Macos – Prevent Chrome from automatically opening downloaded PDF and Image files

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When I download a PDF or image in Google Chrome on my Mac, is it possible to prevent Chrome from automatically opening it in my default application for that file type (e.g., Preview)?

I notice that Chrome does not do this for other downloaded files such as audio and ZIP archives.

I still want to be able to preview files in Chrome; I just want to prevent it from automatically launching my image/PDF viewer application after I download them.

For example:

  1. I click on a link in an email to a PDF document or an image file.
  2. Chrome displays the contents in the browser.
  3. I press Cmd–S and save the file to my computer.
  4. When the download finishes, the file opens automatically in Preview.app.

It's that last step that I would like to bypass.

Best Answer

You can set the auto-open preferences for PDF files by clicking on the download status button in the downloads bar. When you have a downloaded PDF sitting there, click on the arrow and unselect "Always Open Files of This Type" in the pop-up menu.

You can also reset all the user preferences for auto-open by following the directions below from Chrome's help site at http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95759

If you want certain types of files to always open after they're done downloading, click the arrow next to the file button in the downloads bar and select Always open files of this type. To prevent potentially malicious files from automatically downloading to your computer, this option isn't available for executable filetypes, such as those with .exe, .dll, or .bat extensions (for Windows), and .dmg extensions (for Mac).

You can clear auto-opening settings through the Settings dialog. Here's how:

Click the wrench icon on the browser toolbar. Select Settings. Click the Under the Hood tab. In the "Downloads" section, click Clear auto-opening settings. This clears your settings for all file types. Click Close when you're done, if you're using Windows or Linux.

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