Use Adobe Reader to view PDF files in Firefox

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  • Revision id: 42533
  • Created:
  • Creator: scoobidiver
  • Comment: Note about PDF Viewer, opening PDF outside of Firefox in Fx 19, fixed links and nits, removed Fx 3.6
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: AliceWyman
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? No
  • Ready for localization: No
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adobe_icon.gif Adobe Reader is a free program for viewing and printing PDF documents. It includes an Adobe Acrobat browser plugin for displaying PDF documents within Firefox and other Web browsers.

Note: By default, Firefox uses its built-in PDF Viewer
Note: The Firefox Software Update feature does not update installed plugins. See the Adobe Security bulletins and advisories page for information about security and stability issues affecting Adobe Reader.
To check if you have the latest versions of all your plugins, go to our Plugin Check page.


This article provides resources for setting up Adobe Reader and the browser plugin on your computer.

Installing and updating Adobe Reader

To install Adobe Reader, please visit the Adobe.com website. To make sure your installation of Adobe Reader includes the latest available security and stability updates, open Adobe Reader, click on the Help menu and then click Check for Updates….

Adobe does not yet maintain a plugin for viewing PDF files within Firefox for computers with Mac OS X, instead you can use the built-in PDF Viewer.

Testing the Adobe Reader plugin

Visit the Mozilla Privacy Policy PDF, which is in PDF format, to test whether you are able to open PDF files.

Troubleshooting

If you are unable to view PDFs in the Firefox window, see View PDF files in Firefox or choose another viewer for troubleshooting instructions.

Viewing PDF files outside of Firefox

You can set Adobe Reader not to open PDF files within Firefox.

  1. Open Adobe Reader.
  2. At the top of the Adobe Reader window, click the Edit menu, and select Preferences…, to open the Preferences window.
  3. In the left pane of the Adobe Reader Preferences window, select the Internet section.
  4. Uncheck Display PDF in browser.

You can set Adobe Reader to open PDF files outside of Firefox instead of using the built-in PDF viewer:

  1. In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click Firefox and then select Preferences or Settings, depending on your macOS version.Click the menu button Fx89menuButton and select Settings. .
  2. Select the Applications panel.
  3. Find Portable Document Format (PDF) in the list and click on it to select it.
  4. Click on the drop-down arrow in the Action column for the above entry and select Use Adobe Reader (default).
  5. Close the Settings page. Any changes you've made will automatically be saved. .

Uninstalling Adobe Reader

The Adobe support site has these instructions for uninstalling Adobe Reader:




Based on information from Adobe Reader (mozillaZine KB)