Use Google Chrome to open PDF files

Are you sick of Adobe and other PDF readers?
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
You will need Google Chrome browser installed

Are you tired of Adobe’s security flaws which seem to need to be patched every week. Are you tired of freeware PDF readers that suddenly decide they’re not going to be free anymore, or try to bundle software and sneak it by you in an upgrade? Yeah? We are too.

I’ve been using Google Chrome as my default PDF reader for the last several weeks. I should have passed this tip on to you a long time ago, but it wasn’t until my aging mind was jostled by a tip I read online today that I really should have written this up a long time ago. Better late than never.

First you’ll need to download Google Chrome. It’s free, of course. Next you’ll need to click on any PDF on your computer. If you can’t find one, search your computer for *.pdf . When you find one, right-click on it and select “Open with”.

You won’t have Chrome listed, so you’ll have to browse for it. Wait! Here’s another tip. Chrome is not usually installed to Program Files, so save yourself some aggravation and click “Start”, “All Programs” and find Chrome. Right-click on chrome.exe and choose “Properties”. You’ll find the location where Chrome is installed next to “Target”. Trust me, you’re going to want to do this before you click “Browse” or you’ll be browsing all over your computer.

Now you can click “Browse” and know where you’re going. Find chrome.exe, make sure “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file” is checked, and click on chrome.exe. From now on your PDF files will open in Chrome and you won’t be tied to that monstrosity Adobe Reader anymore.

In case you’re thinking that Chrome has Adobe or some other PDF reader built-in, it doesn’t. It uses Google Docs to open PDF files.