Can't "View Snapshot" of PDF file within browser

afraser24
So, here's my situation. I've been using the older Zotero version for a while, mostly to keep track of articles from PudMed and cite them in Word. I often download PDFs of articles to my hard drive and add them as attachments to items in Zotero. With the old version, when I would go to open the PDF, it would usually open up in the browser tab. I believe there was an option to open it in a separate window if I wanted to.

I just upgraded to the 2.0 version of Zotero and now when I try to open a PDF file that is attached to an item (either by double clicking the file in the library or clicking on "View File" it will only open it in a separate Adobe window. Is there something I'm missing? Thanks for the help.

P.S. I'm using Windows XP and Firefox 3.5.8
  • dstillman
    Disable the extensions.zotero.launchNonNativeFiles hidden pref.

    or

    http://www.zotero.org/support/kb/file_handling_issues

    or

    Check your Firefox settings, depending on what happens you click on a PDF from a web page.
  • afraser24
    Dan,

    Thanks. Could you give me more specific instructions for things to try? I attempted your first suggestion and it made no difference. I followed the link in your second suggestion, but couldn't understand what it meant or how to proceed. As to the last thing, when I click on a PDF form a web page it opens up in the browser.

    Thanks.
  • dstillman
    Is launchNonNativeFiles set to true? It needs to be set to false if you want PDFs to open in Firefox.

    For the second suggestion, you'd have to explain what's unclear about the linked instructions.
  • afraser24
    Yes, launchNonNativeFiles is set to "false".

    Also, I figured out the instructions in the second link. Found the profiles folder and deleted the mimeTypes.rdf file. Then I restarted Firefox and Zotero wouldn't work at all. It had the little error symbol hovering over the Zotero icon. When I clicked on it, it just said that it couldn't open due to an error. So, I went and copied and pasted the mimeTypes.rdf file from my recycle bin back to the profiles folder (i had to replace another version of the file that seemed to have generated itself in the meantime). Now Zotero works again, but PDFs still won't open in the browser.

    Any other ideas?
  • dstillman
    mimeTypes.rdf is a Firefox file that has nothing to do with Zotero, so deleting it shouldn't cause an error in Zotero. Try deleting it again. Restart your computer if necessary.

    If you still get a startup error, follow the steps in the Advanced Instructions section of the Reporting Bugs page and let us know what appears in the Error Console.
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