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Why is Adobe Reader launching when I right-click to save an image?

  • 6 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 3 views
  • Last reply by filber

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HP Laptop with Windows 8, Adobe Professional 11, Firefox 37.0.1

I'm having continual conflicts on my laptop between Firefox and Adobe. I don't recall having the problem before updating Firefox to the most recent version but could be wrong.

The problem I'm having today is that when I right-click an image in Firefox to save it, Adobe Reader is launched - i.e., it immediately appears in Task Manager under Background Processes. The image is saved fine in the correct format. But then Firefox is "Not responding" - it stays open but hangs there for a long time. I haven't tried to see how long it would take to self-correct or even whether it would, I just start trying to terminate Adobe Reader (nuke would be a better word). It still takes a few minutes - nothing happening and I can't do anything on the computer - but as SOON as Adobe Reader is ended, Firefox starts working fine again.

I use Adobe Professional for work, and have been encountering other problems where everything hangs and I get that little circling arrow (that replaced the hourglass) - mostly when I've opened a number of PDF documents in quick succession. I've pretty much narrowed down the problem to this Firefox-Adobe conflict since I always have Firefox open.

Any ideas or suggestions would be very welcome.

HP Laptop with Windows 8, Adobe Professional 11, Firefox 37.0.1 I'm having continual conflicts on my laptop between Firefox and Adobe. I don't recall having the problem before updating Firefox to the most recent version but could be wrong. The problem I'm having today is that when I right-click an image in Firefox to save it, Adobe Reader is launched - i.e., it immediately appears in Task Manager under Background Processes. The image is saved fine in the correct format. But then Firefox is "Not responding" - it stays open but hangs there for a long time. I haven't tried to see how long it would take to self-correct or even whether it would, I just start trying to terminate Adobe Reader (nuke would be a better word). It still takes a few minutes - nothing happening and I can't do anything on the computer - but as SOON as Adobe Reader is ended, Firefox starts working fine again. I use Adobe Professional for work, and have been encountering other problems where everything hangs and I get that little circling arrow (that replaced the hourglass) - mostly when I've opened a number of PDF documents in quick succession. I've pretty much narrowed down the problem to this Firefox-Adobe conflict since I always have Firefox open. Any ideas or suggestions would be very welcome.

All Replies (6)

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It's very strange for right-clicking an image in Firefox to cause anything to happen with other applications. I'm suspicious that an add-on might be involved.

Does the right-click context menu for the image mention anything about saving as or converting to PDF -- other than the two items added by Adobe's Create PDF extension which refer to the web page? (I don't think Create PDF would trigger Reader.)

Could you test in Firefox's Safe Mode? That's a standard diagnostic tool to deactivate extensions and some advanced features of Firefox. More info: Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode.

If Firefox is not running: Hold down the Shift key when starting Firefox.

If Firefox is running: You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using either:

  • "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Restart with Add-ons Disabled
  • Help menu > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

and OK the restart.

Both scenarios: A small dialog should appear. Click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Refresh).

Any difference?

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Okay, restarted in Safe Mode, and yes, Adobe Reader is still activated when I right-click and save image as. The context menu doesn't have any references to Adobe or PDF.

Here's something I just noticed, though, about the image I was trying to save - the person who posted it said it was comprised of cut and pasted screen shots from a Scribd document. I just tried saving a couple of other images, and didn't encounter the problem so maybe that was it?

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filber said

Here's something I just noticed, though, about the image I was trying to save - the person who posted it said it was comprised of cut and pasted screen shots from a Scribd document. I just tried saving a couple of other images, and didn't encounter the problem so maybe that was it?

Hmm, I don't know, an image is an image. Was the image part of a link? If it was a link to a PDF, perhaps that would be a possible explanation. But I suspect your default handler for PDFs is full Acrobat and not Reader, in which case, it still wouldn't connect the dots.

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Yes, full Adobe rather than reader is my default for PDFs. Don't know on the other, it just looked like a typical image and saved as such. I just saved the same image on this computer with no problems (Windows XP, Acrobat Reader only and same version of Firefox). So it does seem to be related to Adobe Professional. I've used Adobe 6 and Adobe 8 in the past but have noticed that while 11 has some nice new features, it's a LOT glitchier and doesn't play real nice with other software. Thanks much for all your help!

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Try to rename (or delete) the mimeTypes.rdf file in the Firefox profile folder to reset all file actions.

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Thank you, I'll save this in case I end up needing to. For now, it appears like it was limited to that one JPG, no idea what that's all about but at least it's acting normal for the time being!