Royce asked:
How can I disable or tweak Download Manager so that files can be read in line with the download and manually launch through the Download Manager?
I want to be able to click on a PDF or Word doc and have it open inline without having the Download Manager handle it to the desktop first.
Context:
Some people say the inline display of PDF and Word documents enables bad habits that are making the web less accessible and harder to use. Word and PDF viewers aren’t available on all devices, and screen readers and other accessibility devices aren’t always able to work with them. Even when viewed in the browser window, the user loses the context of the website that hosted it. Once the PDF or Word doc are on screen, the branding and navigation tools of your website are gone. Finally, Word files often contain hidden data — like passwords and your document history — that you probably don’t want to share.
Answer:
Content producers should think carefully before posting a PDF or any MS Office document on the web. Users, on the other hand, can make their own decisions about how they use content. Harvard Med School reports that “Schubert-it offers free to Educational users their PDF and MS Word plugin.” Here are the links:
Also, it isn’t directly related to this, but modifying MacOS X doesn’t make it easy to choose what application launches for what file type. Rubicode’s RCDefaultApp does.