Brave browser is a security-oriented browser. This Chromium-based browser was launched around six years ago, but it has found it has quickly become a favorite amongst people who are looking for Chrome alternatives.
But in this post, I will talk about something that bothered me about the browser. I was bothered by the browser’s PDF viewer opening PDFs instead of directly downloading them. I realize the same is true for Chrome, too, since both browsers are similar.
I wanted to change this troublesome setting at any cost. After fiddling with the browser settings, you could turn off the PDF viewer and direct the browser to download PDFs.
When you click on a PDF file, Brave browser opens it so you can access its contents. You can view the file on this page and also download it. This isn’t out of the ordinary. But it takes up much more time and effort if you do not want to view the PDF and want to download it on your computer.
The solution to this problem lies in the browser settings. You can change the settings for PDF documents in the browser. The browser will then download the PDF for you when you click on it instead of opening it in a new tab.
Disabling the PDF viewer
To disable the PDF viewer and directly download PDFs on Brave browser, you will need to access the site and shields settings of the browser first and then change the settings for PDFs.
Here are the steps to disable the PDF Viewer:
- Launch the Brave browser on the computer.
- Click on the Menu
at the top right corner, then select Settings menu. - Select Privacy and security, then head to Site and Shields settings.
- Expand Additional Content settings and choose the PDF documents menu.
- Under the Default Behavior, switch to the Downloads PDFs radio option.
The default setting is “Open PDFs in Brave”.
Close the tab once you have changed the settings. Now you can download PDFs on the browser instantly.
Downloading PDFs
Once you have changed the PDF document settings, you can head to the website where you want to download the PDF. When you click on it, you will see that the browser does not open but downloads it.
Before changing the settings
You will notice in the screenshots that once you try to download a PDF, the Brave browser will open inside the PDF viewer within the browser.
After changing the settings
Go to the website and click on the PDF file link you wish to save.
The file will not be opened after you change the settings. The browser will instead ask you to save it on your device.
Bottom Line
Brave browser is a new but fantastic browser. It has risen to the top in recent times. Its focus on privacy is one of its biggest strengths. When you first start using it, you must customize it to your preferences. This involves changing all the browser settings to suit your needs.
One such browser setting you must change the PDF settings if you are particular about what you want the browser to do when clicking on a PDF file.
While using the Brave browser, I noticed that I wouldn’t say I liked it when the browser opened the PDF files I wanted to download. I wanted to save time and download the files on my computer rather than view them.
I played around with the browser settings and found the settings for PDF documents, allowing me to disable the PDF viewer and download files instantly. This saves me time when I am in a hurry.
You can follow the instructions in this post to change the settings to disable the PDF viewer and download files immediately.
Lastly, if you've any thoughts or feedback on How to Disable PDF Viewer and Download PDF on Brave, then feel free to drop in below comment box. You can also report the outdated information.
It would be better to have an option to open PDF files with the Adobe application – I neither open in browser nor download but open in Adobe for manipulation (it is saved AFTER manipulation)