navigator.pdfViewerEnabled is a read-only Navigator property that returns a Boolean: true if the browser can show PDFs inline when you navigate to them, false if the PDF is downloaded instead (MDN).
Read the notes below before you rely on this property. Prefer feature detection when support is limited.
Use navigator.pdfViewerEnabled. Start with this line.
navigator.pdfViewerEnabled| Call | What it does |
|---|---|
navigator.pdfViewerEnabled | Primary signature. |
Built into the browser. Read navigator.pdfViewerEnabled on Navigator — no import required.
navigator.pdfViewerEnabledThis member has no parameters beyond those shown in the signature.
| Return Value | Description |
|---|---|
| * | The current value of navigator.pdfViewerEnabled. |
Print the current inline-PDF capability flag.
console.log(navigator.pdfViewerEnabled);true = inline capable. Built-in viewer or PDF extension.false = download path. External app may open the file.if (!enabled)Use MDN’s recommended guard when inline viewing is missing.
if (!navigator.pdfViewerEnabled) {
console.log("The browser does not support inline viewing of PDF files.");
} else {
console.log("Inline PDF viewing is supported.");
}Turn the Boolean into short UI copy for banners or buttons.
const label = navigator.pdfViewerEnabled
? "Open PDF in browser"
: "Download PDF";
console.log(label);mimeTypesCompare the modern Boolean with the legacy PDF MIME check.
const modern = Boolean(navigator.pdfViewerEnabled);
const legacy =
"mimeTypes" in navigator &&
"application/pdf" in navigator.mimeTypes;
console.log("pdfViewerEnabled: " + modern);
console.log("application/pdf in mimeTypes: " + legacy);
console.log("Prefer pdfViewerEnabled for new PDF UI decisions");Return a small plan: mode, button label, and tip text.
function pdfPlan() {
if (navigator.pdfViewerEnabled) {
return {
mode: "inline",
button: "View PDF",
tip: "Opens in the browser when possible"
};
}
return {
mode: "download",
button: "Download PDF",
tip: "This browser may download PDFs instead of showing them"
};
}
console.log(JSON.stringify(pdfPlan(), null, 2));navigator.pdfViewerEnabled is Baseline Widely available (MDN, since about March 2023). Use it as the modern inline-PDF capability check.
Supported in modern Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera. Prefer it over legacy mimeTypes PDF sniffing.
Bottom line: Safe for modern PDF UX. Read the Boolean, adjust labels/tips, and stop inferring from mimeTypes in new code.
Learn how navigator.permissions queries permission status via the Permissions API.
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