Android devices are versatile in their ability to handle multiple file types and extensions, mostly using the vast catalog of apps available on the Play Store. PDFs are among the most widely circulated file formats because they are platform-agnostic, and don’t require specialized software for access. The world’s most popular web browser, Google Chrome can access and open PDF files on desktop and Android, but a new flag inChrome Canary for Androidsuggests PDFs will soon open automatically after the download is completed.
Right off the bat, it is important to note that Google Chrome can open PDFs on desktop through the Chrome PDF Viewer plug-in, with the file location appearing in the address bar. However, the mobile version of the browser doesn’t support plug-ins and redirects to the Google Drive PDF viewer by default. Alternatively, Android users can install the Google PDF Viewer app to open that file format (works on select devices).
While Chrome’s method of accessing PDF files on Android isn’t changing, feature researcher@Leopeva64 on X(formerly Twitter) recently spotted a new flag in the Canary build, changing how PDFs are handled by the Chrome download manager. Enabling this flag should automatically open PDF files as soon as they are downloaded.
chrome://flags/#open-download-dialog
In the current stable version of the browser, PDFs just sit in the list of downloaded files until you access them through theDownloadsoption in the three-dot overflow menu. Since PDFs usually contain written matter or visual content you may want to access as soon as it is available, auto-opening downloaded PDFs could save you some time and effort. We tested it out and found that if you have a reasonably fast internet connection and the PDF file isn’t too big, tapping the download link feels just like tapping a shortcut to open the document.
That said, the flag controlling this feature is exclusive to Chrome Canary version 122, currently available on the Play Store. Google cautions against using Canary for everyday use because it may contain bugs, leaving it prone to frequent crashes. However, if you interact with PDF files regularly on your Android device, you could consider installing Chrome Canary as a secondary browser just for this convenience, because Google’s timeline for fusing this feature into the stable version of the browser is anybody’s best guess.
