Izimpendulo zakamuva ze-Cannot view PDF in firefoxhttps://support.mozilla.org/zu/questions/12314872018-08-30T05:45:11-07:00I'm not sure what happened, but Portable Document Format is now listed as a Content Type in my copy 2018-08-30T05:45:11-07:00dawger1https://support.mozilla.org/zu/questions/1231487#answer-1148297<p>I'm not sure what happened, but Portable Document Format is now listed as a Content Type in my copy of Firefox, and I'm able to preview within the web browser. I followed the instructions to rebuild the handlers.json file earlier today, but that's all I've done to the laptop.
</p><p>Thank you for your help, jscher2000!
</p>dawger1 said
I checked pdfjs.disabled, and it was set to true initially. However, changing it to f2018-08-30T01:07:52-07:00jscher2000https://support.mozilla.org/zu/questions/1231487#answer-1148191<p><em>dawger1 <a href="#answer-1148168" rel="nofollow">said</a></em>
</p>
<blockquote>I checked pdfjs.disabled, and it was set to true initially. However, changing it to false made no difference in the browsing session. Clicking on links/opening bookmarks with PDFs results in an Open With/Save File dialog box. In fact, when I closed Firefox and re-opened it again, pdfjs.disabled was automatically re-set to true.
</blockquote>
<p>Are you using a "managed" version of Firefox that could have its features modified by a company IT department?
</p><p>If not, there are a number of reasons that a settings change you make during your session might be lost between sessions. This article discusses a number of potential explanations/solutions: <a href="/en-US/kb/how-to-fix-preferences-wont-save" rel="nofollow">How to fix preferences that won't save</a>.
</p>Hi jscher2000,
Thank you very much for the quick response! I'm unable to view PDFs from any website2018-08-29T23:31:46-07:00dawger1https://support.mozilla.org/zu/questions/1231487#answer-1148168<p>Hi jscher2000,
</p><p>Thank you very much for the quick response! I'm unable to view PDFs from any website within Firefox.
</p><p>I should've added that I removed and re-installed Firefox yesterday afternoon in an effort to solve this issue, to no avail.
</p><p>I renamed handlers.json in an attempt to rebuild the file as you suggested, but the PDF/Portable Document Format content type was still not listed after restarting Firefox.
</p><p>I checked pdfjs.disabled, and it was set to true initially. However, changing it to false made no difference in the browsing session. Clicking on links/opening bookmarks with PDFs results in an Open With/Save File dialog box. In fact, when I closed Firefox and re-opened it again, pdfjs.disabled was automatically re-set to true.
</p><p>So at a high level, I see two main issues:
1. The Portable Document Format not being listed as a content type; and
2. The built in PDF viewer is automatically resetting to disabled each time I open the browser
</p>(To other readers finding this thread, please start with the support article: View PDF files in Fire2018-08-29T04:30:14-07:00jscher2000https://support.mozilla.org/zu/questions/1231487#answer-1147937<p><em>(To other readers finding this thread, please start with the support article: <a href="/en-US/kb/view-pdf-files-firefox-or-choose-another-viewer" rel="nofollow">View PDF files in Firefox or choose another viewer</a>)</em>
</p><p>Hi dawger1, does this affect all PDFs from all sites?
</p><p>Some sites may not send the specific content type header ("application/pdf") that triggers the built-in viewer, so it's helpful to see whether it's that issue before diving into extended troubleshooting.
</p><p><em><strong>Application Settings</strong></em>
</p><p>You definitely should have <strong>Portable Document Format (PDF)</strong> in the box. It's one of the basics that Firefox creates at installation or in a new profile:
</p><p><img src="https://prod-cdn.sumo.mozilla.net/uploads/images/2018-08-29-11-27-10-d02146.png" width="500">
</p><p>If that does not appear, it's possible the settings file which stores your download preferences has become corrupted. You can rename the file and have Firefox rebuild it. Here's how:
</p><p>Open your current Firefox settings (AKA Firefox profile) folder using either
</p>
<ul><li> "3-bar" menu button &gt; "?" Help &gt; Troubleshooting Information
</li><li> (menu bar) Help &gt; Troubleshooting Information
</li><li> type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter
</li></ul>
<p>In the first table on the page, on the Profile Folder row, click the "Open Folder" button. This should launch a new window listing various files and folders in Windows Explorer.
</p><p>Leaving that window open, switch back to Firefox and Exit, either:
</p>
<ul><li> "3-bar" menu button &gt; Exit
</li><li> (menu bar) File &gt; Exit
</li></ul>
<p>Pause while Firefox finishes its cleanup, then right-click &gt; Rename <strong>handlers.json</strong> to something like <strong>handlersOLD.json</strong>. If you see a file named <strong>mimeTypes.rdf</strong>, rename that one to <strong>mimeTypesOLD.rdf</strong>.
</p><p>Start Firefox back up again. Any improvement?
</p><p><em><strong>Is pdfjs disabled?</strong></em>
</p><p>While it is unlikely, you could check the setting here:
</p><p>(1) In a new tab, type or paste <strong>about:config</strong> in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button promising to be careful or accepting the risk.
</p><p>(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste <strong>pdf</strong> and pause while the list is filtered
</p><p>(3) If the <strong>pdfjs.disabled</strong> preference is bolded and "modified" or "user set" to true, double-click it to restore the default value of false
</p><p>Any progress so far?
</p>