How to download PDF

A colleague of yours sent you the link to view a very important PDF document that will help you do a job and, after reading it in its entirety, you would like to download it to your computer so that you can also consult it at a later time and have it like this always at hand. Unfortunately, however, you are a bit inexperienced in using the computer and do not know how to do this.

So if you want to download a PDF, you will be happy to know that you have come to the right guide at the right time! In the course of this tutorial, in fact, I will explain in detail how to succeed in this intent, through the use of a browser to browse the Internet. I will show you all the procedures so that this operation can be easily performed from a computer but also from smartphones and tablets, so you can keep a document even when you are away from home or not at work.

How do you say? Now that you understand the topics I’m going to tell you about, are you eager to find out more? I can imagine it, so I recommend that you take a few minutes of free time first. Then sit comfortably in front of your computer (or pick up the mobile device you intend to use to download a PDF file) and carefully follow the procedures that you will find in the following lines. Are you ready to get started? Yup? Very well! At this point I just have to wish you a good reading and a good job!

Index

• Download PDF from computer
  • Google Chrome (Windows / macOS)
  • Mozilla Firefox (Windows / macOS)
  • Microsoft Edge (Windows)
  • Safari (macOS)
• Download PDFs from smartphones and tablets
  • Google Chrome (Android / iOS)
  • Mozilla Firefox (Android / iOS)
  • Safari (iOS)
• Open PDF
  • From computer
  • From smartphones and tablets
• Sites to download books in PDF

Download PDF from computer

Downloading a PDF from a computer is a very simple procedure to perform, as all major Internet browsers offer native viewing and downloading of PDF files.

The downloaded files are also viewable at any time even without an Internet connection, and both operations can be done without having to install additional tools. However, if you want to be sure you will succeed, you can install a PDF virtual printer like one of the ones I told you about in this guide , in order to use a third-party tool to save a PDF file on your computer.

Google Chrome (Windows / macOS)

Are you viewing a PDF through the Google Chrome browser (if you have yet to install it, refer to this guide of mine ), on Windows or macOS and you want to know how to download the file? It’s very simple: right-click on the document and, from the context menu, hit Save As .

In the save window, name the document using the text field you see on the screen, choose the path to download it and click Save . To do so, you can also press the symbol of an arrow down from the top of your browser, so you can see the previously mentioned file dialog.

Alternatively, to download a PDF , you can use your computer’s virtual printer feature or a third-party virtual printer. Then click on the icon with the printer symbol that you find in the top bar (at the wording Destination there should be the option Save as PDF or Microsoft Print to PDF , for example, on Windows ) and press the Save button , in to display the save window on the screen again. The procedures I have indicated to you are identical for both operating systems.

The downloaded file can be viewed at any time, through the Google Chrome browser or through the use of a program to open PDFs , such as the ones I told you about in this paragraph .

Mozilla Firefox (Windows / macOS)

The Mozilla Firefox browser (which I told you about in this tutorial ) also integrates a native tool for viewing and saving PDFs on your computer. Start it, then, on Windows or macOS and follow the procedure I am about to describe to you, which is identical on both operating systems.

Once the document to download and save is displayed, right click, click on the Save page as menu item , give the file a name, choose the destination path and click Save . Easier than that ?!

Alternatively, click on the icons in the top bar: the one with the symbol of a printer or that of a sheet and a down arrow , which are used, respectively, to print a PDF through the virtual printer tool and to save the document in a traditional way. In both cases, after pressing the aforementioned buttons, press the OK button .

The downloaded file can be viewed at any time, even if you do not have an Internet connection or have not downloaded a program for viewing PDF files , such as those I am talking about in the dedicated paragraph.

Microsoft Edge (Windows)

Are you using the default Windows browser , Microsoft Edge ? You will be happy to know that you can download the displayed PDF in just a few clicks. To do this, right-click on the document and press on the Save As or Print items , to save the file on your computer or to use the virtual print tool built into Windows ( Microsoft Print to PDF ).

In the first case, confirm the operation by selecting the Save button , while choosing the second option, click on the Print item . These tools are also accessible via the menu bar of the PDF viewer built into Microsoft Edge and correspond to the floppy disk and printer icon, respectively .

If you want to view the downloaded file at any time, you can use the same browser or use a program for opening PDF files, of which you can find some advice a few paragraphs below .

Safari (macOS)

To download a PDF via the Safari browser on macOS, you can perform a quick and simple procedure. Once the file of your interest is displayed, right-click and press Open with Preview to launch Preview , the native macOS tool for viewing PDFs. The file will be displayed on the screen and automatically saved in the Downloads folder .

Alternatively, you can press the overlay buttons you see on the Safari PDF file display screen : the icon with the down arrow symbol is used to download the file and save it in the Download folder , while the one in the shape of a a postcard is useful for opening it in record time with the Preview app which is located in the Dock bar . Easy, don’t you think?

Download PDFs from smartphones and tablets

Do you need to download a PDF on Android or iOS and you don’t know how to do it? Don’t worry: follow my instructions carefully and I am sure you will succeed in achieving this goal.

Google Chrome (Android / iOS)

Even on Android and iOS , the Google Chrome browser makes it easy to download a PDF . In particular, on Android , presses the link that contains a PDF file, so that it is automatically downloaded. You can then possibly close the Google Chrome web page and view the document using the Google PDF Viewer tool which should already be integrated into your device.

Then locate the downloaded file through the Download folder or use an app for managing files, such as Files Go by Google , to locate the document, tap on it and press on the item Only once or Always , in correspondence of the wording Open with Google PDF Viewer .

On iOS , however, you can download and save a PDF file within the File application , which you find pre-installed on your device. To do this, click on the Open in item that you see in the lower right corner of the Google Chrome browser when viewing a PDF file.

Then, from the context menu, tap on the Save to File item , on iCloud Drive and press Add . To view the downloaded file, use the File application which allows you to explore the files saved on iCloud Drive (free iOS cloud storage service with a plan up to 5GB expandable for a fee, with prices starting from € 0.99 / month ).

Alternatively, on iOS , always using the Google Chrome browser and after pressing the Open in item , you can tap the Add to notes button and press Save . To view the downloaded file, open the Notes app and press the saved document, which will be visible within this application. If you do not want to use the Notes app you can tap on the Copy to iBooks item , in order to view the document through this other native tool dedicated to managing ebooks.

To download and view a PDF file on Android and iOS devices, you therefore do not need a third-party solution but, if you feel the need, you can refer to the paragraph where I tell you about the tools dedicated to this purpose.

Mozilla Firefox (Android / iOS)

Are you using the Mozilla Firefox browser for Android and iOS and want to know how to save this document on your device, in order to view it later? It’s very easy: follow the directions below carefully to make sure you don’t make a mistake.

On Android , once you have tapped the link containing a PDF file, press the Complete action with download button or tap the Drive PDF Viewer item , pressing the words Only once or Always .

If you pressed on the Download item , the file will be downloaded and, to view it, just press on the Open item that you see on the screen or tap on the document from the Android notifications, and then press on the wording Only once (or Always ) in correspondence of Open with Google PDF Viewer . If you can’t locate the downloaded file, use the Downloads app or the Files Go by Google app .

If, on the other hand, you have tapped on the Drive PDF Viewer item , the document will be opened through this default tool of Google Drive ( Google ‘s cloud storage service with 15 GB of free storage space, expandable for a fee from € 1.99 / month ). Now to save it, press on the icon (…) and press on Download , in order to save it and view it as already explained in the previous lines.

On iOS , however, once the PDF document is displayed, press the icon with the symbol (…) at the top right, tap the word Share page with and then choose whether to press the Add to notes or Create PDF items .

In the first case, confirm the saving by pressing on Save so that you can view it with the Notes app , while, once the PDF has been created , press on the sharing icon and then tap on the Save to File item , to save it on iCloud Drive and to view it via the Files app .

Do you want to use a third party application to view the downloaded PDF file? In this case, refer to the paragraph dedicated to the topic .

Safari (iOS)

The Safari browser has several useful tools to download and save a PDF within iOS devices. If you are then viewing a PDF file through this browser, press on the share icon (the symbol of a square with an upward arrow ) and then tap on one of the items you see in the context menu: Copy to iBooks or Save on File .

Alternatively, click on the Create PDF menu item , in order to view the document via the Notes app . Then press on Finish from the top left corner, press  the share button from the top left corner and, finally, touch the word Save to File to save the document in iCloud Drive and find it through the application File I have already told you about in the previous lines.

In addition to using the native tools of Android and iOS, to open a PDF file you can use other apps, such as the ones I am talking about in this paragraph .

Open PDF

As I explained to you in the previous lines, it is possible to  open a PDF file from a computer, smartphone or tablet using different native solutions but, in the following lines, I will briefly tell you about other useful tools to achieve this purpose.

From computer

To open a PDF file from a computer you can use programs for Windows and macOS such as Adobe Acrobat , Sumatra PDF (only for  Windows ) or Skim (only for  macOS ). The programs I mentioned to you are free and some of them also perform additional functions related to editing PDF files. To find out more about it, I suggest you read my guide dedicated to the subject .

From smartphones and tablets

If you want to turn to the use of a third-party application, to view a PDF file on Android or iOS , refer to applications such as Foxit PDF Reader & Converter ( Android / iOS ) or even Adobe Acrobat Reader ( Android / iOS ), one of the best known and most used solutions that is also the counterpart of the program of the same name for Windows and macOS . If you are interested in learning more about apps, read my guide where I talk about them in detail.

Sites to download books in PDF

Do you need to download PDF books ? In this case you can do it, but you have to keep in mind that there is only the possibility of downloading books that are no longer protected by copyright. To do this you can in fact turn to web portals such as  Project Gutenberg , which hosts books in the public domain or even  LiberLiber  which offers the download of works that are no longer protected by copyright. I told you in detail about these portals in my guide dedicated to the topic that I recommend you read to learn more.

Also, did you know that through the Google search engine you can filter the search for content in PDF format? Just type in the file name and filetype: pdf. For example  Salvatore Aranzulla filetype: pdf . Easy isn’t it?