Understand "Open in browser" vs "Open in Preview" for PDF files When I click on a link to a PDF file, sometimes the PDF document opens in the Safari browser window, and sometimes it opens a new window and opens the PDF document in the Preview application.

Is there a way to predict which will happen, before I click on the link?  If I want it to always open in Preview, or always open in the browser, is there a way to configure the browser to do so?

I'm using Safari on Mountain Lion, if that is relevant.
Something that I have found quite useful is getting info for one type of file and then setting it so that all files of that kind open in a specific application.


  • Right click (or control + click) on any PDF file and choose Get Info from the pop-up menu.
  • In the window that pops up, choose which application to open that file with. (choose Preview if you want to open PDF files in Preview).  
  • Click Change All… to automatically open all PDF files in the selected application.