preview in Firefox". Any improvement?