A workaround for PDFs not downloading in Firefox 3.5.2

Aug 26, '09 07:30:01AM

Contributed by: August

I have gotten used to downloading certain PDF files and then viewing them in a Preview session started by Firefox. When I upgraded Firefox to 3.5.2, this stopped working. What I got instead was a tab with a blank screen and the name of the file in the tab header. Where was my dialog box? How do I get the document?

Well, it turns out that selecting File » Save Page As will open a dialog box allowing me to save the PDF file. Then going to Finder and opening the file with Preview gets me to the place I was before. I suspect that this drop in functionality is simply a temporary bug -- but if it's bit you, too, this is how I worked around the problem.

But the good news is that my PDF issue pointed me to another hint here about viewing PDFs directly in Firefox via a plug-in. So for the cases where I don't want an archived copy of the PDF (like the monthly schedule for my local ice rink), I'll use the plug-in.

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Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20090818172129699