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Viewing PDF in browser

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Sometimes when I click on a PDF file link, it opens in the Firefox, but sometimes it does not, and Firefox instead asks where to save it, which is annoying. Why this inconsistent behaviour? How can I view the PDF files in Firefox every time?

Sometimes when I click on a PDF file link, it opens in the Firefox, but sometimes it does not, and Firefox instead asks where to save it, which is annoying. Why this inconsistent behaviour? How can I view the PDF files in Firefox every time?

Chosen solution

Only files send as content type application/pdf are opened in a tab in Firefox.

If a file is send as a generic file type like "application/octet-stream" or as content-disposition then Firefox will offer to save the file.

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All Replies (4)

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Chosen Solution

Only files send as content type application/pdf are opened in a tab in Firefox.

If a file is send as a generic file type like "application/octet-stream" or as content-disposition then Firefox will offer to save the file.

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Great! Thanks for the swift and helpful reply.

I tried the "Open in Browser" extension first and it half-solves the problem. Firefox still shows you the save dialog, but the extension gives you the additional option to view in browser. That's the same number of steps I had to make before, so nothing gained.

Mason sounds like a very powerful extension, but is overkill for this situation.

"InlineDisposition Reloaded" was exactly what I needed. When there's a PDF in my google search results, I simply click on it and it opens as expected. Very lightweight at 4kb.

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This add-on might also be helpful.

Always Preview: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/always-preview/

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Yup, Always Preview seems to work equally well.