How to Download PDFs Instead of Previewing Them in Chrome, Firefox, and Edge

Get Chrome to Download Instead of Preview a PDF

Google Chrome uses its built-in PDF viewer to let you preview PDFs. You can turn this PDF viewer off, and Chrome would then prompt you to save your PDFs instead of previewing them.

1. Start by launching the Google Chrome browser on your computer.
2. When the Chrome browser opens up, click the Chrome menu in the top-right corner of your window, then select “Settings.”
3. In Chrome settings, click “Privacy and security” in the left sidebar. Click “Site Settings” on the right.
4. Scroll down in Site Settings and click “Additional content settings” at the very bottom.
5. In the expanded menu, select “PDF documents.”
6. Toggle on the “Download PDF files instead of automatically opening them in Chrome” option.

Chrome will now display the standard save prompt for PDFs.

Make Firefox Download PDFs Instead of Displaying Them

Mozilla Firefox also has a built-in option to let you download PDFs instead of previewing them in this browser.

1. To get to that option, launch Firefox on your computer.
2. In Firefox, click the menu (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner of the window and select “Options.”
3. In Options, click “General” on the left. Scroll down the right pane until you see the “Applications” section.
4. In the Applications section, click the option next to “Portable Document Format (PDF)” and choose “Save File.”

That’s it!

Have Edge Save PDFs Instead of Displaying Them

Microsoft Edge makes use of the built-in PDF viewer to let you preview files. Turn this option off, and the browser would let you save your PDFs instead of previewing them.

1. To do that, open up Microsoft Edge on your computer.
2. When microsoft edge opens up, click the menu (three dots) that is in the top-right corner of the window and chose “Settings.”
3. In the Settings applications, click on “Cookies and site permissions” on the left, and then choose “PDF documents” on the right.
4. Turn on the “Always download PDF files” option from here.
5. you are all set.