How to open PDF documents within Mozilla Firefox

From version 19 Mozilla Firefox has introduced an interesting new feature for Windows, Linux, Mac and Android: the integrated PDF viewer which will allow you to read PDF files without downloading or opening them with other programs or plug-ins.

Here's how it works:

• First, try opening a PDF found on the Internet, saved directly online: the new PDF viewer inside Firefox will open.
• The button on the top left activates or deactivates the scrolling of the menu that gives access to the page previews: on the left the previews of all the pages that make up the PDF document appear. It is possible to jump to any page simply with a click of the mouse.
• It is also possible to have another browser tab open directly on a document page: just right-click on the thumbnail of the preview and choose the first item.
• At the top there are also other commands that are used to move around the document: you can go back and forth or jump to a certain page number.
• At the top center is the menu for setting the exact percentage of text zoom; it is also possible to go by trial and error by selecting the commands + and -.
• At the top right there are other commands: there is the possibility to exclude menus and parts of the browser e view full screen PDF only.
• Also it is possible send the document to print directly from the browser, by selecting the printer icon.
• Another important command is the one that allows you to download the document as a PDF file on your computer: has a document icon with a down arrow.

 

Disable the built-in PDF reader

If you want to continue using your favorite program to view PDFs, and thus disable the built-in reader in Firefox, just follow these simple steps:

• Open the browser settings, i.e. select the button at the top left, and in the menu that opens, choose the Options item.
• In the settings menu that opens, go to the tab Applications: here it is necessary to look for the entry relating to PDFs in the list of supported extensions.
• In the menu corresponding to the chosen item, select the name of a program useful for opening PDFs (for example Adobe).
• There is also the possibility of completely deactivating the browser's PDF reader: write in the address bar of the browser "about: config”(Without the quotes), and press Enter on your keyboard.
• Enter the settings of the browser, as happens when you put your hand in the Windows Registry, is a delicate operation, for this reason a warning alert appears: confirm and proceed.
• Search the list for the key "pdfjs.disabled”: Once found, double click on this key.
• At this point, in the box, it is necessary to set another value of the string, inserting the word "true"(Without quotation marks).