You have both the Foxit Reader Plug-In and the Adobe PDF Plug-In

1. Foxit Reader Plug-In For Firefox and Netscape
2. Adobe PDF Plug-In For Firefox and Netscape "9.4.5"

You can try to uninstall the Foxit Reader Plug-In to see if the Adobe Reader works if you update that plugin to the latest version.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Issues_related_to_plugins#Identifying_installed_plugins

Update the Adobe Reader plugin to the latest version.

• http://get.adobe.com/reader/otherversions/

My original question is now labelled as having been posted 4 weeks ago, so you can imagine how grateful I am for a reply. I'm impressed by the number of answers you've given in the past, and seeing that, I believe my impression that I have benefited from your advice before. But the email notification of your answer asks "Did you know that cor-el is a Firefox user just like you?" DOES Mozilla ever show any evidence of offering the services of any of these experts I imagined might be there to answer at least some of the questions they invite?

I should have given a link to my original post: https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/questions/847037. There I say Adobe DLM was disabled and is listed in the pane as incompatible with Firefox 5 anyway. I had already disabled it under 4, but I must now report that it no longer appears in the pane at all. However it has insinuated itself back into the Applications under Tools Options. So I replaced it with Firefox again. Then I got vindictive and removed it from all the Application Details, but panicked and cancelled. Don't tell me I have to go back to it now that my grouses about Foxit have been so magnificently met. I followed your link about about:plugins, but was still too panicked to take it all in. Can we continue this discussion on the original question page I've linked to above, in the hope that you can put all 9 people out of their misery?

Sorry, "So I replaced it with Firefox again" > "So I replaced it with Foxit again".

Using the Adobe Reader plugin with Firefox

• https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Using%20the%20Adobe%20Reader%20plugin%20with%20Firefox

Opening PDF files within Firefox

• https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Opening%20PDF%20files%20within%20Firefox

Troubleshooting Plugins

• https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Troubleshooting%20plugins

Check and tell if its working.

Thanx mha007, but you don't seem to have read my screed. Even if you had there's at leas one other mistake in it than the one I corrected: I said "There I say Adobe DLM was disabled and is listed in the pane as incompatible with Firefox 5 anyway." I meant "There I say Adobe Acrobat was disabled and Adobe DLM is listed in the pane as incompatible with Firefox 5 anyway."

But I did make clear that I wanted to use Foxit rather than the dead-buried-and-decomposed Adobe Acrobat. I see the link to my original post isn't working. Does this site not allow links to other questions?

I see the pesky full stop is included in the link, but somehow I don't think it's that. Trying again: https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/questions/847037

Since then I've reinstalled the Foxit Reader Plug-In. In any case I always had to select Foxit to open in Firefox under Tools Options, and that is what it is set to now.

in short, is your problem resolved now ??

No, and I still want Foxit to open in Firefox.

These are the steps I performed on my own system many months ago. I could not view PDF files in Firefox with both Adobe Reader and Foxit installed.

1. Close Firefox (File > Exit OR Firefox button > Exit)
2. If you have not already done so, uninstall Adobe Reader 9.4.5 using Windows Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs, click on the item, click Remove. You may need to restart your system.
3. Open Foxit in your programs list Windows Start > Programs
   • on the Foxit menu, click Tools > Preferences
   • click File Associations and be sure "Display PDF in browser" is checked then click "Make Default PDF Viewer" then click OK
   • close Foxit Reader (File > Exit)
4. Start Firefox
   • Open the Applications panel (Tools > Options > Applications OR Firefox button > Options > Options > Applications)
   • type pdf in the search box; you should see "Foxit Reader PDF document"
   • in Action column, click the down arrow at the far right end
   • choose "Use Foxit Reader plugin for Mozilla (in Firefox)'
     • if the full name does not display, place the cursor over the item to see the full name in a tooltip box
5. Test on a pdf file from the internet
   • If there is no toolbar at the top of the PDF display in the tab (just a blue strip), tap the F8 key to get the Basic toolbar, or right-click the blue strip at the top to display/not display other toolbars by clicking on them (checked=display; un-checked=do not display)

If this reply solves your problem, please click "Solved It" next to this reply when signed-in to the forum.

I'm immensely grateful for some extremely worthwhile results already, and I've clicked "Solved It", but I'm hoping you'll stay around for a bit more hand-holding. Here's why:

You say you performed these steps on your system many months ago. This means before FF5, right?

I've carried out steps 3-5 with Adobe Acrobat merely disabled as before, and they work rather erratically. I still suspect FF5. Some of the tabs so opened don't reload on restart and after any attempt to reload them Foxit crashes.

As you surmise, there is no toolbar at the top of the PDF display in the tab until I click display every time. I'm sure I didn't have to do that before. BTW it doesn’t help to tap the F8 key to get the Basic toolbar unless you first click the page, as F8 is set to rotate tabs. Obviously I could turn that off, but I hope to revert Foxit to its previous behaviour and get default toolbars back.

You may see from my earlier posts that I accept that Adobe Acrobat is so bloody pushy that I may have to uninstall it from the Control Panel, but that still seems a bit drastic. My son has the entire editing suite for Mathematical Physics and sends me files I might not be able to handle without it.

I don't suppose it would make you any more patient with me if I told you I demur to even attempt it after knocking back too much booze at dinnertime?

Yes, I made the changes to my system (as I remember, old brain) while using Firefox 3.x.x. It still worked in Firefox 4, works currently in Firefox 5 and Firefox 6beta. I have not had Adobe Reader on my system in maybe a year.

I seem to remember reading that the problem with the toolbars not appearing immediately above the PDF being displayed is a problem known to Adobe and will be addressed in a later release. I use Foxit and once the Basic toolbar was set, it shows every time I load a PDF in Firefox.

You may well encounter problems with both Adobe Reader and Foxit installed. I can not guide you through the process, but you should be able to un-check an option in Adobe Reader regarding displaying PDFs in the browser. Try loading one of your son's PDFs in Firefox using Foxit and see if it displays properly.

As for your last paragraph/sentence, maybe wait until tomorrow!

Bless you, Safebrowser. I never did have the problem with the toolbars not appearing immediately above the PDF with Adobe in or out of FF. It was Foxit I was talking about, and I guess you're right about me having to bite the bullet and uninstall the pushy Adobe from the Control Panel before I'll ever get Foxit to revert to its previous behaviour and show the Basic toolbar in Firefox once it's set.