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What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android?

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  What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-28 03:23 -0400
    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> - 2026-10-28 09:12 +0000
      Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-29 23:56 -0400
        Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-31 15:16 +0100
          Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-31 11:52 -0400
            Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2026-10-31 16:55 +0000
              Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-31 13:38 -0400
            Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-31 19:43 +0100
    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-10-28 11:57 +0100
      Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-10-28 17:20 +0000
        Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-28 15:32 -0400
          Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> - 2026-10-28 19:51 +0000
            Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-28 16:12 -0400
              Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-10-28 20:53 +0000
                Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-28 21:11 -0400
                  Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-29 12:13 +0100
                    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-29 14:31 -0400
                      Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2026-10-29 18:34 +0000
                        Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-29 15:23 -0400
                      Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-29 20:46 +0100
                        Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-29 20:56 -0400
                          Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-10-30 16:46 +0000
                            Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-30 14:29 -0400
                          Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-31 19:23 +0100
              Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> - 2026-10-28 21:23 +0000
                Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-28 22:37 -0400
                  Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> - 2026-10-29 09:23 +0000
                    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-29 21:13 -0400
                      Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> - 2026-10-30 07:09 +0000
          Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-28 20:53 +0100
            Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-28 22:51 -0400
              Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-29 12:16 +0100
          Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-10-28 20:34 +0000
            Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-28 22:51 -0400
              Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-10-29 16:28 +0000
                Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-29 14:54 -0400
                  Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-10-30 16:35 +0000
                    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-30 14:46 -0400
                      Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-10-30 20:02 +0000
                        Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-31 13:01 -0400
                          Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-31 19:29 +0100
                    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-31 19:17 +0100
                Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-29 20:53 +0100
                  Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-31 13:11 -0400
        Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-10-29 09:10 +0100
          Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-29 15:43 -0400
            Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-29 15:45 -0400
              Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-10-30 01:28 +0000
            Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-10-30 15:24 +0100
              Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> - 2026-10-30 15:28 +0100
                Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-30 14:58 -0400
                  Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-31 19:09 +0100
    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-10-28 11:28 +0000
    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-28 12:26 +0100
    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2026-10-28 11:31 +0000
    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? MCSM <despammed@mcsm.anonaddy.me> - 2026-10-28 13:32 +0100
    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Jeff Layman <Jeff@invalid.invalid> - 2026-10-28 13:21 +0000
      Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-28 18:22 +0100
        Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Jeff Layman <Jeff@invalid.invalid> - 2026-10-29 09:08 +0000
          Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-10-29 10:22 +0000
            Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Jeff Layman <Jeff@invalid.invalid> - 2026-10-30 18:32 +0000
    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-10-28 16:55 +0000
    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2026-10-28 17:13 +0000
      Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-29 21:40 -0400
        Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-30 00:07 -0400
          Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2026-10-30 07:27 +0000
            Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-30 14:58 -0400
              Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-10-31 19:12 +0100
    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Richmond <dnomhcir@gmx.com> - 2026-10-30 07:10 +0000
      Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-10-30 15:11 -0400

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#156675 — What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android?

Needed to have two toilet wax rings replaced so I received a PDF in
Whatsapp on Android of the $750 estimate (I ended up doing it for $15). 
 <https://i.postimg.cc/g2kQdrwY/toilet.jpg>

My question is what free no registration Android app reads and saves PDF? 
I rarely (actually almost never) deal with PDFs on Android. 

But this time, I had to read it, pronto, in order to make a decision.
So I had to do whatever was needed to read the quote emailed to me.

I tried a pre-installed Adobe Acrobat Reader but it immediately asked for a
login, which is just nuts, so I deleted it. Next I chose QField out of the
list, which read it, so I could see the quote, but I couldn't save the PDF.
 <ch.opengis.qfield>

That solved the emergency though, but it begs the question of a PDF reader.

Then, I tried "PDF Reader", which viewed it but it too doesn't have a save
menu, although it has print and share which shared to FV File Explorer.
 <pdf.pdfreader.pdfviewer.reader.officelens>

FV File Explorer saved it to wherever I wanted to save it but gave it a
strange name (original was toilet.pdf but it was temp_long-number.pdf
 <com.folderv.f

I then tried CS_PDF, which read it, and it also had a share icon.
 <com.intsig.cspdf>

The share icon shares it to an image, word or PDF or even a link or email.
But it only brought up FV File Explorer, WhatsApp & QField.

Next I tried NeoReader, which happened to have a few PDF books in it.
That read it nicely, in a flow. But it didn't have a save button either.
 <com.gzhi.neoreader.r2.main.free>

Anyway, I read it. I saved it. 
But what do you prefer for reading and saving PDFs on Android?

And, for the home-repair crowd, how does $750 sound for 2 toilet wax rings?

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#156677

Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> writes:

> My question is what free no registration Android app reads and saves PDF? 
> I rarely (actually almost never) deal with PDFs on Android. 

On my Amazon tablet I use Fennec (web browser), which I got from F-Droid
or directly from the Mozilla website. It's a bit of a sledgehammer to
crack a nut, but it loads quickly.

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#156753

Richmond wrote:
>> My question is what free no registration Android app reads and saves PDF? 
>> I rarely (actually almost never) deal with PDFs on Android. 
> 
> On my Amazon tablet I use Fennec (web browser), which I got from F-Droid
> or directly from the Mozilla website. It's a bit of a sledgehammer to
> crack a nut, but it loads quickly.

Yikes!

I just ran into a problem with web browsers used to get PDFs from WhatsApp.
See this response, verbatim, I just wrote to Herbert on the Windows ng.

A browser might not work because they don't show up in my WA PDF OpenWith.
Does a web browser open up in anyone else's Android WA for a PDF format?

  --- < cut here for my response to Herbert just moments ago > --- 

In all my decades on Usenet, I have NEVER disputed a logically sound
argument, where I'm sure opening in a web browser will work in most cases.

But please look at this WA PDF OpenWith screenshot from yesterday, Herbert.
 <https://i.postimg.cc/tRmWnpFP/whatsappshare.jpg>

Do you see any web browsers in that Android WhatsApp PDF OpenWith menu?
I don't.

Now, you might claim I don't have web browsers, but I have a billion.
So why don't the web browsers show up in the WhatsApp PDF OpenWith menu?

Looking up WHY there is no web browser in the WhatsApp PDF OpenWith menu...

The web browsers aren't showing up in that WhatsApp "Open With" menu likely
because of MIME type and Intent Filter filtering rules on Android.

When WhatsApp triggers an intent to pass a file, it specifies the MIME type
(in this case, application/pdf) or hands off a specific content URI schema.

Even though standard web browsers 'can' render PDFs, many mobile browsers
register their intent filters primarily around web URL schemes (http://,
https://) or specific web-based document types, rather than raw local
binary file intents coming out of a chat app's document picker. 

Alternatively, my research shows perhaps WhatsApp's custom share
implementation explicitly narrows the target list to apps registered as
dedicated document viewers or file handlers.

I THANK YOU for this extra test, which I didn't check until just now, but
you've just VALIDATED PERFECTLY why the brilliant solution we came up with
is better.

Assuming a browser will just "always be there" to catch and save a file
from a chat app ignores how messy Android's app-to-app communication
actually is.

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#156791

On 2026-10-30 04:56, Maria Sophia wrote:
> Do you see any web browsers in that Android WhatsApp PDF OpenWith menu?
> I don't.

I do. I said, days ago, that I used FFx to read a PDF directly from 
wasap, in Android. And FFx allows to download or share the file, and the 
later allows to save via file browsers like Cx.

-- 
Cheers,x
        Carlos E.R.
        ES🇪🇸, EU🇪🇺.

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#156792

Carlos E. R. wrote:
>> Do you see any web browsers in that Android WhatsApp PDF OpenWith menu?
>> I don't.
> 
> I do. I said, days ago, that I used FFx to read a PDF directly from 
> wasap, in Android. And FFx allows to download or share the file, and the 
> later allows to save via file browsers like Cx.

Hi Carlos,

Hmmmmm..... 

Thanks for checking that out for the team as that's not what I see when I 
long press on a PDF attachment and then look at the Android OpenWith sheet.

Clearly I have Firefox & just as clearly it doesn't show and neither do 
any of the other web browsers (on my Samsung A32-5G on Android 13 anyway).
 <https://i.postimg.cc/59qhZRmR/openwithpdf.jpg>

The first question to affirm is whether you used "ShareTo" or "OpenWith" 
(although browsers don't show up in my ShareTo either). 

And of course a direct file:// open from internal storage should work:
 Android > media > com.whatsapp > WhatsApp > Media > WhatsApp Documents

When WhatsApp generates an "Open With" sheet for a file ending in .pdf, 
Android queries the system for apps that have explicitly registered 
themselves to handle the application/pdf MIME type and support viewing 
local file URIs/content URIs from external apps.

To see what app handles local PDF views I ran
 c:\> adb shell cmd package resolve-activity --brief -t application/pdf -d content://com.whatsapp.provider.media/item/123
      priority=100 preferredOrder=0 match=0x608000 specificIndex=-1 
      isDefault=true com.google.android.documentsui/
      com.android.documentsui.picker.PickActivity

This told me Android's package manager checked the system resolution 
table and found DocumentsUI (PickActivity) as the only registered
handler for local content URIs with an application/pdf MIME type.

My web browsers, including Firefox, omit local PDF intent filters 
from their manifests, so they do not appear in this resolution 
table. 

That explains why Android strips them from WA's "Open With" menu.

To further see only the package names of apps registered for local
PDF viewing I used adb to reveal my Firefox does not register any 
intent filter for application/pdf under ACTION_VIEW. 

 c:\> adb shell dumpsys package org.mozilla.firefox | grep -i -E "pdf|mime|intent" -C 2

My Firefox only registers handlers for web schemes (http/https) and 
specific text types (text/plain, application/xhtml+xml), alongside a 
generic share receiver (ACTION_SEND).

adb shell dumpsys package org.mozilla.firefox | grep -A 15 "MIME Typed Actions:"
  MIME Typed Actions:
      android.intent.action.SEND:
        2900abb org.mozilla.firefox/org.mozilla.fenix.IntentReceiverActivity filter 59cbd84
          Action: "android.intent.action.SEND"
          Category: "android.intent.category.DEFAULT"
          StaticType: "text/plain"
      android.intent.action.VIEW:
        2900abb org.mozilla.firefox/org.mozilla.fenix.IntentReceiverActivity filter 1aa9797
          Action: "android.intent.action.VIEW"
          Category: "android.intent.category.BROWSABLE"
          Category: "android.intent.category.DEFAULT"
          Scheme: "http"
          Scheme: "https"
          StaticType: "text/html"
          StaticType: "text/plain"
          StaticType: "application/xhtml+xml"

Notice that ACTION_VIEW is strictly limited to web schemes (http/https) 
and specific web mime types (text/html, text/plain, application/xhtml+xml).

Notice the absence of any local document types like application/pdf 
or local file schemes under ACTION_VIEW.

This confirms why my Android system resolver omits Firefox from 
WhatsApp's direct document "Open With" menu.

So I'm confused why/how Firefox shows up for you, but it's
impossible for it to show up for me given that data above.

But maybe it's due to a difference in systems and versions?
 C:\> adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release
 C:\> adb shell cat /system/build.prop | grep -E "ro.build.version.release|ro.build.version.sdk|ro.product.model"
 C:\> adb shell dumpsys package org.mozilla.firefox | grep -E "versionName|versionCode"

Here is an all-in-one echo code to get both at once:
 C:\> echo "=== SYSTEM INFO ===" && adb shell getprop ro.product.model && adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release && echo "=== FIREFOX VERSION ===" && adb shell dumpsys package org.mozilla.firefox | grep versionName
      "=== SYSTEM INFO ==="
      SM-A326U
      13
      "=== FIREFOX VERSION ==="
      versionName=117.1.0
-- 
On Usenet, we improve our knowledge by sharing & discussing solutions.

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#156794

Maria Sophia wrote:

> My Firefox only registers handlers for web schemes (http/https) and
> specific text types (text/plain, application/xhtml+xml), alongside a
> generic share receiver (ACTION_SEND).
> > [snip detail]
> 
> Notice the absence of any local document types like application/pdf
> or local file schemes under ACTION_VIEW.
Presumably your Firefox is *not* installed from the Play Store?
Mine is, so I assume a different build, or different manifest ...

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#156797

Andy Burns wrote:
>> My Firefox only registers handlers for web schemes (http/https) and
>> specific text types (text/plain, application/xhtml+xml), alongside a
>> generic share receiver (ACTION_SEND).
>>> [snip detail]
>> 
>> Notice the absence of any local document types like application/pdf
>> or local file schemes under ACTION_VIEW.
> Presumably your Firefox is *not* installed from the Play Store?
> Mine is, so I assume a different build, or different manifest ...

Hi Andy/Carlos,

Maybe that's it. Certainly things are DIFFERENT in Android 14: 
 <https://developer.android.com/about/versions/14/features#sharesheet-improvements>
 <https://9to5google.com/2023/07/13/android-14-beta-tweaks-share-sheet/>
 <https://www.esper.io/blog/android-14-share-sheet-improvements>

But then that makes this whole concept even more capricious than it was.

If each of us has the same apps installed, and yet each of us get different
"ShareTo/OpenWith" options, and, I've proved, every time I run them, I can
get a *different* set of selections, this is about as capricious as can be.

I don't remember where I get any of my apps, but certainly some come from
Github, while others come from F-Droid, and others from the Google Play
Store repository (via the Aurora Google Play Store replacement app).

Let's look:
 C:\> adb shell dumpsys package org.mozilla.firefox | grep -E "installerPackageName|userId|versionName"
        userId=10160
        versionName=117.1.0
        userId=10160

As you had surmised, installerPackageName=com.android.vending doesn't 
show up. Actually, no installer shows up at all. Hmmm... that's odd.

It's the same for the WhatsApp (which I got from the WA server).
 C:\> adb shell dumpsys package com.whatsapp | grep -E "versionName|installerPackageName|userId"
        userId=10714
        versionName=2.26.42.70

Let's check *something* that we *know* will be installed by the GPS.
 C:\> adb shell dumpsys package com.android.vending | grep -i "installerPackageName"
        installerPackageName=com.android.vending

But I don't "think" that's the smoking gun because when Firefox and
WhatsApp return null or omit that line on my phone, it only confirms they
were not registered via the Play Store's installer database on this setup. 

However, as established earlier by the package manifests, even if Firefox
were installed straight from the Play Store, its source manifest
structurally omits local PDF ACTION_VIEW filters anyway.

If someone else would run the adb commands to prove that, it would help.
Or, if someone could show screenshots like I did, showing FF there.
	.
REFERENCES:
 https://www.androidcentral.com/apps-software/android-14-review
 https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/compose/sharing/send
 https://9to5google.com/2023/03/29/android-14-share-sheet/

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#156805

On 2026-10-31 16:52, Maria Sophia wrote:
> Carlos E. R. wrote:
>>> Do you see any web browsers in that Android WhatsApp PDF OpenWith menu?
>>> I don't.
>>
>> I do. I said, days ago, that I used FFx to read a PDF directly from
>> wasap, in Android. And FFx allows to download or share the file, and the
>> later allows to save via file browsers like Cx.
> 
> Hi Carlos,
> 
> Hmmmmm.....
> 
> Thanks for checking that out for the team as that's not what I see when I
> long press on a PDF attachment and then look at the Android OpenWith sheet.
> 
> Clearly I have Firefox & just as clearly it doesn't show and neither do
> any of the other web browsers (on my Samsung A32-5G on Android 13 anyway).
>   <https://i.postimg.cc/59qhZRmR/openwithpdf.jpg>
> 
> The first question to affirm is whether you used "ShareTo" or "OpenWith"
> (although browsers don't show up in my ShareTo either).

FFx has a quick button to "download". In my case it saves the file 
without asking where. I have not investigated.

And it can also share, from the three vertical dot menu.

Looking for something else, under "more" I also saw "save as PDF". 
Probably refers to web pages.


> 
> And of course a direct file:// open from internal storage should work:
>   Android > media > com.whatsapp > WhatsApp > Media > WhatsApp Documents
> 
> When WhatsApp generates an "Open With" sheet for a file ending in .pdf,
> Android queries the system for apps that have explicitly registered
> themselves to handle the application/pdf MIME type and support viewing
> local file URIs/content URIs from external apps.
> 
> To see what app handles local PDF views I ran
>   c:\> adb shell cmd package resolve-activity --brief -t application/pdf -d content://com.whatsapp.provider.media/item/123
>        priority=100 preferredOrder=0 match=0x608000 specificIndex=-1
>        isDefault=true com.google.android.documentsui/
>        com.android.documentsui.picker.PickActivity
> 
> This told me Android's package manager checked the system resolution
> table and found DocumentsUI (PickActivity) as the only registered
> handler for local content URIs with an application/pdf MIME type.
> 
> My web browsers, including Firefox, omit local PDF intent filters
> from their manifests, so they do not appear in this resolution
> table.

Maybe you are using an old version? I am on 159.0

> 
> That explains why Android strips them from WA's "Open With" menu.
> 
> To further see only the package names of apps registered for local
> PDF viewing I used adb to reveal my Firefox does not register any
> intent filter for application/pdf under ACTION_VIEW.
> 
>   c:\> adb shell dumpsys package org.mozilla.firefox | grep -i -E "pdf|mime|intent" -C 2
> 
> My Firefox only registers handlers for web schemes (http/https) and
> specific text types (text/plain, application/xhtml+xml), alongside a
> generic share receiver (ACTION_SEND).
> 
> adb shell dumpsys package org.mozilla.firefox | grep -A 15 "MIME Typed Actions:"
>    MIME Typed Actions:
>        android.intent.action.SEND:
>          2900abb org.mozilla.firefox/org.mozilla.fenix.IntentReceiverActivity filter 59cbd84
>            Action: "android.intent.action.SEND"
>            Category: "android.intent.category.DEFAULT"
>            StaticType: "text/plain"
>        android.intent.action.VIEW:
>          2900abb org.mozilla.firefox/org.mozilla.fenix.IntentReceiverActivity filter 1aa9797
>            Action: "android.intent.action.VIEW"
>            Category: "android.intent.category.BROWSABLE"
>            Category: "android.intent.category.DEFAULT"
>            Scheme: "http"
>            Scheme: "https"
>            StaticType: "text/html"
>            StaticType: "text/plain"
>            StaticType: "application/xhtml+xml"
> 
> Notice that ACTION_VIEW is strictly limited to web schemes (http/https)
> and specific web mime types (text/html, text/plain, application/xhtml+xml).
> 
> Notice the absence of any local document types like application/pdf
> or local file schemes under ACTION_VIEW.
> 
> This confirms why my Android system resolver omits Firefox from
> WhatsApp's direct document "Open With" menu.
> 
> So I'm confused why/how Firefox shows up for you, but it's
> impossible for it to show up for me given that data above.
> 

Check the version.

Notice that FFx is displaying some sort of URL that I hand copy:

content://com.whatsapp.provider/media/item/longrandomlookingstring


> But maybe it's due to a difference in systems and versions?
>   C:\> adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release
>   C:\> adb shell cat /system/build.prop | grep -E "ro.build.version.release|ro.build.version.sdk|ro.product.model"
>   C:\> adb shell dumpsys package org.mozilla.firefox | grep -E "versionName|versionCode"
> 
> Here is an all-in-one echo code to get both at once:
>   C:\> echo "=== SYSTEM INFO ===" && adb shell getprop ro.product.model && adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release && echo "=== FIREFOX VERSION ===" && adb shell dumpsys package org.mozilla.firefox | grep versionName
>        "=== SYSTEM INFO ==="
>        SM-A326U
>        13
>        "=== FIREFOX VERSION ==="
>        versionName=117.1.0

There you have. You are using an ancient version of FFx.


-- 
Cheers,
        Carlos E.R.
        ES🇪🇸, EU🇪🇺.

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#156678

Maria Sophia, 2026-10-28 08:23:

> Needed to have two toilet wax rings replaced so I received a PDF in
> Whatsapp on Android of the $750 estimate (I ended up doing it for $15). 
>  <https://i.postimg.cc/g2kQdrwY/toilet.jpg>
> 
> My question is what free no registration Android app reads and saves PDF? 

Why "save"? If you can view the PDF you already have it. And saving the
PDF you got via WhatsApp should be a feature of WhatsApp itself. So
whenever you recieve any file via WhatsApp - not only PDF - you can save
it or "share" it with a file manage on your device to save it.

My preferred file manager is Cx File Explorer.

My preferred PDF viewer is MuPDF.


-- 
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

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#156689

Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote:
> Maria Sophia, 2026-10-28 08:23:
> 
> > Needed to have two toilet wax rings replaced so I received a PDF in
> > Whatsapp on Android of the $750 estimate (I ended up doing it for $15). 
> >  <https://i.postimg.cc/g2kQdrwY/toilet.jpg>
> > 
> > My question is what free no registration Android app reads and saves PDF? 
> 
> Why "save"? If you can view the PDF you already have it. And saving the
> PDF you got via WhatsApp should be a feature of WhatsApp itself.

  I agree, saving *should* be a feature of WhatsApp, but - contrary to
the Windows version - the Android version of WhatsApp does not have a
save (file) feature, only Share. And by default - at least on Arlen's
and my Samsung phone - Share does not have a a save choice either. So as
you mention (below), you'll need a extra file manager to get that.

  But as I mentioned in my earlier response, you can just just view the
PDF from WhatsApp and then save the file from the PDF viewer.

>								   So
> whenever you recieve any file via WhatsApp - not only PDF - you can save
> it or "share" it with a file manage on your device to save it.
> 
> My preferred file manager is Cx File Explorer.
> 
> My preferred PDF viewer is MuPDF.

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#156692

Frank Slootweg wrote:
>   But as I mentioned in my earlier response, you can just just view the
> PDF from WhatsApp and then save the file from the PDF viewer.

I don't doubt anything Frank said, but my Android 13 Samsung didn't seem to
have a save in the WhatsApp GUI, but it had a ton of "open with" options.
 <https://i.postimg.cc/tRmWnpFP/whatsappshare.jpg>
 <https://i.postimg.cc/g2kQdrwY/toilet.jpg>

OneDrive, Book Reader, Avenza Maps, @Voice Aloud Reader, Universal
Installer, NeoReader, QField, Amaze Utilities, App Manager, CS PDF, 
CS PDF Editor, CS PDF Reader, FiiNote, File Manager PDF Viewer, 
Fluffy Edit as Text, Fluffy PDF Viewer, Fluffy View as Text, 
Image Toolbox, Material Files Save As, MiXplorer Copy to, MiXplorer
eBook Reader, Owlfiles, PDF Reader, ReadEra, ShareIt Lite File Browser, 
ShareIt Lite PDF Reader,  ShareIt Lite PDF to Images,  ShareIt Lite PDF to
Long1..., T2S, Termux, Text to Speech, X-plore, Xed-Editor as shown above.

If you look at that image, I don't see WHERE to just save the damn thing.
If there is a button somewhere in WhatsApp to just save it, I don't see it.

But as Frank mentioned, I can read it via any one of those, let me count,
at least 40 apps that will open "application/PDF" mime types on my phone.

The question is which ones do three things, which is all I'd need.
 1. Open PDF (by showing up in Application/PDF mime type)
 2. Save it outside of WhatsApp file storage
 3. And maybe also pinch zoom as the text was tiny

If there is a way to SAVE the PDF directly from WhatsApp, I don't see it.
Still, we need to VIEW the PDF, and WhatsApp, for me, asked for a viewer.

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#156693

Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> writes:


> If there is a way to SAVE the PDF directly from WhatsApp, I don't see it.
> Still, we need to VIEW the PDF, and WhatsApp, for me, asked for a viewer.

Why isn't Samsung Notes in there, as you have a Samsung phone?

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#156696

Richmond wrote:
>> If there is a way to SAVE the PDF directly from WhatsApp, I don't see it.
>> Still, we need to VIEW the PDF, and WhatsApp, for me, asked for a viewer.
> 
> Why isn't Samsung Notes in there, as you have a Samsung phone?

You're new here, huh? :)

Since it's a USA-spec Samsung, the bootloader isn't known to be unlockable.
 <https://xdaforums.com/t/is-my-almost-3-year-old-t-mobile-network-unlocked-samsung-galaxy-sm-a326u-bootloader-still-unlockable-and-hence-is-my-sm-a326u-still-unrootable.4638955/>

But, even so, with adb/shizuku I've degoogled & de-samsung'd my phone to
the point I accidentally disabled the capability of ever showing
advertisements, which I still don't know how I managed that, but I've
removed all the bloatware that adb can find, and I don't have any accounts
on my phone either, so there's no Samsung or Google account set up.
 <https://xdaforums.com/t/psa-non-root-adb-debloat-without-fear-by-reinstalling-problematic-system-packages-using-pm-install-existing-after-uninstalling-one-too-many-packages.4789795/>

I install via Aurora which scrapes the Google Play store without us needing
to set up a Google account on the phone, so I can run anything I want.
 <https://xdaforums.com/t/app-5-0-aurora-store-open-source-google-play-client.3739733/post-89547905>

What's odd is some payware actually works, but it complains that it has no
way of charging me, which I never did understand but which is not frequent.

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#156699

[Irrelevant/troll group snecked.]

Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> wrote:
> Richmond wrote:
> >> If there is a way to SAVE the PDF directly from WhatsApp, I don't see it.
> >> Still, we need to VIEW the PDF, and WhatsApp, for me, asked for a viewer.
> > 
> > Why isn't Samsung Notes in there, as you have a Samsung phone?
> 
> You're new here, huh? :)
> 
> Since it's a USA-spec Samsung, the bootloader isn't known to be unlockable.
>  <https://xdaforums.com/t/is-my-almost-3-year-old-t-mobile-network-unlocked-samsung-galaxy-sm-a326u-bootloader-still-unlockable-and-hence-is-my-sm-a326u-still-unrootable.4638955/>
> 
> But, even so, with adb/shizuku I've degoogled & de-samsung'd my phone to
> the point I accidentally disabled the capability of ever showing
> advertisements, which I still don't know how I managed that, but I've
> removed all the bloatware that adb can find, and I don't have any accounts
> on my phone either, so there's no Samsung or Google account set up.

  So once more you've created your own problem and sent us on a wild
goose chase. Nothing new there.

  Anyway, even with your degoogled & de-samsung'd phone, with the
plethora of PDF viewers which you *do* have, it should be trivial to
solve your 'problem'

[...]

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#156704

Frank Slootweg wrote:
>   So once more you've created your own problem and sent us on a wild
> goose chase. Nothing new there.

Act like an adult, Frank. 
And I'll treat you like an adult.

You always throw the first punch, Frank, and then act surprised when I
counter your attempts to attack, insult and belittle me, Frank.

That was unwarranted since you're assuming that nobody owns anything but
Samsung when you make that odd claim, and worse, that the product from
Samsung is the best in the world at what it does, both absurd claims.

I get it you're desperate to insult me, Frank, but bear in mind that your
hatred for me forces you to come up with such astoundingly absurd claims.

>   Anyway, even with your degoogled & de-samsung'd phone, with the
> plethora of PDF viewers which you *do* have, it should be trivial to
> solve your 'problem'

What's interesting, Frank, given I was polite to you in the response prior,
is your desperation to insult me blinds you to the basic question asked.

1. How do you get a PDF out of WhatsApp and into a PDF viewer, and then
2. How to save that PDF outside of the WhatsApp hierarchy.

Your claim that everyone on this newsgroup must only use Samsung, is
absurd, as you know all my questions are asked for the benefit of everyone.

Next time you're desperate to insult me, Frank, at least don't prove me
right about you, since it's tiresome to deal with your childish crap.

Act like an adult next time.
I'll respond in kind.

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#156719

On 2026-10-29 02:11, Maria Sophia wrote:
> Frank Slootweg wrote:
>>    So once more you've created your own problem and sent us on a wild
>> goose chase. Nothing new there.
> 
> Act like an adult, Frank.
> And I'll treat you like an adult.
> 
> You always throw the first punch, Frank, and then act surprised when I
> counter your attempts to attack, insult and belittle me, Frank.
> 
> That was unwarranted since you're assuming that nobody owns anything but
> Samsung when you make that odd claim, and worse, that the product from
> Samsung is the best in the world at what it does, both absurd claims.
> 
> I get it you're desperate to insult me, Frank, but bear in mind that your
> hatred for me forces you to come up with such astoundingly absurd claims.

Arlen, grow a thicker skin :-)

Arguably, you created the problem by removing a needed app. Don't get 
mad because someone tells you that. Smile and go on. :-)

-- 
Cheers, Carlos.
ES🇪🇸, EU🇪🇺;

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#156730

Carlos E.R. wrote:
> Arguably, you created the problem by removing a needed app. Don't get 
> mad because someone tells you that. Smile and go on. :-)

Hi Carlos,

First, if you really think I "created the problem" that WhatsApp doesn't
have a "Save as" button, then you're as nuts as the Apple nutcases are.

You simply can not blame me for WhatsApp NOT having a 'Save As' button.
If "someone tells me that", they are a bona fide idiot, Carlos.

Because I am NOT responsible for WhatsApp NOT having a 'Save as' button.
No matter how much you (and Frank and Richmond) try to pin that on me.

Your claim is so absurd that I won't give it a moment's further thought.
As for your claim that when someone blames me for WhatsApp decisions, I
should just "smile and go on", trust me that I smile when they say that.

But the way Frank said that was DIFFERENT from the way you said that.
Both of you made an absurd claim that defies all possible logic though.

But I only chastised Frank because his intent was to belittle me.
Frank's statements were just as absurd as yours were, Carlos.

But Frank's intent was vastly different than yours was.
You were just as wrong as Frank. 

But your intent was sincere.
Especially when you ask me to just ignore decades of Frank's insults.

I get why Frank insults me. 
He hates that he has no intelligent response to any problem he sees.

That's just the way Frank is.
If he simply left me alone, I wouldn't have to tell him to cut the crap.

But, he can't insult me, and, trust me when I say I have a thick skin. 
Everyone on Usenet must, just to survive. 

Even given Frank's desperation to insult me, I'm never actually insulted.

I am a substitute teacher and we teach the little kids that if they want to
be treated like an adult by adults, then they have to act like an adult.

You'll notice. VERY CLEARLY, that I treat Frank like an adult when Frank
acts like an adult. You really should notice that. I'm very nice with him.

But when Frank acts like a small child does, then, in response to Frank's
insults, I'm JUST AS CLEARLY gonna treat him like the child he acts like. 

Interestingly, Frank thinks I'm being capricious, as he's literally not
intelligent enough to believe me when I've said this a thousand times.
 
    *I treat everyone as an adult, if they act like an adult.*

It's that simple.

In fact, I chuckle when Frank says that sometimes I treat him like he's an
asshole and sometimes I treat him with respect that we accord to adults.

     *Frank has NO IDEA that I treat him EXACTLY as he treats me.*

He *always* is the one to throw the first punch, Carlos.
Always.

So, while the trolls like s|b & Nuno Silva attack me for responding to
Frank, I've noticed you never tell Frank what you just told me, Carlos.

     *Neither do the trolls tell Frank to act like an adult, Carlos*

That's illogical.

Why, if you expect ME to act like an adult in response to Frank's desperate
attempts to insult me... why don't you 1st ask Frank to act like an adult?

HINT: I know the answer. 
      But I want YOU to think about why you do what you do.
-- 
People only ask the most intelligent responsible people to act wisely.

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#156731

Maria Sophia wrote:

> if you really think I "created the problem" that WhatsApp doesn't
> have a "Save as" button, then you're as nuts as the Apple nutcases are.
> 
> You simply can not blame me for WhatsApp NOT having a 'Save As' button.
> If "someone tells me that", they are a bona fide idiot

But "save-as" isn't the android way, "share-to" is.

Which you've found a utility to act as a bridge between sharing and 
saving ...

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#156735

Andy Burns wrote:
>> You simply can not blame me for WhatsApp NOT having a 'Save As' button.
>> If "someone tells me that", they are a bona fide idiot
> 
> But "save-as" isn't the android way, "share-to" is.
> 
> Which you've found a utility to act as a bridge between sharing and 
> saving ...

Hi Andy,

THANK YOU for that strategic vision!
And, thank you for noticing it's not my fault WA has no "Save as" button.

More importantly, you happen to know WHY WA doesn't have a "Save as" click.

I treat your articles differently than most people's posts because you know
more about Android than I do, so when you say 'it's not the Android way', I
have to think about that, from the perspective of Android design strategy.

The solution I came up with I already had because I used it to save APKs
from the Google Play Store without having a Google login, which is a neat
trick given 9,999 out of 10,000 people think that feat can't be done.

But I didn't think to apply that APK-saving trick to WA saving until now.
 *PSA: I found a GREAT way to add 'save to device' to the Android share sheet (which works on apps like WA that don't want you to share to the device!)*
 <https://xdaforums.com/t/psa-i-found-a-great-way-to-add-save-to-device-to-the-android-share-sheet-which-works-on-apps-like-wa-that-dont-want-you-to-share-to-the-device.4806835/>

Looking it up, apparently your purposefully helpful advice touches on a
fundamental divergence in philosophy between desktop operating systems
(Windows/macOS/Linux) and mobile operating systems (Android/iOS).

Apparently, on a traditional desktop OS, apps are trusted (or given broad
permission) to browse & write to a global, hierarchical file system.

But when Google bought/designed Android (& Apple designed iOS), they
shifted away from that chaotic desktop model for various reasons.

I wasn't aware of that strategic mindset shift, until I just looked it up.
 a. App sandboxing
 b. Message-passing intents
 c. Bridging via the share sheet

I'm impressed that you UNDERSTOOD the strategic design better than I did.
I didn't even realize that though, until you said it, and I looked it up.

You're right.
Android apps don't really want to "do" a 'Save As', by design.

Luckily, our workaround is effective because it leverages Android's intent
architecture in a way the OS designers intended, but for a new purpose.

Apparently, these little utilities like Save on Device register themselves
with the Android system as a valid sharing target. When we tap "Share" in
WhatsApp and pick Save on Device, WhatsApp passes the file data to the
utility via an Android Intent. 

Because that utility does have permission to write to our local storage
folders, it acts as the bridge that WhatsApp apparently refused to build.

In summary, you've opened my eyes to WHY WhatsApp follows the rulebook of
passing data via "Share" while, at the same time, the utility catches that
data & applies the "Save" action that the desktop world takes for granted.

Thank you for EXPLAINING the strategic LOGIC behind the decision of WA
(and other apps) for not having something as useful as a "Save as" button.
-- 
Sometimes you can find helpful people on Usenet who know more than you do.	

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#156739

On 2026-10-29 19:31, Maria Sophia wrote:
> Carlos E.R. wrote:
>> Arguably, you created the problem by removing a needed app. Don't get
>> mad because someone tells you that. Smile and go on. :-)
> 
> Hi Carlos,
> 
> First, if you really think I "created the problem" that WhatsApp doesn't
> have a "Save as" button, then you're as nuts as the Apple nutcases are.
> 
> You simply can not blame me for WhatsApp NOT having a 'Save As' button.
> If "someone tells me that", they are a bona fide idiot, Carlos.

No, Arlen, we mean you having uninstalled "Samsung Notes" previously. 
Yes, you explained how that happened. I'm not criticizing you for that. 
But apparently that tool can do at least some of what you wanted (I 
don't personally know).

-- 
Cheers, Carlos.
ES🇪🇸, EU🇪🇺;

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