Force safari to display pdf in browser instead of downloading

HI,

Try the instructions here.

How to View PDF with Safari

Try this thread also. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11703730#11703730






Carolyn 🙂

No. It depends on how the site codes the underlying link.

I myself have the same problem from time to time. And yes, I am well aware that it is related to how the troublesome website "codes the link" to the PDF. The point of this thread is to discover _how to force ALL PDFs to display in Safari, no matter how the link to the PDF is coded_.

Can it be done? If so, how?
+(With Safari 5 now having extensions, I would assume that what once was impossible should now be possible.)+

Thanks.

I've not found any that don't display; however, I usually OPTION-click the links and download them. Reading PDF files in the browser's a lame exercise, especially since one can't invoke the search engine.

First of all, trying to say "do like I do" doesn't fly with most people. Regardless of our reasoning, some of us prefer to glance at a PDF in-browser.

Second, I have no idea what you mean about "invoking the search engine." If you mean that you cannot display PDFs in Safari and then use CMD-F to search them, you are mistaken. Here is a PDF from my companies website that not only displays in Safari, but you can search any bit of text in it, also from within Safari:

http://www.visionsecurity.jp/en/systems/Resources/1330BInstructionManual.pdf

Third, here is the URL of a link-to-PDF I just clicked a couple hours ago,that auto-downloads rather than displays in-browser:

http://www.nt-web.jp/search/downloader.php?dlcat=catalog&dlfile=reoct2007-23.pdf

That link appeared on a page that tells you to click for the PDF. Yes, I get the PDF, but not within Safari.

So the question remains. How do we force PDFs like this to open within Safari?

Thanks.

Message was edited by: JDW1

If you're going to criticize someone else's words, at least interpret them correctly. I didn't say do as I do. I answered your query to me WRT to a solution to poorly coded sites and forcing PDFs to load—I haven't. I then let you know how I handle the issue. If you don't want to do that, don't. As for invoking the search engine, open a PDF in the browser and search function that's available in Preview or Adobe Reader isn't available; i.e., one that shows pages with the terms. As I already noted, I don't know of any way to force it to load in the browser if the site manager's denied that capability. All I can suggest is to have them code it properly.

My criticism of your words was founded on a logical interpretation of your words. Your use of +"however, I usually..."+ basically said this to me: +"but I get around the problem altogether by... and you might also consider the same."+ You may wish to argue that I read too much into what you wrote, but that is how my mind works. Hence my previous post. Even so, I appreciate your kind clarification.

And as to your "invoke search engine" remark which my prior post comments upon, my words were clear. I didn't know what you meant, and I stated my experience about search. But again, thank you for your clarification.

As to the "site manager denying that capability" comment of your most recent post, I can only say that we don't know if the site manager really wanted us to download the PDF or view it in-browser. Some people throw together sites without thinking too deeply. And reasonably speaking, we cannot expect web designers to "code it properly." I want to view all PDFs in-browser, regardless of the coding.

Again, this is why one of my earlier posts in this thread mentions *Safari 5 extensions.* I've been using some of them lately, and they work magic. I therefore hope an enterprising extension writer viewing this thread might be inspired to write one that works around "badly coded sites" to empower Safari users to view ALL PDFs, from any site (however badly coded) to display in-browser.

I would love to be able to do this. Most of the time these PDF's I come across while searching the web are useless. If Safari downloads them, instead of displaying them in the browser window, my Downloads folder becomes a huge pile of trash. It's distracting having to trash these files and then going back to what I was doing. Besides, if I want to keep the document I'm viewing, there's a neat button which allows me to do that.

Now that Safari has extensions maybe we won't have to wait for this feature for too long. I have my fingers crossed.

Exactly, dembow. That is especially true when downloading a lot of datasheets for electronic components too, many of which won't display in the browser. I then have to find the silly datasheet, open it to see if it's what I really wanted, then I have to trash it. The process repeats over and over when I search for multiple datasheets. How I want them to open in-browser!

Safari Extension writers reading this thread, please help us! Give us an extension that will force ALL PDFs, regardless of how the link to the PDF is coded, to open and display within Safari!