PDF Forcedownload Blocker

This extension prevents webservers from forcing pdfs to download rather than open in browser

What is PDF Forcedownload Blocker?

PDF Forcedownload Blocker is a Chrome extension created to enhance your control over PDF file handling in the browser. It prevents webservers from enforcing automatic downloads of PDF files, instead allowing them to be opened in the browser using Chrome's in-built PDF plugin. This extension works by blocking two commonly used methods websites employ to force your browser to download PDF files thus enabling you to handle them according to your preference. However, enabling this extension might prevent some websites from loading PDFs into invisible elements, making them entirely unseen.

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Stats

By: brenton.a.milne

View on Chrome Web Store

Users: 2,000+

Rating: 3.13 (40)

Version: 0.3 (Last updated: 2013-08-11)

Creation date: 2013-08-11

Risk impact: High risk impact

Risk likelihood: Low risk likelihood

Manifest version: 2

Permissions:

webRequest
webRequestBlocking
*://*/*

Size: 3.06K

Stats date:

Chrome-Stats Rank

# 19507 ▼ 45

Other rankings

#23987 in Workflow & Planning ▲ 102 #74 in force keyword 14 ▲ 15 #80 in handle keyword 37 #82 in pdf keyword 89

Other platforms

Not available on Firefox

Not available on Edge

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Summary

Analyze keywords

Many websites will attempt to force you to download linked PDF files, rather than handle them as per your preferences. (By default, your preferences are set to open them in-browser with Chrome's PDF plugin).

This extension blocks two common ways of forcing your browser to download PDF files, allowing you to handle them consistently and as you choose.

WARNING, USE AT OWN RISK: Some websites load pdfs into invisible elements for download, causing them not to be seen at all when this extension is enabled. Unfortunately I can't find a good solution for this :( Most commonly where this is encountered (eg on google docs), the pdf is linked with a name not corresponding to it's filename. To this end the extension now ignores links that don't have ".pdf" in them.

I wrote this app for myself and my friends at uni, to combat university pdfs being linked with forced download. I don't really know much Javascript/HTTP, so no guarantees :)

User reviews

User reviews summary

These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Chrome Web Store does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.

Pros

Works as described when default browser behavior is set correctly
Useful for skimming through multiple PDFs without needing to download
Successfully overrides 'forcedownload=1' URL setting in some cases

Cons

Doesn't work on all websites or for all PDFs
Does not seem to override 'content-disposition: attachment' header
Non-English or coded links may not be recognized
May require links to be opened in a new tab for functionality

Most mentioned

Problems with functionality across different websites
Certain pdf links not being recognized or overridden by the extension
Opening links in new tab to make it work

Recent reviews

Useless...browser immediately opens "save file" window.

Frank Kieckeben, 2023-12-02

It sucks.

Forever Thatter, 2022-09-14

This sounds very promising, but it doesn't seem to work for GitHub releases such as this one: https://github.com/LinqLover/sonyx/releases/download/v0.2/sonyx-study-final.pdf

Christoph Thiede, 2022-03-30

View all user reviews

Safety

Risk impact

PDF Forcedownload Blocker is risky to use as it requires a number of sensitive permissions that can potentially harm your browser and steal your data. Exercise caution when installing this extension. Review carefully before installing. We recommend that you only install PDF Forcedownload Blocker if you trust the publisher.