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

In options, the 'Portable PDF document' resets to "save" every time I close Firefox. My preferences don't save. Why?

  • 2 ŋuɖoɖowo
  • 3 masɔmasɔ sia le wosi
  • 4 views
  • Nuɖoɖo mlɔetɔ cor-el

more options

Other options save without a problem, but for some reason every single time I close out of Firefox my preference to open portable PDF documents with adobe reader (which is the default setting!) reverts to "Ask me where to save file". It's seriously annoying. It also happens across multiple computers that I use. Is there an issue with Adobe? I know their software gets screwy sometimes. Note: the computer was JUST scanned for malware and got a clean bill of health. There are no other issues.

Other options save without a problem, but for some reason every single time I close out of Firefox my preference to open portable PDF documents with adobe reader (which is the default setting!) reverts to "Ask me where to save file". It's seriously annoying. It also happens across multiple computers that I use. Is there an issue with Adobe? I know their software gets screwy sometimes. Note: the computer was JUST scanned for malware and got a clean bill of health. There are no other issues.

All Replies (2)

more options

The setting works fine once you change it, but the change isn't saved between Firefox sessions?

It's odd that you get that setting changed. There may be a problem with the settings file that Firefox uses to store these Application handling (download) preferences. Since it is difficult to edit, when there is a problem, we generally suggest renaming the file and allowing Firefox to rebuild it from the Windows registry. 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 mimeTypes.old (or another name of your choosing, in case you decide to roll back this experiment).

Start Firefox back up again and return to the Options page to specify your preference. Will the setting stick?

more options

You can check for problems with preferences.

Delete possible user.js and numbered prefs-##.js files and rename (or delete) the prefs.js file to reset all prefs to the default value including prefs set via user.js and prefs that are no longer supported in current Firefox releases.

There is software like Advanced SystemCare with its Surfing Protection feature that can protect files in the Firefox profile folder against changes. If you have such software then check the settings or uninstall this software.