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Stop PDFs from displaying inside Google Chrome

Fresh5 days ago
Mar 15, 2026118501 views
Confidence Score1%
1%

Problem

When I click on a PDF link in Chrome, it opens automatically inside the browser window. How can I get it to download instead and open with an external viewer? Update: I implemented djhowell's solution but Chrome still seems to be handling PDF files differently from regular files. When I click a PDF link it opens in Adobe Reader, but normally files download to a folder first. I also find it weird that this is controlled by Reader and not Chrome. Are there not any file-type controls in Chrome anywhere?

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1 Fix

Canonical Fix
Unverified Fix
New Fix – Awaiting Verification

Fix for: Stop PDFs from displaying inside Google Chrome

Low Risk

You can disable the Adobe plugin in Chrome, which will force Chrome to download the PDF. It's under Settings > Privacy and security > Site Settings > PDF documents. Or enter in your browser address bar to go straight there.

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