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PDF files DL'ed from https sites are corrupt, all save in wrong format!

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 4 views
  • Last reply by RASelkirk

RASelkirk
RASelkirk
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I've had this problem and resolved it before, but do not remember how!

I've never been able to DL PDF statements from my credit union (ever), but had no problems with other financial statements. Now I cannot view/save PDF files from any of them, at least in a readable format. Not sure if it's always been this way, but when I click on the PDF (statement) icon, it always DL's and never gives the option to "view". The files appear to DL OK and have a PDF icon, but opening them says corrupt file. I can open them in Notepad and see HTML code. Last time, it seems like it was a setting in "Tools | Options", I have tried different combinations of those settings with no results. I did "upgrade" to the new Adobe reader (DC?) and promptly uninstalled it and went back to version 11. That's about when the problems started...

Russ

I've had this problem and resolved it before, but do not remember how! I've never been able to DL PDF statements from my credit union (ever), but had no problems with other financial statements. Now I cannot view/save PDF files from any of them, at least in a readable format. Not sure if it's always been this way, but when I click on the PDF (statement) icon, it always DL's and never gives the option to "view". The files appear to DL OK and have a PDF icon, but opening them says corrupt file. I can open them in Notepad and see HTML code. Last time, it seems like it was a setting in "Tools | Options", I have tried different combinations of those settings with no results. I did "upgrade" to the new Adobe reader (DC?) and promptly uninstalled it and went back to version 11. That's about when the problems started... Russ

All Replies (2)

jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
jscher2000 - Support Volunteer
  • Top 10 Contributor
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If you rename one of the non-working "PDF" files that contains HTML with a .html extension and open it in a Firefox tab, what kind of error message does it contain?

Possibly the Adobe Reader switch has caused some settings confusion in one of Firefox's settings files. Unfortunately, the file is very hard to edit, so we generally suggest renaming it and letting Firefox generate a new one. After doing that, you may need to re-setup some application preferences, such as your preferred PDF viewer. Here's how:

Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > 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, click the "Show Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in Windows Explorer.

Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "power" button
  • (menu bar) File > Exit

Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then rename mimeTypes.rdf to something like mimeTypes.old.

Start Firefox back up again and it should extract default application settings from the registry. Does this help at all?

RASelkirk
RASelkirk Question owner
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I did this renaming and restarting with no + result. I did, however, rename the corrupt file to "statement.html" and attempt to open it. The site's background loaded along with with a message about cookies needing to be enabled. I enabled cookies for this site and all works good now! Will try this on my other financial sites. Funny how it worked before w/o trouble...

Thanks!

Russ