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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Extension stats

By: brenton.a.milne

View on Chrome Web Store

Users: 2,000+

Rating: 3.17 (41)

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

Ranking

# 18933 ▼ 2

Other rankings

#24979 in Workflow & Planning ▼ 36 #80 in force keyword 17 ▼ 1 #87 in pdf keyword 74 ▲ 2 #98 in handle keyword 27 ▼ 1

Other platforms

Not available on Firefox

Not available on Edge

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Extension 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

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 for sites using '?forcedownload=1' in PDF URLs.
Can open PDFs directly from links if browser settings are configured properly.
Some users reported it working well in specific contexts (e.g., Smartsheet, Outlook).

Cons

Does not work on all sites or PDF links (e.g., GitHub releases, fcc.gov).
Some users experienced issues with the extension not preventing downloads at all.
Limited effectiveness with links that do not contain 'pdf' in the URL or differ in language.

Most mentioned

Doesn't work on many sites.
Requires specific browser settings to function correctly.
Works only in certain scenarios and many users find it unreliable.

Recent reviews

People writing bad reviews don't understand what this extension is for. It's for those sites that append a "?forcedownload=1" to the end of PDF file URLs to force you to download them instead of reading on the browser. It will not prevent normal PDF downloads from happening. It works perfectly the sites that do add "forceDownload" to their PDFs