Opening the correct PDF reader in Pale Moon

[1210_bex]

I am running PM 27.7.1 (32 bit) on a Windows 7 PRO (64 bit) SP 1 desktop computer. The problem I am having also occurred in earlier versions of PM 27, in PM 26, and possibly earlier than that.

I have 3 PDF reader programs installed on this desktop computer. Call them A, B, & C. In Windows 'Set association for programs', all PDF related files are set with A as the default. In Pale Moon Preferences, the action item for PDF content type is 'Use A (in Pale Moon)'. In A's preferences for File Associations, A is set as the default PDF viewer, and is checked to Display the PDF in browser.

I also have Firefox 42, IE 11, and Opera 12.16 on this computer. Their preferences are set the same way as Pale Moon.

If I go to a website that has a link to a PDF document. Firefox, IE and Opera all open A in the browser. But Pale Moon opens B! Running Pale Moon in Safe Mode still opens B.

I also have a laptop with the same version of Windows, and the setting for A are the same as on my desktop. But on this laptop computer, A is the only PDF reader program installed. And on it, Pale Moon opens A, as it should.

Any ideas as to what might be causing the problem with my desktop Pale Moon not opening A?


Harry

[1210_bex]

Surely someone at Pale Moon, or one of the long time users, can help me with this problem.

Since my 1st post I removed PDF Reader program C (which was Adobe Reader), cleared the Pale Moon Cache and updated to PM 27.7.2 (32 bit).

None of this had any effect on Pale Moon's inability to open the correct PDF reader.


Harry

[LAR Grizzly]

Surely someone at Pale Moon, or one of the long time users, can help me with this problem.

Since my 1st post I removed PDF Reader program C (which was Adobe Reader), cleared the Pale Moon Cache and updated to PM 27.7.2 (32 bit).

None of this had any effect on Pale Moon's inability to open the correct PDF reader.


Harry

Try this:

1. Close PM
2. In your profile folder, rename mimeTypes.rdf to mimeTypes.rdf old
3. Open PM and try it out.
4. PM will regenerate the file. If this works, you can delete mimeTypes.rdf old
5. If it doesn't work, delete the new mimeTypes.rdf and rename mimeTypes.rdf old back to mimeTypes.rdf
6. It it worked, note that you may have to reassign other programs once again since you will be starting fresh.

[1210_bex]

LAR:

Did steps 1 and 2.
Step 3. no difference
Step 4. PM did NOT regenerate the file! I even tried moving mimeTypes.rdf to another folder so it no longer existed in my profile. Opened PM, tried it out (same problem), and went back to my profile folder. There was NO mimeTypes.rdf in su46gq4v.default. I then moved it back there from the other folder.

Any other thoughts? Perhaps I did something wrong?

Also, I did not quite understand your step 6. Do you mean in Preferences->Applications?


Harry

[LAR Grizzly]

Any other thoughts? Perhaps I did something wrong? Also, I did not quite understand your step 6. Do you mean in Preferences->Applications? Harry

I'm starting to suspect that there's something borked in your profile. I just tried it with mine and PM created a new mimeTypes.rdf file every time I opened it. Maybe this is why you are having troubles. I would suggest trying a new, clean profile. If that works, you can transfer over your important files from your borked profile.

As far as #6, you may be asked how PM should handle some other files and have to re-assign programs (like you are trying to do with .pdf) since the mimeTypes file is new.

[1210_bex]

This is REALLY strange--at least for me.

I created a new profile: and I had never done that before--thanks for forcing me to learn.

Anyway, I did that. And when I deleted mimeTypes.rdf from it, it did indeed create a new one. But the bad news was, when I opened Pale Moon and went to a link on a website, reader B: still opened!

I have multiple portable versions of Pale Moon on a USB drive, for testing. Often I move over a profile of what at that time is the latest version on my desktop. I had done that for Version 7.1.1. So I ran the portable, and reader A: opened, like it should. Then I copied that profile over to my desktop and ran it. But the problem still existed.

Checking around, I found that on my Portable the plug-in for reader B: was disabled. So I then opened my desktop with it's ORIGINAL default profile, disabled the reader B: plug-in, and bingo, problem solved! Reader A: now opens.

But what I still don't understand is why when reader B: was enabled, it overrode all the Preference setting in Pale Moon. Hopefully you have some thoughts on this, so I don't run into this kind of problem in the future.

Unfortunately, that does not solve the problem of why mimeTypes.rdf does not regenerate itself as it should on my default desktop profile.

But most important, thanks so very much for your help and assistance.

P.S. I live just down the road from you, in Toledo, OH.


Harry

[LAR Grizzly]

Unfortunately, that does not solve the problem of why mimeTypes.rdf does not regenerate itself as it should on my default desktop profile. But most important, thanks so very much for your help and assistance. P.S. I live just down the road from you, in Toledo, OH. Harry

It's nice to help a fellow Ohioan! I'm at a loss as to why the file isn't recreated in your present profile. You may want to use a new profile (it's a pain setting up a new one, but sometimes that's a cure). I also don't know why PM settings won't be dominant in the opening of the files. I'm not too knowledgeable, just a "little" more experienced. I've had to mess with the mimeTypes file in the past. Hopefully, someone else will chime in and bring a light to this subject. I'm glad you got it working though.

All the Best...
Griz

[1210_bex]

Griz:

Now that I have the Reader problem fixed, I am not going to worry about mimeTypes.rdf for a while (I just checked and it still does not regenerate). It has taken me years to get a PM layout that suits me, and I am not about to start again from scratch.

That said, now that you showed me how to set up alternate Profiles, I may set up a 'clean one' and gradually add things that I currently use, as time allows. With the alternate Profile feature, I won't be in danger of losing the good default I already have.


Harry

[LAR Grizzly]

That said, now that you showed me how to set up alternate Profiles, I may set up a 'clean one' and gradually add things that I currently use, as time allows. With the alternate Profile feature, I won't be in danger of losing the good default I already have. Harry

That's a good plan. It leaves you with a workable profile while you rebuild the other. I hope things work out satisfactorily. You can always come back to this forum for more help if needed. All the best!

[LAR Grizzly]

Just noticed this Print pages to PDF for PM. It may or may not be of interest.

[1210_bex]

Just noticed this Print pages to PDF for PM. It may or may not be of interest.

Looks Interesting. Have you tried it, and if so will it run on PM 27? The sheet only says up to 26.

Also, there is a later version on the author's home page.

I currently have PDF995 and PDF-XChange 4.0 Lite. Both of these are listed as printers, and they work fine for simple documents. But they certainly don't have the capability that Print pages to PDF say it has.

Harry

[LAR Grizzly]

Looks Interesting. Have you tried it, and if so will it run on PM 27? The sheet only says up to 26.

Also, there is a later version on the author's home page.

I currently have PDF995 and PDF-XChange 4.0 Lite. Both of these are listed as printers, and they work fine for simple documents. But they certainly don't have the capability that Print pages to PDF say it has.

Harry

It installs. I didn't try the latest version. I just tried the one on the PM add-on page. I tried to print a page, but it wouldn't complete. I played around with the settings, but wasn't able to get it to finalize. You may want to try the latest version and play around with it for a while.

[1210_bex]

It installs. I didn't try the latest version. I just tried the one on the PM add-on page. I tried to print a page, but it wouldn't complete. I played around with the settings, but wasn't able to get it to finalize. You may want to try the latest version and play around with it for a while.

Griz:

I downloaded Print Pages to PDF 0.5.0.6 to an older version of Firefox (42.0) that I have. Based on your problems with an earlier version, I did not want to download it to Pale Moon. Interestingly, although the developer says it is a Firefox/Pale Moon add-on, it cannot be downloaded from the Firefox add-on page. It is not even listed there. You have to open a blank Tab on your browser, and drag the .xpi file over to it. Firefox gives you a message saying the program could not be verified for use in Firefox, and to proceed with caution. Loading to Pale Moon would probably require the same procedure.

I had no problem opening and running the program. But I could not get everything to work. I'll explain.

This is the text page I chose: http://printpagestopdf.hol.es/index.php/en/help.html
You will see that it has a list of topics on the left, then a 'Download' section on the upper right, and a 'Print pages to Pdf (Firefox AddOn)' on the lower right, which contains an image. The page background is a light grey. Also note that there is a PDF icon in the upper right. I mentioned in an earlier post that I have a couple of Pdf programs that are loaded as printer drivers, and show in my Print list.

So I tested this page in all three: Print pages to Pdf, the printer drive image on the page, and one of my Pdf programs loaded as a printer driver. All three give different results!

IF you view the webpage using the whole width of your browser (I normally place my bookmark column on the left), then Print pages to Pdf, using their 'Print active Tab' option, produces an exact replication of the screen. My printer driver program creates a 2 page Pdf, with the 'Topics' column on page 1, and the right hand columns on page 2. The printer drive icon does not even capture the 'Topics' column. The 'Download' section is printed in very small font at the top of the page, and the remainder below, with the image printed above the text, and the text is enlarged to fill the full width of the page. This option also ignores the gray background, and has a white background. So if you only want the bottom right hand section, this option is the most easily read.

The program saves the file as Overview-Print pages to Pdf, which combines the topic name and the page title name. Although the program has an option to 'Save As…', by the time you fill that in, it has already saved the file with the topic name and page title name. So you get two files of the same size, but with different names. Both my printer driver and the Pdf icon lets you name the file as you normally would.

The 'Print selection' feature seems to work fine. I tried the 'Print all Tabs' option with 1st 2, and then 4 tabs open, and they both worked.

I could not get the conversion window to work. Nor could I figure out how to capture scrapbook types files which include links (like my Scrapbook X does), even though the program says it uses code from Scrapbook. It also uses Screengrab (which I have) source code, but you can still copy, highlight, and add text to the resulting Pdf.

The instructions also say that you can reorder the captured pages/websites before saving. I could never get this to work.

There is a very comprehension 'Settings' menu, and you have lots of options.

The developer's English is very poor. I skimmed the major topics, but could not sort out some of the options. Perhaps if I read every page very closely, I might be able to get these to work.

Let me know if you try Ver. 0.5.0.6 on Pale Moon, and what your results are.

Harry