How to Download PDF

It is common to find difficulties when you want to download PDF document files. There are a few steps you can take to ensure that they can download any PDF file hassle-free, whether it is a PDF document attached to an email or a PDF file from the web.

In order to download and view a PDF document onto your computer, you need to download a PDF reader. Most readers, such as the Adobe Reader, are available for download, free of charge.

Once the reader is installed, you can use the download as PDF or download PDF version options you see on websites or search engine results.

To Download a PDF document in an E-mail:

  • 1Open the email which contains the PDF you wish to download.
  • 2If you have the email opened in either Gmail or Outlook, the PDF attachment will give you options to Download, View (by clicking on the file in Gmail), or Save the file to its respective cloud storage service - Google Drive or OneDrive. Select to either save the PDF to your cloud storage account or to download the PDF to your computer.
Download
  • 3For either downloading option you choose, you will have to select your location and give your file a name. Note that saving the PDF to OneDrive will automatically store it into the Email Attachments folder.
PDF Search Results

You may also download a PDF to your computer straight from a website or web search results page, directly in your browser:

  • 1Click on the PDF link. In Google Chrome, the PDF will open in another tab.
  • 2With the tab with the PDF opened, hover the cursor in the bottom right corner to reveal a set of basic tools. Click on the Save icon.
PDF Download Save Option
  • 3In the next dialogue, select a location to save your PDF, give your PDF a name, and click on Save.
Save PDF Download
  • 4Your browser will then download the file.
  • 5To open your file, you can double click on the downloaded file from Chrome or open it in Adobe Reader from your desktop.
View Downloaded PDF

Also, you can choose to view PDF in your browser. You will need to enable your browser to display PDF documents through the settings of your browser. Here is how to do it in Firefox.

To View PDF files in Firefox:

  • 1Select Options from the Tools menu in the far upper right hand corner.
Firefox Options
  • 2Select the Applications Tab.
  • 3Select Portable Document Format (PDF).
Firefox Applications Tab
  • 4Select Use Other in the drop down box.
  • 5In the next pop-up, select Adobe Reader as your Helper Application. Click on OK.
  • 6Click on OK in the Options dialog box. You will then be able to open PDF documents from the web using Firefox.
Adobe Reader as Helper Application