How To Fix Chrome Pdf Viewer Not Working

Published 2020-03-29

Google Chrome is indeed a fantastic browser, and its in-built PDF viewer allows you to see the PDF file before downloading. This is probably the coolest feature available by default, and if you wish to view all our PDFs quickly, it is just possible because of the extension.

What if your Chrome PDF viewer doesn’t work smoothly as it should, annoying, right?. Do not worry as this piece of article is very straightforward to deal with your problem and brings out the solutions as well. Keep scrolling to find out!

Troubleshooting Tips If Chrome PDF Viewer Not Working

If the “Chrome PDF Viewer greyed out” issue is getting onto your nerves, here’s what you need to do to fix the annoying problem:

1. Take Help Of A Reliable PDF Viewer & Manager Tool (Recommended)

If you have multiple PDF files to open and read and no time to fix the issue with your browser, we highly recommend you to take the help of a third-party PDF Management Solution that can help you with a consistent PDF reading experience. The market has tons of good options for Windows and other Operating Systems. If you ask us, we are currently using Advanced PDF Manager to simplify our PDF management needs.

The application is packed with tons of options to open, read, create, print, split, merge, protect, duplicate pages, and more. It offers an incredible set of viewing modes, namely: Collapse View, Small Multiview, Medium Multiview, and Large Multiview. All these modes work quite well so that users can enjoy an excellent PDF reading experience.

Hence, if you are short on time and looking for a quick way to get rid of the “Chrome PDF Viewer Not Working” issue, we suggest you switch to a better alternative for opening, viewing, reading, creating, and managing your PDF files with Advanced PDF Manager.

2. Try Disabling Extensions

If PDF files are not loading even after the PDF viewer is opening them up, it’s time to try disabling the extension. It could be because of poor internet connection or some glitch with the extension itself.

If the former one is not the reason, the broken extension may be tried out. For this, open your Chrome’s incognito mode. Load the website where the PDF file is available.

Go to Settings by clicking on three vertical dots beside your profile picture > More Tools > Extensions. Here, disable the extension and re-enable it.

3. Disable PDF Downloads

To undergo this method while Chrome PDF viewer is not working, follow the steps below.

Open Chrome Settings > click on Advanced > Site Settings under ‘Privacy & Security’ > click on PDF Documents > toggle off the switch stating Download PDF files instead of automatically opening them in Chrome.

Close the browser and restart it once again.

4. Remove Malware

Even after performing the above two steps, your Chrome PDF viewer is not working and creating challenges to work out; it could be a malware hitting in the system’s browser. For this, you have two options awaiting.

First Option: Google’s in-built safety and protection tool is provided with Chrome itself. For this, go to Chrome://settings/cleanup.

Click on the Find button, next to Find harmful software and let it run. In some time, it will probably show the malicious activities running through the browser.

Second Option: Run Systweak Anti-Malware on your Mac or Advanced System Protector on Windows to safeguard the system and the browser from any threats. These tools will not only remove the malware present but also keeps the system safe from any future problems.

5. Update & Clear Cookies

Even if you couldn’t solve this issue using a malware removal tool, don’t get disheartened. It’s time to check a few updates and clear the browsing data cookies.

Start with pressing Ctrl + Shift + Delete. Now, you will land on Chrome’s ‘Clear Browsing Data’. In the Basic section, select cookies and cached images > Choose All Time from the time range > finally press Clear Data. These steps will remove all the cookies settled in the browser and break the chain of distortion in the extension.

Now to update, go to the three vertical lines or hamburger icon and select Help > About Chrome. If there is an update, Chrome will notify it and install it by itself.

This will most probably solve the issue of the Chrome PDF viewer, not working.

6. Reset Chrome

Once again, go to Advanced under Chrome Settings and scroll down to the bottom. Locate Reset and clean up section. Click open Restore settings to their original defaults > in the new pop-up, select Reset Settings.

And it’s done!

Wrap-Up

We believe this would solve your problem of Chrome PDF viewer not working by now! Hopefully, the situation is back to normal, and Chrome can work the way it was. Does that work? Let us know in the comment section below. Also, check: