How to Disable Acrobat as the Safari PDF Viewer

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Last updated: Jan 05, 2024 by Wayne Chen
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Conrad McGarry updated July 17, 2014 at 5:39 PM


Questions Addressed

  • How can I disable Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader as the default PDF viewer in Safari? How can I disable Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader as the default PDF viewer in Safari?

Deleting the Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader internet plug-ins will disable them in Safari. The Preview application will be used to view PDF files in Safari instead.

Deleting the Plug-ins

  1. On Finder, click on the Go Go menu option. Then click Go to Folder...



  2. In the text field, type /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ and click Go.



  3. Locate the AdobePDFViewer.plugin file.



    Note:On OS X 10.7 Lion, there is an additional plug-in file: AdobePDFViewerNPAPI.plugin
  4. Delete AdobePDFViewer.plugin (also delete AdobePDFViewerNPAPI.plugin if you are using OS X 10.7). 
    1. Enter your password when prompted.
    2. Note: If you possibly want to revert back to using the Adobe PDF plug-ins in the future, you can simply create a new folder called "Disabled Plug-Ins" and move the Adobe PDF plug-in files there instead of deleting them.Restart Safari. When opening PDF documents, the internal Preview.app will be used.
  5. Repeat the same process for the ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ folder.



  6. Restart Safari. When opening PDF documents, the internal Preview.app will be used.

    If you need further assistance, please contact IGPP Net Ops.