Mike’s Minute: Techstreet Enterprise Tip of the Month— When your browser is the default PDF reader

Mike Visser

Hear from our Techstreet Enterprise Senior Product Manager, Mike Visser:

Sometimes, customers will successfully install the FileOpen plugin on their computer, but still have trouble opening PDF files. That is likely because the browser you use (for example, Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge) has taken over opening PDFs on your computer, and is now the default PDF reader.

In Google Chrome, you might see a message like this when you try to open a PDF that is secured with FileOpen:

In Microsoft Edge, you might see a message like this when trying to do the same thing:

Why is that? It’s because none of the browser PDF readers are compatible with FileOpen, and the PDF you are trying to open is encrypted with FileOpen. You will need to use another PDF reader to open PDFs secured with FileOpen. You can do that by right clicking on an icon for a PDF file, and opening that individual PDF in a compatible reader, or by changing the default PDF reader on your entire computer.

In the Windows File Explorer, find a PDF document and right click on it. In Windows 11, you will see options in a pop up like those in the screenshot below.

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