Opening .pdf Files in Firefox

You can control how Firefox opens .pdf files - within the browser or in the Adobe Reader software.  You may need to change them from time to time, depending on what you're doing.

  • For journal articles and other short documents, it might be best in the Adobe Reader software.
  • For EBSCO eBooks, you need to open it in the browser.

Here's how to change it.

Set Adobe Application Preferences in Firefox

  • Click Tools, Options, Applications.
  • On the list of Content Types, find Portable Document Format (PDF).
  • See the screen captures below.

Open in the Browser Window (Recommended for EBSCO eBooks)

To set .pdf files to open within the browser window, select Use Adobe Acrobat (in Firefox).

  • This may not be the default, and it should be changed to this if you're using EBSCO eBooks.
  • This is the setting that allows you to navigate through the book; otherwise, it will open one page at at time as a separate .pdf file.

Here's a screen capture of what it looks like:

Screen capture of the setting for opening a .pdf file in Firefox

 

Open in the Adobe Reader Software

To set .pdf files to open in Adobe Acrobat select Use Adobe Reader (default).

  • Use this for shorter documents, rather than a complete book; it gives you more functions to work with.
  • Use this if you want to print, save, or email a .pdf document (e.g. a journal article).
  • It's also best for opening articles so that when you open another one it doesn't replace the first one.
  • Don't use this for EBSCO eBooks, because it will open every page as a separate .pdf document.

Here's a screen capture of what it looks like:

Screen capture of the setting for opening a .pdf file in Firefox