View PDF files in Firefox or choose another viewer
Revision Information
- Revision id: 795
- Created:
- Creator: Chris Ilias
- Comment: specify that "Only the first page is visible" only applies to Leopard and below. Apple removed it in QTX
- Reviewed: No
- Ready for localization: Yes
- Readied for localization by: AnonymousUser
Revision Source
Revision Content
Adobe does not yet maintain a plugin for viewing PDF files within Firefox for computers with Mac OS X. To view PDFs in Firefox:
- If you have a Mac with a PowerPC processor, the Schubert|it PDF Browser Plugin can be used to view PDF files in Firefox.
- If you have a Mac with an Intel processor, the Firefox PDF Plugin extension can be used to view PDF files in Firefox.
Only the first page is visible (Mac 10.5 and below)
If PDF documents open within Firefox but only the first page is viewable, make sure that the QuickTime plugin isn't set to handle PDF content:
- From the menu, choose .
- From the menu, choose .
- Click the Plug-In tab and click .
- In the list of MIME types, click the triangle next to "Images - Still image files".
- If "PDF Image" is checked, click the check box to clear it.
- Click
The Adobe Reader plugin can be used to display PDF file inside the Firefox browser window. If there is a problem with the plugin, it may become impossible to do this. When you try to view a PDF, Firefox may try to download it instead.
For more information on the Adobe Reader plugin, see Use Adobe Reader to view PDF files in Firefox.
Table of Contents
Check Firefox settings
- In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click and then select or , depending on your macOS version.Click the menu button and select .
- Select the panel.
- Find Adobe Acrobat Document in the list and click on it to select it.
- Click on the drop-down arrow in the Action column for the Adobe Acrobat Document entry and select Use Adobe Acrobat (in Firefox).
- If Use Adobe Acrobat (in Firefox) is not listed as an Option, see Reset download actions below and then repeat this set of instructions.
- Close the page. Any changes you've made will automatically be saved.
Now try to view a PDF in Firefox. If it opens in the browser window, the problem is solved. If not, continue with the following instructions.
Reset download actions
-
Open your profile folder:
- Click the menu button , click and select .From the The Troubleshooting Information tab will open. menu, select .
- Under the Application Basics section next to Profile FolderDirectory, click . A window will open that contains your profile folder.Your profile folder will open.
Note: If you are unable to open or use Firefox, follow the instructions in Finding your profile without opening Firefox. - Click the Firefox menu and select .Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select .Click the Firefox menu and select .
- Delete the mimetypes.rdf file.
Check Adobe Reader settings
- Open Adobe Reader.
- Once in Adobe Reader, click the menu in the menu bar, and then click The Preferences window will open.
- In the Categories section, click on Internet.
- Make sure the first check box, Display PDF in browser, is checked.
- Click to dismiss the Preferences window, and then close Adobe Reader.
Now try to view a PDF. If it opens in the browser window, the problem is solved. If not, continue with the next troubleshooting instructions.
Re-install the plugin
- Close Firefox.
- Open the Adobe Reader installation folder. This can be done by using Windows Explorer to navigate to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\, assuming Reader 9 is installed in the default location.
- Open the Browser sub-folder inside the Adobe Reader installation folder.
- Copy the nppdf32.dll file to the Firefox plugins folder: Right-click the file and then click from the context menu. Then use Windows Explorer to navigate to your Firefox installation's plugins folder (e.g. C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\plugins). Right-click in the file list and click .
- Open Firefox and in the address bar type about:plugins to bring up the Firefox plugins list.
- Look for the Adobe Acrobat entry.
If the entry is there, try to view a PDF. If it opens in the browser window, the problem is solved. If not, follow the next set of troubleshooting instructions.
Re-initialize the plugins database
Follow the instructions in the Re-initializing the plugins database section of the Troubleshoot issues with plugins like Flash or Java to fix common Firefox problems article.
This will force Firefox to rebuild its plugin database. Now try to view a PDF in Firefox. If it opens in the browser window, the problem is solved.
Re-install Adobe Reader
If the above troubleshooting methods for Firefox did not work, uninstall and re-install Adobe Reader:
- See Adobe's instructions for uninstalling (Reader versions 8 and above). You should also uninstall any other versions of Reader that are installed.
- Install the latest version of Adobe Reader from Adobe's download page.
Further information
If none of the above troubleshooting methods worked, see Adobe's troubleshooting page for further instructions.