pdfs saving instead of opening

edmundrussell
Error report ID 1651676658

When I try to open a pdf attached to a Zotero entry, it asks me to save instead of opening it.

Running latest version of Zotero with Firefox 44.0.2 on Macbook Pro. This problem began after I updgraded to OSX 10.11.3.

To reproduce:
--open firefox
--click on Z for Zotero in menu bar
--expand an entry by clicking on diamond
--double click OR use command-O to try to open a pdf
--save as dialog box opens
--the file does not open even if i close the save as dialog box
--i tried this with multiple entries and pdfs and the problem always appeared

I tried the following but they did not solve the problem.
--saving the document. the mac correctly sees that the file is already saved on my hard drive and asked me whether i want to rewrite. i told it to rewrite the existing file and save, which it seemed to do, but it did not open the file.
--deleted mimeTypes.rdf from profile directory.
--restarted firefox.
--restarted computer then firefox

when going directly to the saved file on the hard drive using finder (that is, not through zotero), the file opens normally by double clicking or using command-0, so the file is ok.

thank you for all you do. I love zotero and rely on it every day.
  • adamsmith
    What's the behavior when you click on a link to a PDF in Firefox, say
    http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/212241.pdf
    (this is just a random US government form. You can pick another example).
  • edmundrussell
    The file opened normally in Firefox when I clicked on the link.
  • dstillman
    Can you save the PDF above and then provide a Debug ID for trying to open it?
  • edmundrussell
    the debug id is D720041914
  • dstillman
    I'm not seeing the file open attempt in there. Can you try another Debug ID?
  • edmundrussell
    debug id is D1693482341
  • dstillman
    Sorry, I still don't see any attempt to actually open the file. To be clear, I'm talking about double-clicking on the attachment and triggering the save dialog, not just focusing the attachment.
  • dstillman
    (4)(+0000014): Translate: Binding sandbox to http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/212241.pdf
    Actually, I'm not even sure what this is debug output for. This looks like you're still viewing the PDF online, not attempting to open a saved local attachment. You should be able to right-click on the attachment and see a "View PDF" option in the menu (and that option should be equivalent to double-clicking the attachment item).
  • edmundrussell
    D1177137561 debug id

    sorry, i did not understand you wanted me to open it. this i saved it anew and double clicked on the file after saving it. it opened normally in preview.
  • dstillman
    We'd need an example that doesn't work, then.
  • dstillman
    edited February 26, 2016
    (Also that Debug ID still doesn't include an opening attempt, even a successful one. Reread the debug output instructions and make sure you're enabling the output immediately before double-clicking and stopping it immediately after.)
  • edmundrussell
    D1709672414 id

    this time i did these steps.
    --opened zotero
    --double clicked on a pdf attached to an entry
    --dialog box opened for save as. i saved the doc to my hard drive, rewriting the copy that was already there.
    --went to the doc on my hard drive using finder
    --double clicked on the doc. it opened normally in preview.
  • edmundrussell
    the Debug ID is D1858969022

    this was another try after rereading debug instructions. followed same steps as in last post with clicking enable for debug just before double clicking on file in zotero and sent it just after opening file in preview.
  • dstillman
    Detected MIME type application/pdf
    That file is being detected properly, so this should really just work.

    Close Firefox completely and then delete mimeTypes.rdf again. That's really the only fix here — that completely resets Firefox to its default file-handling settings.
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