Pdf documents won't open in browser - I use Foxit
I am now on Firefox 41.02 Foxit reader is 7.08.12..16
I have had the same problem some weeks ago and then solved it by going in Applications and setting pdf documents to Foxit Reader. In fact settings seem to change all the time lately. When I started using Firefox (some months ago) I had set to always ask. That went well for a while. Then suddenly Firefox started downloading all documents - setting was changed to downloading - I changed it to asking again
Since yesterday again all pdf are downloading. I looked at settings in applications and setting was set to Foxit Reader plugin. I have changed to Foxit 7.0 again - problem remains. I then changed to Always ask - nothing is asked - I can only download. When I open Foxit Reader and want to open the help pdf there I cannot open it but only save it. That is : If I use Firefox as default browser. If I set Internet Explorer to default browser all works as it should.
I wanted to try Firefox because it is said to be soo much better than Internet explorer. My experience over the last month is not positive!!!!
Modified by Amazone
Chosen solution
Sorry to hear about this problem. Settings should not change on their own, but there are some complicating factors in Firefox vs. IE that I'll mention.
(1) The application/pdf content type vs. other content types
In the Applications list on the Options page, the "Portable Document Format (pdf)" entry refers to documents that the server explicitly identifies as being the "application/pdf" content type.
Servers usually are consistent about this, so while some sites may send PDFs as a generic binary file, a site where Firefox does the right thing should continue to work normally.
Unlike IE, Firefox does not inspect the initial binary code of files to override a mistaken content type; Firefox just believes what the server is indicating.
You may see other document types mentioned in the Applications list, referring to Adobe, Foxit, or other programs. These usually are for specialized documents and not normal PDFs. You can ignore them for purposes of troubleshooting this issue.
(2) Settings changing
Your settings for how to open PDFs are stored in a file named mimeTypes.rdf in your Firefox profile folder. Unless other programs are interfering, nothing should change this file other than you, on the Options page, or Firefox, if values for the application/pdf content type changed in the Windows registry, or your plugins changed.
Sometimes cleaning, utility, security, or privacy programs may tamper with that file. If you notice a pattern such as when you shut down and restart Windows, or certain intervals of time, that might correspond to when another program is cleaning your browser data.
(3) Corruption of mimeTypes.rdf
Sometimes multiple, inconsistent entries will get created in this file. Since it is difficult to edit, when there is a problem, we generally suggest renaming the file and allowing Firefox to rebuild it from the Windows registry. That may not help if bad data is coming from the registry, but I think it's worth a try:
Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
- (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
- type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter
In the first table on the page, click the "Show Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in Windows Explorer.
Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:
- "3-bar" menu button > "power" button
- (menu bar) File > Exit
Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then rename mimeTypes.rdf to mimeTypes.old (or another name of your choosing, in case you decide to roll back this experiment).
Start Firefox back up again and return to the Options page to specify your preference. Can Firefox now handle PDFs as intended?
Read this answer in context 👍 1All Replies (2)
Chosen Solution
Sorry to hear about this problem. Settings should not change on their own, but there are some complicating factors in Firefox vs. IE that I'll mention.
(1) The application/pdf content type vs. other content types
In the Applications list on the Options page, the "Portable Document Format (pdf)" entry refers to documents that the server explicitly identifies as being the "application/pdf" content type.
Servers usually are consistent about this, so while some sites may send PDFs as a generic binary file, a site where Firefox does the right thing should continue to work normally.
Unlike IE, Firefox does not inspect the initial binary code of files to override a mistaken content type; Firefox just believes what the server is indicating.
You may see other document types mentioned in the Applications list, referring to Adobe, Foxit, or other programs. These usually are for specialized documents and not normal PDFs. You can ignore them for purposes of troubleshooting this issue.
(2) Settings changing
Your settings for how to open PDFs are stored in a file named mimeTypes.rdf in your Firefox profile folder. Unless other programs are interfering, nothing should change this file other than you, on the Options page, or Firefox, if values for the application/pdf content type changed in the Windows registry, or your plugins changed.
Sometimes cleaning, utility, security, or privacy programs may tamper with that file. If you notice a pattern such as when you shut down and restart Windows, or certain intervals of time, that might correspond to when another program is cleaning your browser data.
(3) Corruption of mimeTypes.rdf
Sometimes multiple, inconsistent entries will get created in this file. Since it is difficult to edit, when there is a problem, we generally suggest renaming the file and allowing Firefox to rebuild it from the Windows registry. That may not help if bad data is coming from the registry, but I think it's worth a try:
Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either
- "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
- (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
- type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter
In the first table on the page, click the "Show Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in Windows Explorer.
Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:
- "3-bar" menu button > "power" button
- (menu bar) File > Exit
Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then rename mimeTypes.rdf to mimeTypes.old (or another name of your choosing, in case you decide to roll back this experiment).
Start Firefox back up again and return to the Options page to specify your preference. Can Firefox now handle PDFs as intended?
Thank you. I did as suggested ( rename mimeTypes.rdf ) and issue was solved - then removed the renamed file