Firefox Community Forum

Opening PDFs automatically with Firefox and, without any changes I might make, saving them with the download function in Firefox, actually ruins the functionality and data entry function of that file. Specifically this happens with PDF files downloaded from the (not all that amusing) PDFs from the FINCEN, (US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network). I do not see why and how Firefox thinks it is allowed to change files that are simply downloaded and saved on Firefox.

In other words, it seems that Firefox strips away certain "permissions" and/or "functions" (like built-in lookup, menu or choice boxes). This means that the file so downloaded via Firefox can no longer be used to properly fill in data, or to look up and choose data items within the file. (I see many times that ANYTHING having to do with "permissions" tends to be an intractable and unsolvable problem for software makers & experts, so, if you do not know right away how to solve the problem, it will probably take you several years to figure this out.)

The PDF in question is created by a government agency. If you have ever dealt with a government agency, then you know that they act sort of like Adobe or Microsoft: "They don't respond, or they do respond & say they do not understand, and if they understand, they are either unwilling or unable to fix the problem."

If there is a switch or option within Firefox, which lets me tell Firefox "Save this file exactly like it is received, nothing added or removed!", that would be nice. I just have not found such an option yet, and it would be nice if it might get provided someday.

I will share my browser data, but I am sort of convinced that a detailed question like mine will not be addressed within that shared data.

I’d like to give some feedback regarding the built-in PDF editor. I really enjoy this feature and use it often because it’s convenient and easy to work with. However, there’s an issue that has forced me to stop using it for now.

Whenever I add text to a PDF using Firefox’s editor, everything looks fine on my computer. But once I upload the edited PDF to another platform such as Google Drive, the text I typed disappears and turns into empty boxes. This means the annotations or filled-in fields are no longer readable on other devices or cloud services.

At the moment, the edited PDF can only be viewed properly on my own computer, and this limitation makes it difficult to share documents or submit forms. I sincerely hope this compatibility issue can be improved, because I really do love Firefox’s PDF editing feature and would like to continue using it.

Thank you for your work, and I hope the team can look into this problem!

When I try to download a statement from my bank I just get a blank page pop up. This used to work with Firefox and it works OK with Chrome. What has changed ...or is there a Firefox setting that is wrong?

Hello, how can I preset a fixed size for opening and displaying PDF files? Ideally, I'd like to be able to select a percentage scale or permanently set a fixed height or width. Thank you for your help.

Hallo, wie kann ich eine feste Größe für das Öffnen und Anzeigen von PDF-Dateien voreinstellen. Bevorzugt wäre z.B. eine Skalierung in % vorzuwählen oder auf Höhe bzw. Breite dauerhaft fest voreinzustellen. Danke für Ihre Unterstützung

When I load a pdf into Firefox, a pdf app opens at the top so I can write text, add an image, etc (thanks for this). Lately, when I am using the app, it will stop working randomly no matter which button I am using. If I'm suing text, it will stop and not allow me to select anything. If I'm using the highlighter, the same thing happens. I tried removing all my extensions but that did not work. I know this started after a Microsoft and Firefox update. Could you please fix it, otherwise I have to use Chrome and I hate Chrome. The app controls are on the far right of the image.

I am unable to open PDFs from my bank. I tried the following steps;

Change Default PDF Viewer:

   Go to Firefox Settings.
   Scroll down to the Applications section.
   Find Portable Document Format (PDF) in the list.
   Change the action to Open in Firefox or Preview in Firefox.

Clear Bank Cache/Cookies:

   Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
   Select Cookies and Site Data > Manage Data.
   Search for your bank's website and clear its data.

I often use Firefox to read PDF, but whenever I add highlight to it doesn't save it to the same file but rather as to save a copy of file which is very annoying I end up with two version of same file I am reading and it because very irritating, how do I make it to update the file which was open rather than saving a new copy.

When I try to download my credit card year end summary on my MacBook Air I get this message, "Your browser is unsupported and unable to display PDFs" I have done this for years and never had any trouble. I checked for Firefox updates for IOS and it says Firefox is up to date. It also says I am on the esr update channel. Why would this suddenly be a problem? How can I fix it? Thank you for any help or insight you can give me. PS I am old and no longer tech savvey. Technology has left me in the dust! So please be as untechnical as possible in a response if I am so lucky as to receive a response.

When a PDF document is dragged into Firefox, you get an app that allows you to write on it, import images, highlight, etc. However, if I use grouped tabs, you cannot use the app anymore. It will not write on grouped. I'm not sure where this issue would fit in the options provided. Thanks for any help you can give.

Hello! I have a lot of PDFs on my computer, and every time I go to look at them, my browser immediately views it in "automatic zoom" and with the sidebar expanded. Is there a way to disable these features? I find myself fixing all the PDFs to "actual size" and closing the sidebar, and not only does it take a lot of time, but it doesn't save my preference once I've closed and reopened it! Please let me know if there's a setting I can disable to fix this issue. Thanks!

In the PDF editor, when I select a tool, for instance, "Highlight" or "Text" or "Draw", from the top bar (right corner), to "unselect" it and go back to the hand tool I have to press the button in the toolbar again.

Is there not a keyboard shortcut?

I expected that "Escape" would unselect the tool.

Certain PDFs only allow page view when opened in Firefox. When opened with other PDF viewing software or browsers (Microsoft Edge, Adobe Acrobat, Google Chrome), these PDFs allow continuous scrolling. I don't have this issue for most PDFs.

I've tried fixing the problem by editing the PDF settings in Adobe Acrobat but to no avail. When combining a PDF that works fine with a PDF that doesn't allow continuous scrolling in Firefox, it seems to take on the settings of not allowing continuous scrolling.

Examples (these link to documents from a Florida public document database): Example 1 (made with Power PDF Create) Example 2 (made with Adobe PDF Library): https://depedms.dep.state.fl.us:443/Oculus/servlet/shell?command=getEntity&[guid=5.506115.1]&[profile=Cleanup_Remediation]

Edit: Firefox 145.0.2, Windows 11

I have uninstalled Adobe Acrobat from my Mac Mini running Sequoia OS. Acrobat is not listed in my Firefox extensions. Yet, when I open a PDF from a link in an email, it opens in Acrobat (clearly announced as such with its logo) in a Firefox tab. Also, I have my Firefox setting for PDF files set to "Open in Firefox".

Acrobat is a vicious plague on my life, and I want it gone. Please assist me in ridding it from my Firefox use.

Thank you, Tom

So i reinstalled my graphics driver yesterday, and after that when i open a pdf on firefox it only shows blackscreen. it didnt happen on other browsers(chrome, edge)