How to Disable “Open PDF in Browser” for Google Chrome

When printing reports with complex formatting requirements such as spine labels, Google Chrome’s built-in PDF viewer can occasionally reformat margins by adding extra margin bleeds. This can cause the spine labels to print slightly out of alignment or skewed.

To prevent this, FSI recommends opening all spine label reports using a dedicated PDF viewer (such as Adobe PDF Viewer) rather than viewing or printing them directly in Chrome. This ensures that all margins, borders, and label layouts remain exactly as designed.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Option 1: Through Chrome Settings

1. Open Chrome on your computer.

2. Click the three dots (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser window.

3. Select Settings.

4. On the left-hand menu, click Privacy and security.

5. Click Site Settings.

6. Scroll down and expand Additional content settings.

7. Select PDF documents.

8. Turn ON the option that says:

   "Download PDFs instead of automatically opening them in Chrome."

   When this setting is enabled, Chrome will download PDF files to your computer instead of displaying them directly in a browser tab.

Troubleshooting Tips

• Still opening in browser? Try restarting Chrome after changing the setting.

• For managed devices: If the setting is locked or greyed out, your organization’s administrator may have enforced this policy. Contact your IT admin for assistance.

• Re-enable later: To restore Chrome’s built-in PDF viewer, simply return to the same setting and turn the option OFF.