How to Stop Adobe Reader From Opening PDFs in the Browser

Disable Auto Open in Adobe Acrobat Reader

By
Mary Landesman
Mary Landesman
Writer
  • Brevard College
Mary Landesman is a former freelance contributor to Lifewire and a security expert. She was named as one of the women to watch in IT security.
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Updated on December 19, 2020
Reviewed by
Michael Barton Heine Jr
Michael Heine headshot
Reviewed by Michael Barton Heine Jr
Michael Heine is a CompTIA-certified writer, editor, and Network Engineer with 25+ years' experience working in the television, defense, ISP, telecommunications, and education industries.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

What To Know

  • In Acrobat, got to Edit > Preferences > Internet > Internet Settings > Programs > Manage Add-Ons > Adobe PDF Reader > Disable.
  • It's a good idea to disable auto-open on Adobe Reader because attackers have been known to use it to run malware.

This article explains how to stop Adobe Acrobat Reader from automatically opening PDF files in your web browser by default. Instructions in this article apply to Adobe Acrobat Reader DC and Internet Explorer 8 and later.

How to Keep PDFs From Opening in a Browser

Follow these steps to prevent Adobe Acrobat Reader from opening PDFs within your web browser:

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader and select Edit > Preferences in the menu bar.

    Preferences in Acrobat Reader

    You can also bring up the preferences menu with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+K (or Command+K for Mac).

  2. Select Internet in the left pane of the preferences window, and then select Internet Settings.

    The Internet heading in Preferences

  3. Select the Programs tab.

    The Programs tab

  4. Select Manage Add-Ons.

    The Manage Add-ons button

  5. Select Adobe PDF Reader in the list of add-ons.

    Select Adobe PDF Reader

    If you don't see Adobe PDF Reader listed, try selecting Run Without Permission from the Show drop-down menu.

  6. Select Disable so that the PDF Reader won't open PDFs in the browser.

    The Disable button

Why You Should Disable Auto Open in Adobe Acrobat Reader

Attackers have exploited Adobe Reader's confirmation-free rendering to spread malware. Turning off the Adobe Reader add-on for Internet Explorer helps you avoid accidentally downloading a computer virus via the internet.

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