View pdf in browser. How to prevent Google Chrome from opening PDF files

Blank black page instead of a PDF document in the Apple Safari web browser
Sometimes expectations are not met. A person is looking forward to reading the user manual for the equipment he plans to buy, but instead... a blank page appears on the screen. After all, sometimes a hyperlink does not lead to the next web page, but opens a PDF document directly in the browser. In most cases, this is not a problem and everything looks so transparent to the user that he may not even think about what type of file is currently open. Modern browsers, without any third-party software add-ons, do an excellent job of opening PDF files that users usually view on mobile devices. But sometimes browsers Safari, Google Chrome And Firefox V Mac OS X behave completely differently than the user expects. Instead of the PDF file posted via the link, the distressed and annoyed reader finds himself on a black or white page that carries absolutely no information. Fortunately, this problem has a simple solution, which we will look at today.


Users experienced difficulties opening PDF documents back in June of last year. The problem has already been considered by such leading English-language messengers of the Apple community as TidBITS and Mac OS X Hints. And yet, from time to time this topic arises again. For most users, everything opens as it should. But this is the essence of any problem: when it arises, a person is of little interest in how things are going for the majority. He would like to work normally. Since instructions for household appliances and statistical information, the ability to open them without problems is extremely important for many users.

Just in case, let's clarify: we are talking about the Safari version for Mac computers, not about mobile version this famous Apple browser, which accounts for mobile Internet activity. In the market of web navigation tools for computer platforms, Safari occupies a worthy, but much more modest position. We talk about the reasons for this state of affairs.

In most cases, the problem of reading PDF documents is rooted in two plugins from Adobe, which may not “find a common language” with modern browsers. We are talking about additions: AdobePDFViewer.plugin And AdobePDFViewerNPAPI.plugin. They were installed along with Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat Pro and were designed to allow browsers to open PDF documents developed by Adobe.

These plugins for versions of Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat Pro earlier than 10.1.3 are currently incompatible with some browsers. We are talking primarily about Safari 5.1 (or later), as well as latest versions Firefox. The only difference in how the problem manifests itself is that Safari will show the user a black page, while Firefox will show a white page. But in both cases the page will be empty. If a user encounters a similar situation, this is a sure sign that Adobe plugins that are incompatible with this browser are installed on their system. But, of course, there is always a low probability of some other reason for this browser behavior.

Before you begin removing plugins that interfere with normal operation, be sure to close your browser. These add-ons are located in the folder "Plug-ins", which, in turn, is located in the folder "Library". We are not talking about a hidden library in your home directory, the address of which is indicated as ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins

No, in this case we are talking about a library that is accessed directly from the root directory of your hard drive, that is /Library/Internet Plug-Ins

Open this folder and find all the files whose names begin with AdobePDFViewer and move them out of this folder (for example, temporarily “drop” them on the desktop). This is just a precaution so that the plugins can be easily restored if desired and returned to their original locations. Moving these files will require you to enter your computer administrator username and password.


However, sometimes these plugins may end up in the library of your Home directory. IN operating systems Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and 10.8 this folder is hidden. To enter it through the Finder, press the Option key and select the action to go to the library (in the English version of Go - Library). There is an internet add-on folder in this library "Internet Plug-Ins".

Go to it. If there are plugins there AdobePDFViewer, move them from this folder. The action will require entering the administrator login and password. In fact, everything is the same as in the entire computer level library, only with some subtleties that we considered necessary to consider separately.

Once the plugins have been moved from the library, restart the web browser in which the problem occurred. Try opening a PDF document from the link. If the problem was really in Adobe plugins, then it will open correctly software the browser itself.

Based on materials from TidBITS.com

The PDF file format is a universal way to store documents. That is why almost every advanced (and not so advanced) user has a corresponding reader on their computer. Such programs can be both paid and free - the choice is quite large. But what if you need to open a PDF document on someone else’s computer and you can’t or don’t want to install any software on it?

There is a solution. If you have Internet access, you can use one of the available online tools to view PDF files.

The range of web services for reading documents of this format is very wide. As with desktop solutions, there is no need to pay to use them. There are quite flexible and convenient free PDF readers on the Internet, which you will become familiar with in this article.

Method 1: PDFPro

Online tool for viewing and editing PDF documents. Work with the resource can be done free of charge and without the need to create account. In addition, as the developers say, all content uploaded to PDFPro is automatically encrypted and thereby protected from unauthorized access.


The resource's capabilities are not limited to just viewing documents. PDFPro allows you to add your own text and graphic notes to files. There is a function for adding a printed or drawn signature.

At the same time, if you closed the service page, and then soon decided to open the document again, there is no need to import it again. Once downloaded, files remain available for reading and editing for 24 hours.

Method 2: PDF Online Reader

A simple online PDF reader with a minimal set of functions. It is possible to add internal and external links, highlights, and annotations to the document in the form of text fields. Work with bookmarks is supported.


It is worth noting that, unlike the previous service, here the file is available only while the page with the reader is open. So if you made changes to the document, do not forget to save it to your computer using the button "Download PDF" in the header of the site.

Method 3: XODO Pdf Reader & Annotator

A full-fledged web application for comfortable work with PDF documents, made in the best traditions of desktop solutions. The resource offers a wide selection of annotation tools and the ability to synchronize files using cloud services. Full-screen viewing mode is supported, as well as collaborative document editing.


The interface and capabilities of XODO are almost in no way inferior to desktop counterparts like the same Adobe Acrobat Reader or Foxit PDF Reader. It even has its own context menu. The service works quickly and easily copes even with very large PDF documents.

Method 4: Soda PDF Online

Well, this is the most powerful and functional tool for creating, viewing and editing PDF files online. Being a full-fledged web version of the Soda PDF program, the service offers the design and structure of the application, exactly copying the style of the products from the package Microsoft Office. And all this in your browser.


Soda PDF Online is a really great product, but if you only need to view a specific PDF file, you might want to look elsewhere. simple solutions. This service is multi-purpose and therefore very overloaded. However, this tool is definitely worth knowing about.

Method 5: PDFescape

A convenient resource that allows you to view and annotate PDF documents. The service can't boast modern design, but at the same time simple and intuitive to use. In free mode, the maximum size of an uploaded document is 10 megabytes, and the maximum allowed size is 100 pages.


So, if you need to open a small PDF file and do not have the appropriate programs at hand, the PDFescape service will also great solution for this case.

Method 6: Online PDF Viewer

This tool is designed exclusively for viewing PDF documents and contains only the functions necessary to navigate through the contents of the files. One of the main features that stands out this service among others, the ability to create direct links to documents uploaded to it. This is a convenient way to share files with friends or colleagues.


You can use the button "Fullscreen" top toolbar and view document pages in full screen.

Method 7: Google Drive

To use this method, you must be logged in to your Google account.


This is a rather specific solution, but it also has its place.

Formats doc, docx, pdf are probably the most common and popular for storing and further transferring documents. To open such files for reading, you need specialized software.

For example, for working with files in doc and docx formats most often used Microsoft Word(one of the programs in the Microsoft office suite for working with texts). The office suite itself, which includes a number of additional programs, quite expensive.

To read files in pdf format You can use free PDF readers that do an excellent job of viewing the contents of a PDF document. But again, this is the installation of additional software that eats up the resources of your computer.

What to do if you don’t have an office suite or PDF readers installed on your computer?, and you urgently need to read the contents of the sent file?

Yandex Browser will help you read doc, docx and pdf files!

Certainly, Yandex Browser will not help you edit a document, because This is not an editor program. But there is also no need to install additional software if you just need to view the contents of such files!

For reading doc, docx and pdf you need to open the folder on your PC where the required file. Right-click on the file and in the context menu that opens, look for the item "To open with". In the drop-down list of proposed programs you need to specify Yandex Browser(of course, it should be installed by this point). If it is not in the list of recommended programs, then you need to select "Select program" and manually specify the path to the Yandex Browser executable file. For example, my executable file is located along the path C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Yandex\YandexBrowser\Application\browser.exe

In document viewing mode There are not many actions available in Yandex Browser, but they are quite enough to comfortably familiarize yourself with the content. Namely, when viewing documents, you can use display scaling to adjust the comfortable viewing of text. There is also a “browse mode” in which small thumbnails represent the pages of the document, clicking on which you can quickly go to the desired page.

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