How to Enable and Disable Chrome PDF Viewer on PC or Mac

Last Updated: February 7, 2022

This wikiHow 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.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Enabling Chrome PDF Viewer

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
Click ⁝. It's near the top-right corner of Chrome.

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3
Click Settings.
4
Scroll down and click Advanced. It's at the bottom of the page.
5
Scroll down and click Content settings. It's in the “Privacy and security” section, toward the bottom of the list.
6
Scroll down and click PDF documents. It's near the bottom of the list.
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.^{[1]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Disabling Chrome PDF Viewer

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
Click ⁝. It's near the top-right corner of Chrome.
3
Click Settings.
4
Scroll down and click Advanced. It's at the bottom of the page.
5
Scroll down and click Content settings. It's in the “Privacy and security” section, toward the bottom of the list.
6
Scroll down and click PDF documents. It's near the bottom of the list.
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.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Changing the Default PDF Viewer in Windows

1
Click the
menu. It's usually at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
2
Click
. It's on the left side of the menu.
3
Click Apps.
4
Click Default apps. It's in the left column.
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.^{[2]
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6
Scroll down to “.pdf.” The current default viewer appears to the right of this entry.
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
Click the app you want to use. The selected app will now open PDFs on your PC by default.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Changing the Default PDF Viewer on macOS

1
Press Control as you click a PDF file on your Mac. This opens the menu.^{[3]
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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
Click the drop-down menu next to “Open With.” A list of alternatives will appear.
4
Click your preferred app. If you want to use Chrome, select Google Chrome. Or, to change it from Chrome, choose another option.
5
Click Change All. A confirmation message will appear.
6
Click Continue. The selected application will now open PDFs on your Mac by default.