this is the PDF.js PDf viewer in Firefox, which replaces Adobe Reader. You can switch back to Reader easily if you'd like Use Adobe Reader to view PDF files in Firefox

Well that's nice, Win7 search does not find a "PDF.js" or "pdf.js" anywhere on that machine. Plenty of other Java script files, tho...

PDF.js isn't a file, it's a feature in Firefox. It's an opensourcePDf reader that uses Javascript instead of a separate plugin. It's more secure than Adobe Reader.

Okay, that too is nice.

If, in fact, a built-in PDF.js is 'more secure', then I may decide to use it. There is still a problem with the toolbar, to wit:

I more or less routinely download 100s of PDFs in one session, the nature of that effort requires that I 'view' then 'download'. With older versions of Acrobat/Reader, and a full toolbar for that app, I can simply hit 'save as' and open a location to save the file. With this new version, PDF.js will only let me choose 'download', which opens a separate GUI -- for each separate download attempt -- where I must then select the target location. That's dumb, that's cumbersome, whether or not Mozilla believe the app is "more secure" (and no, I don't seriously believe I am at any kind of security risk at any time). I found that I can also choose "do this for every..." option in PDF.js, but then I must later open Tools -> Options, find "Portable Document Format" and change it back to "Preview in Firefox" before my next session. That too is dumb, that too is cumbersome.

Seems to me, the only solution is to try re-installing Reader, get FFox to open that app, and look for a way to restore toolbar access.

How nice of Mozilla to "enhance" my browser experience.

Once upon a time FF ruled over IE, now if you upgrade, your flash player won't work (even with the latest update installed). Or you can go another route (like I have), rolled back to V17 where flash player works beautifully and lose the ability to open PDF's in the browser.

As I use flash player more I have opted to keep V17, but Mozilla you need to get your s*** together and bring back the things that initially converted us to use FF

Hi Fiery, what is the problem you are having opening PDFs? In case your PDF handler is still set to the Firefox 19 PDF Viewer, you need to switch it as described in this article: View PDF files in Firefox or choose another viewer. Does that work?

No I uninstalled V19 because of the flash player not working, reinstalled V17, now instead of PDF's being opened in a new tab, they're being downloaded.

When I go to the addon manager to check that I have the latest adobe reader installed, it says it needs updating, but I have the latest adobe reader.

Hi Fiery, even if you have the plugin installed, you have to visit the Application preferences and choose the plugin to handle PDFs. Please see the article I linked above.

As for updating, the plugincheck page is keeping up with patches for Reader 11, but is not aware of the updates for Reader 10 and therefore always thinks you need Reader 11. There is a different thread about that.

I did as you suggested and rechecked my FF settings, they are as they should be

Hi Fiery, what version of the Adobe PDF plugin do you have? You can check here:

orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons > Plugins category

Also, check to make sure it's not disabled.

If Application preference settings do not stick, it could indicate a corrupted settings file. This is not your main Firefox settings file, it's a file dedicated to associating file types with applications.

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

Help > Troubleshooting Information > "Show Folder" button

Switch back to Firefox and Exit

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

Restart Firefox. A default file will be generated based on your plugins. Please return to the Options dialog to update your settings for PDFs.

Any improvement?

FF is showing 10.1.4.38 and to update it

Very annoying that all of a sudden all I had was a "Save" option to open a PDF (like a restaurant menu!). Took a while to isolate problem to Firefox. Thanks to the support community for figuring this out!!

Easy to fix per jscher2000's reply above.