What message does Firefox show? For example:

(a) There is a rectangle in the page where the PDF should appear, but it says the page doesn't allow the content to be displayed there. Firefox shows a blue button to open the content in a new window.

(b) On the Downloads list, there is a message explaining why Firefox didn't download the file -- what does it say? -- and when you click the message, Firefox has a second set of buttons, one of which allows the download.

(c) No message, just a blank page tab

(d) Something else?

When I click the link in the email for my morning newspaper (Charlotte Observer), at first I get a blank page and then it goes to a screen asking me to subscribe to the paper. If I click that I am already a subscriber and the login link to takes me to the non-eEdition version of the paper. If I click on the link on this version to go to my account, it just scrolls and never goes there. If I click on the eEdition link on this version of the paper I get an access denied screen. There is nothing in the download folder.

When I try to download my monthly/quarterly statement from my IRA I get a screen saying “Loading, Thank you for your patience while we retrieve your documents". There is a loading line about half way across the screen. The line never moves and the pdf never downloads. There is nothing in the Download folder.

In neither case is there any message from Firefox. Note that everything works fine (i.e., the way it used to on Firefox) on Chrome with both downloads taking only a few seconds.

In the newspaper case, it could be a problem with Firefox's stronger cross-site cookie blocking. This article has more information on that feature: Introducing Total Cookie Protection in Standard Mode.

On the second one, there aren't many clues... Just in case, could you confirm that the redirect block is turned off:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box in the page, type or paste accessibility.blockautorefresh and pause while the list is filtered

(3) If the preference has a value of true, double-click it to restore the default value of false

The accessibility.blockautorefresh was already the default value. I reset it anyway but no joy.

It is unclear to me what Firefox's problem is but I have spent far too much time and frustration trying to find out. So I am just planning on using Chrome although I find its layout and menu annoying but expect I will get used to it over time. I will keep Firefox on my computer as my third browser option just in case they decide to fix this unreasonable and unexplained limitation.

Hey ruck146 ,

Try the following:

Go to setting (3 bars) > options > applications. Under applications panel. Find Portable Document Format (PDF) in the list and click on it to select it. Click on the drop-down arrow in the Action column for the above entry and select Use PDF reader name (in Firefox) or preview in firefox. If PDF files are still downloaded instead of displayed, try these solutions Reset download actions

Open your profile folder: Click the menu buttonNew Fx Menu, click helpHelp-29and select Troubleshooting Information. The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.

Under the Application Basics section, click on Show Folder. A window with your profile files will open.

Click the menu buttonNew Fx Menuand then click Exit Close 29

Delete the mimetypes.rdf file.

Then open firefox again and see.

I hope it helps.

Hi sarveshwajs1234, the part about resetting download actions was for a much older version of Firefox. You may need to verify the steps when copying from older solutions in case Firefox has changed in the meantime.

Hi rick146, you mentioned checking accessibility.blockautorefresh. The main issue was the cookies. Did you investigate that part?

My newspaper download worked this morning!

Yesterday I added charlotteobserver.com and t1.news.mcclatchydc.com to my uBlock ‘trusted sites’ list. It made no difference at the time but maybe it took a while to implement (I did close/reopen)? Will have to wait and see if it keeps working.

Still can’t download my quarterly IRA report document but I have now added mystreetscape.com to the trusted sites list. Don’t think this will work since the site opens but just can’t download pdf documents from it but worth trying although I now have it set up on Chrome which lets me download with no problem.

Just a note to say my newspaper link quite working again 2 days ago. I'm not wasting any more time trying to figure out what Firefox's problem is with this issue. Just going to Chrome which works fine even if I don't like their format.