The In-Browser Viewing Problem
Google Chrome comes equipped with an integrated PDF viewer. By default, whenever you click a link pointing to a PDF file, Chrome intercepts the download and automatically opens the document within a new browser tab. While this is convenient for quickly glancing at a menu or a receipt, it is highly problematic for users who need to perform advanced tasks. The built-in Chrome viewer lacks the necessary tools for filling out complex interactive forms, digitally signing legal documents, or utilizing advanced printing features, forcing you to manually hunt down the “Download” button within the viewer interface just to get the actual file.
Forcing the Download Dialogue
To stop Chrome from hijacking your PDF links and force it to simply download the files to your hard drive so you can open them in a dedicated application like Adobe Acrobat, you must disable the internal viewer.
Open Google Chrome, click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner, and select Settings. In the left-hand navigation pane, click on Privacy and security. In the main window, click on Site settings. Scroll down to the very bottom of the page and click to expand the Additional content settings menu. From this expanded list, click on PDF documents. Here, you will see the default behaviour toggle. You must select the radio button labelled Download PDFs instead of “Open PDFs in Chrome.” The change is applied instantly. The next time you click a PDF link, Chrome will bypass its internal viewer and immediately save the file to your designated downloads folder.