We're calling on all EU-based Mozillians with iOS or iPadOS devices to help us monitor Apple’s new browser choice screens. Join the effort to hold Big Tech to account!

Avatar for Username

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Denc nañu waxtaan wii. Yónneel yeneen laaj soo soxlaa ndimbal.

Stopping automatic pdf downloads on Firefox using MacOS

douglasprice434
douglasprice434
more options

It does not matter how many times I change this setting in preferences to "Open in Firefox" I still get this pop-up every time I click a pdf.

It also does not matter how many times I select "open with preview" and click "Do this automatically for files..." box. Every time I click the next pdf the same thing pops up!?!?!?!

And additionally no matter my selection I make ends up leading to a pdf being downloaded automatically.

This is beyond frustrating. Please help.

It does not matter how many times I change this setting in preferences to "Open in Firefox" I still get this pop-up every time I click a pdf. It also does not matter how many times I select "open with preview" and click "Do this automatically for files..." box. Every time I click the next pdf the same thing pops up!?!?!?! And additionally no matter my selection I make ends up leading to a pdf being downloaded automatically. This is beyond frustrating. Please help.
Nataali seetu yiñ ci takkaale

All Replies (1)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
more options

Are there sites where it works and sites where it doesn't?

When sending a download, sites set multiple HTTP headers. Sites can set two of these to trigger the download dialog, bypassing Firefox's automatic handling of downloads:

(1) Content-Disposition

If a server sends a Content-Disposition header set to attachment, which bypasses viewing in a tab, Firefox will always show the download dialog.

(2) Content-Type

The setting on the Options/Preferences page is keyed to the content type application/pdf, not the .pdf file name extension. If the server sends a different content type, Firefox won't use the PDF instructions.

If you would consider using an add-on to address these issues, I have one here:

https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/content-type-fixer/

When using a site that has this issue, click the Zzzz button to wake up the extension, then click the button again and select the "Follow my settings (inline)" option:

<center></center>

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer moo ko soppali ci