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I cannot open pdf files. when i click on the link, the screen is blank

I cannot open pdf files. when i click on the link, the screen comes up blank. i had this issue once before and someone helped but i forgot what to do

iPhoto '08, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Feb 11, 2012 11:12 AM

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Posted on Feb 11, 2012 4:34 PM

okay-I dunno about you but with me, my browser can't open .pdf files automatically either. which browser are you using. Usually you have to associate with something that'll open them itself, like Adobe Reader. That may be under preferences/applications within the browser. Hopefully something's coming back for you. I can't really help you with the info you've given us, but I've tried.


John B

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Feb 11, 2012 4:34 PM in response to foodbytes2

okay-I dunno about you but with me, my browser can't open .pdf files automatically either. which browser are you using. Usually you have to associate with something that'll open them itself, like Adobe Reader. That may be under preferences/applications within the browser. Hopefully something's coming back for you. I can't really help you with the info you've given us, but I've tried.


John B

Feb 11, 2012 7:35 PM in response to foodbytes2

foodbytes2 wrote:


I cannot open pdf files. when i click on the link, the screen comes up blank. i had this issue once before and someone helped but i forgot what to do

What screen comes up blank? Does an application window open with nothing in it or it's just nothing happens? On a Mac, pdf files are opened with Apple's Preview application. Right click once on a file you know to be a pdf file. A menu will appear at the mouse pointer, and one of the choices will be "Open With." Select that and a list will appear and Preview should be on it. Select that and Preview should open the pdf file. If you want all pdf's to open with Preview (rather than, say, Adobe Reader), select a pdf, Get Info (also on that drop down list), and a Get Info window will open. About half way down that window will be "Open with:" On the drop down list should be Preview. Select that and close the Get Info window. From then on, doubleclicking a pdf should cause it to open in Preview.

Feb 12, 2012 3:39 PM in response to FatMac-MacPro

Thank you for your response. I tried your suggestions and it did not work. here is some background if that helps.

The application opens to a black screen

Existing saved PDF's open normally

Problem: PDF attempting to be downloaded using either Safari or Firefox

Recently installed Snow Leopard Version 10.6.8

Everything else works fine

Adobe Reader 10.1.2

Adobe Acrobat 7


Seemed to start after the new Snow Leopard was installed

Feb 12, 2012 10:10 PM in response to foodbytes2

foodbytes2 wrote:


The application opens to a black screen...............

When you open it in a web browser or after you download it and then try to open it?

If it happens after you download it and then try to open it what application is being used to open the PDF file when you click on it? Adobe or Preview?


What happens when you right click and "Save As..." and name it something else and then download and open it?

Feb 13, 2012 5:50 AM in response to Jaygyver

It happens when i try to open it in my browser

The application opens to a black screen

Existing saved PDF's open normally

Problem: PDF attempting to be downloaded using either Safari or Firefox

Recently installed Snow Leopard Version 10.6.8

Everything else works fine

Adobe Reader 10.1.2

Adobe Acrobat 7


Seemed to start after the new Snow Leopard was installed

Feb 13, 2012 6:46 AM in response to foodbytes2

foodbytes2 wrote:


It happens when i try to open it in my browser

The application opens to a black screen

Existing saved PDF's open normally

Problem: PDF attempting to be downloaded using either Safari or Firefox

Recently installed Snow Leopard Version 10.6.8

Everything else works fine

Adobe Reader 10.1.2

Adobe Acrobat 7


Seemed to start after the new Snow Leopard was installed

Just to be clear, known PDF's open properly in a web browser, Preview, Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat but there's a particular PDF which you've succeeded in downloading using both Firefox and Safari, but neither browser will open it, and neither will the applications mentioned above? Do I have that right so far?


If so, does this happen only with this one troublesome PDF or with all PDF's you've downloaded since installing 10.6.8? If it's just this one PDF, that fact that the file has a .PDF suffix doesn't mean it's truly a PDF and if it isn't, it won't open like one. Another possibility is that it is indeed a PDF but has no content so nothing is displayed.

Feb 13, 2012 8:33 AM in response to foodbytes2

The only work around that I have found for this problem was to download Firefox 3.6 and install a pdf viewer addon. Open the Firefox installer and drag the Firefox icon to your desktop. This will prevent your verson of Firefox from being deleted. Then rename the Firefox on your desktop to something else like "Firefox pdf" or "Firefox 3.6". After that install the pdf addon in Firefox 3.6.


Though when ever you switch between the different versions the addons will have to be re-updated.


I know that this is not a good solution, but it is the only one that could get to work for me.


Firefox 3.6 download

http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all-older.html


PDF addon

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/pdf-plugin-for-firefox-on-mac-/?s rc=search

Feb 13, 2012 9:12 AM in response to foodbytes2

This is what should happen when you click on a PDF link.


1. A new window may open, it will be blank but the PDF file should download to your default location (~/Downloads).

2. You may be given the option to open the downloaded file VS save it. This depends on the browser you are using and the file associations.

3. When the file is downloaded, can you tell us what program it opens in? Part of the problem may be that you now have a program other then Preview associated with PDF files. Can you tell us what you see if you right click (CTRL-Click if you've a single button mouse) to get the context menu for a PDF file?

Feb 13, 2012 9:59 PM in response to foodbytes2

I believe what the OP is saying is only when they're online accessing web content that is a PDF they get a black window. When you open a pdf file on the desktop then the web browser is no longer in charge and Adobe or Preview will take over.

Just for an experiment, try going to the FireFox menu and select File / Open File... and select one of the existing pdf files that open normally and see if you get the black screen. I'm guessing it'll turn black.


Here's the Safari forums, they may help more. Found this also.

Here'sa link when I did a quick searchthere, from last summer, so don't know if Adobe still has compatibility problems.

Feb 14, 2012 6:20 AM in response to Jaygyver

Jaygyver wrote:


I believe what the OP is saying is only when they're online accessing web content that is a PDF they get a black window. When you open a pdf file on the desktop then the web browser is no longer in charge and Adobe or Preview will take over...

Since other posters trying to help don't seem to be entirely clear on what works and what doesn't either, I was trying to clarify what really is the problem. Preview and Adobe Reader are designed to open PDF files; for a web browser, I'd say its an afterthought, if that. I'm currently running Firefox 10.01ESR, and while there are a bunch of extensions which will support opening a PDF in the browser, it doesn't do so natively. Indeed, doing a "file open" brings up a dialog box asking whether to open it with Preview or something else, but doesn't open a blank window. In Windows at least, a Reader installation also installed a browser plugin (it may do that on the Mac, too). But considering all the security issues Adobe seems to have, running one of their plugins may not be the wisest thing to do.

Feb 14, 2012 7:00 PM in response to FatMac-MacPro

Yeah I was just trying to clarify things a little.😕


Just looked at the OS the OP is using and it's 10.5 if he hasn't updated so there's some different issues with it.


I suppose I should test my own suggestions, Safari will open a desktop pdf but FireFox (10.0.1) won't, kept getting the same dialog box and if I did pick FireFox it just opens a blank page.😟


I seem to have a few issues myself with the last update or two from FireFox but I would imagine something got corrupted on the OP's browsers.


If @foodbytes2 were to look in his profile and look at his Discussions he might find the answer he had last time.

Feb 15, 2012 7:49 AM in response to foodbytes2

I am having the exact same problem. Running OS 10.6.8 and Safari v5.1.2. If I click on a link in a webpage that, unbeknownst to me links to a pdf, a new window opens that is totally black. Nothing gets down loaded and nothing opens. What I then have to do is close the newly opened black window, go back and control-click on the link and "save linked file" which downloads it into my "Downloads" folder. Then I have to go into the downloads folder and double click the file which, by default, opens it in Preview. At which point I can read it.


What a pain!!! Plus it fills up my downloads folder with junk.


Isn't there some way to get the file to actually open in the new window of the Safari browser? Is there a plug-in that needs to be installed?

Apr 20, 2012 9:29 AM in response to foodbytes2

I was having the same problem. I am running 10.6.8. Using Safari 5.1.5 , when I want to see a PDF on a website page, first I make sure that when I click on the link, I can see that the progress bar is working and is showing a download for the pdf. For awhile the Safari page that contains the pdf was a dark grey ( almost black ). Control clicking didn't help with any of the options and there was no "Save As" with it. There is a "Save As" under File in the menu bar and when trying that, I get a dialog box saying I can't save this file ( even when I tried renaming it).


So, I followed some other advice to go to the folder with the Adobe plugin in root/Library/Internet Plug-Ins and put into the trash the 2 Adobe pdf plug-ins. You will need your admin password to do this. Then I downloaded a fresh version from Adobe and installed it from here: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

After installing, I refreshed the same page for the pdf with the black screen and it downloaded again. This time the page was a medium grey and when the download was finished the actual pdf opening up. I could then save it using the "Save as..." from the menu bar.


For awhile I copied the url for the pdf and pasted it into Firefox and the same thing was happening. I went to Preferences under Firefox in the menu bar then to the Applications tab. Under "Content Type" near the top was Adobe PDF document -- to the right under Action I used the default at first "Use Adobe Acrobat NPAPI plug-in..." & the DL just had a white page with nothing there. I changed the action to "Save File" and then the DL worked-- I could see that the file was being downloaded when the Downloads window opened. The file was then in my Downloads folder in the Dock. Now after downloaded the new Adobe PDF reader, I wasn't sure if the PDF file was downloaded because the Firefox page was white ( blank ) but I could go to the File menu as "Save Page as", I picked the desktop for saving and the PDF downloaded and I could open it without any problems with Adobe Reader. It worked with any of the "Action" choices in preferences from this point on.


My only conclusion is that the original Adobe Reader plug-in files - there are 2 - one or both became corrupted and downloading the new version fixed getting any PDF in Safari or Firefox.

I cannot open pdf files. when i click on the link, the screen is blank

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