[Macworld]

Post your comments for Bugs & Fixes: PDFs saved from the web fail to open here

[icerabbit]

Thanks. This has popped up on one of our systems in the past and I never investigated it.

[sfmitch]

I prefer not to have Adobe Reader installed on my Mac.

Discover card very recently changed the way they do PDFs. The saved PDF won't open properly on a Mac using preview / quicklook.

The only way I could get the downloaded PDF of my statement was to download and install Adobe Reader.

The same file opens fine in Adobe Reader but doesn't work in Preview.

Resolution : I switched to paper statements and removed Adobe Reader from my Mac.

[brilor]

There is a way on the Discover site to obtain a useable PDF that doesn't require the nefarious Adobe Reader. It does take an extra click or two. I've tried it and it works fine but I still complained to Discover about it. Here are the directions:

"You can however, download or print your statement activity by clicking on "Recent Activity" under "Manage Account.", then selecting the statement from the Activity Period drop down menu."

[talmy]

I have both DiscoverCard and DiscoverBank accounts and the problem only exists for DiscoverCard even though it's the same company and seemingly the same site!

I "solved" the problem by opening the pdf in Adobe Reader in a Windows VM and then "printing" using PDFCreator. That makes the PDF readable under OS X Preview. Yes, it's too much effort!

[TeaEarleGreyHot]

Gotta luv Adobe, their pestilent nagware continues to be one of the most problem-prone things I use.

[cashxx]

I stopped using the Adobe Plugin, it has never worked for me in Firefox and Safari its just too slow. I removed it in our school and for myself personally.

[hanksd]

I have been wrestling with this issue for quite awhile... my wife has the same problem. Also, when I print one of these offending pdf files from Safari, the page that prints is blank. Thank you so much for this post!

[surfcaster]

I'm having the same problem but neither of those plugins are installed, at least not that I can fins. Any suggestions?

[glstevens]

The problem is the 64 bit mode of newer versions of Safari. Solution is simple. Close Safari. Select the Safari application icon, then select the "Get Info" option under the Finder's "File" dropdown menu. In the file info window in the General area, click the checkbox next to "Open in 32-bit mode." Reopen Safari. Problem gone. All pdf files open, print, and save as expected within Safari.

[hari]

Quote

I prefer not to have Adobe Reader installed on my Mac. Discover card very recently changed the way they do PDFs. The saved PDF won't open properly on a Mac using preview / quicklook. The only way I could get the downloaded PDF of my statement was to download and install Adobe Reader. The same file opens fine in Adobe Reader but doesn't work in Preview. Resolution : I switched to paper statements and removed Adobe Reader from my Mac.

What is the reason for not using Adobe Reader? I am ignorant, but I haven't had any problems with Adobe Reader nor had any problem saving pdf files from Safari unlike the author. I was using 10.6 earlier and now use 10.8. Still no problems.

[aforkosh]

I've replaced the Adobe plug-ins with the PDF Browser plugin from http://www.schubert-it.com/pluginpdf/.

One advantage of this plug-in for me is that it makes it very easy to open a linked PDF file in a PDF reader without separately downloading the file and the opening the downloaded file (and then discarding it). I prefer reading most PDFs in a reader (Preview or Adobe Reader) as it allows one to use more of the screen for the document without the additional clutter of the web browser.

One problem is that Adobe Reader updates seem to automatically re-install the Adobe plug-ins so that I need to disable them after every reader update.

[alanallos]

I have had the same annoying problem recently - both with Preview and Adobe Reader! I opened the same page in Firefox - and saved the .pdf - which opened without any problem!

So, what is the problem with Safari?

[JoopArends]

glstevens makes an excellent point about the 32- vs 64-bit mode of Safari and the consequence of this choice for saving PDFs displayed by the Adobe plugin. Even so, you can save PDFs properly in 64 bit mode too, by using the Save button in the PDF button bar displayed by the Adobe plugin, instead of using Safari's Save options. I'm somewhat surprised that Ted didn't try that.

I commiserate with those who prefer not to have to deal with Adobe Reader. Unfortunately, not all PDFs display properly in Preview, but will in Reader. If you're not bothered by these special PDFs, good for you, but if you do, there's still Reader. ;-)