Simple Ways to Enable & Disable the Chrome PDF Viewer on PC and Mac

Download Article

A step-by-step guide to turn on and off the PDF viewer in Chrome

Download Article

• Enabling Chrome PDF Viewer
|
• Disabling Chrome PDF Viewer
|
• Changing the Default PDF Viewer in Windows
|
• Changing the Default PDF Viewer on macOS

|Show more|Show less

This How.com.vn teaches you how to turn the Google Chrome built-in PDF reader on or off on your computer, as well as how to change your default PDF viewer in Windows or macOS.

Turning Chrome's PDF Viewer On and Off

• In Chrome, click the three-dot menu and go to Settings > Advanced > Content Settings > PDF documents.
• Use the toggle switch to enable or disable Chrome's built-in PDF viewer.
• You can also change your computer's default PDF viewer in your Windows or Mac settings.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Enabling Chrome PDF Viewer

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Open Google Chrome on your computer. It's in the Applications folder on macOS, and the All Apps area of the Start menu on Windows.
2. 
   2
   Click ⁝. It's near the top-right corner of Chrome.
   Advertisement
3. 
   3
   Click Settings.
4. 
   4
   Scroll down and click Advanced. It's at the bottom of the page.
5. 
   5
   Scroll down and click Content settings. It's in the “Privacy and security” section, toward the bottom of the list.
6. 
   6
   Scroll down and click PDF documents. It's near the bottom of the list.
7. 
   7
   Slide the switch to OFF

   

   . As long as this switch is off/gray, Chrome will automatically display the contents of PDF files instead of downloading them to your computer.
Advertisement

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Disabling Chrome PDF Viewer

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Open Google Chrome on your computer. It's in the Applications folder on macOS, and the All Apps area of the Start menu on Windows.
2. 
   2
   Click ⁝. It's near the top-right corner of Chrome.
3. 
   3
   Click Settings.
4. 
   4
   Scroll down and click Advanced. It's at the bottom of the page.
5. 
   5
   Scroll down and click Content settings. It's in the “Privacy and security” section, toward the bottom of the list.
6. 
   6
   Scroll down and click PDF documents. It's near the bottom of the list.
7. 
   7
   Slide the switch to ON

   

   . As long as this switch is on/blue, Chrome prompt you to download PDF files instead of displaying them automatically.
Advertisement

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Changing the Default PDF Viewer in Windows

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Click the

   

   menu. It's usually at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
2. 
   2
   Click

   

   . It's on the left side of the menu.
3. 
   3
   Click Apps.
4. 
   4
   Click Default apps. It's in the left column.
5. 
   5
   Scroll down and click Choose default apps by file type. A list of file types will appear along the left side of the window, with each associated app on the right.
6. 
   6
   Scroll down to “.pdf.” The current default viewer appears to the right of this entry.
7. 
   7
   Click the default PDF reader. For example, if it's currently set to Google Chrome, click Google Chrome. A list of apps that can read PDFs will appear.
8. 
   8
   Click the app you want to use. The selected app will now open PDFs on your PC by default.
Advertisement

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Changing the Default PDF Viewer on macOS

Download Article

1. 
   1
   Press Control as you click a PDF file on your Mac. This opens the menu.
2. 
   2
   Click Get Info. The current default PDF reader appears next to “Open With” on this screen.

   • For example, if Preview is set to open PDFs by default, that's what you'll see here.
3. 
   3
   Click the drop-down menu next to “Open With.” A list of alternatives will appear.
4. 
   4
   Click your preferred app. If you want to use Chrome, select Google Chrome. Or, to change it from Chrome, choose another option.
5. 
   5
   Click Change All. A confirmation message will appear.
6. 
   6
   Click Continue. The selected application will now open PDFs on your Mac by default.
Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement

Tips

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!