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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? Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-11-01 19:43 +0000
                Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-11-03 03:23 +0100
                  Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-11-03 13:22 +0000
                    Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-11-03 12:02 -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? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-11-01 10:12 -0400
                      Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-11-03 03:28 +0100
                        Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-11-03 00:57 -0400
                        Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-11-03 11:37 +0000
                          Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? "Carlos E. R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2026-11-03 12:59 +0100
                          Re: What do you prefer for reading & saving PDFs on Android? Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2026-11-03 13:33 +0000
    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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#156804

On 2026-10-31 18:01, Maria Sophia wrote:
> Frank Slootweg wrote:
>>> When you act like an adult, I'll treat you like you're an adult. Clear?
>>
>>    Promises, promises.
>>    
>>    Someone-with-a-different-view != 'child'.
>>
>>    Someone-with-a-misplaced-superiority-complex != 'adult'.
> 
> Bullshit.
> 
> You acted like a child and now, as the first absurd excuse you can think of
> to defend yourself, you're claiming it's a difference of a point of view.
> 
> Name the "difference in a point of view" that you're alluding to, Frank.
> Name it!
> 
> HINT: If you can't name it, then it's bullshit.


Arlen... On second thoughts, I will not bother to answer.


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

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#156802

On 2026-10-30 17:35, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> wrote:
>> Frank Slootweg wrote:
> [...]
> 
> [Usual lies deleted.]
> 
>>>> The question was to find a UNIVERSAL solution that everyone can benefit
>>>> from, and I found it,
>>>
>>>    Using an extra file manager is *also* "a UNIVERSAL solution that
>>> everyone can benefit from", just a *different* one than you came up
>>> with.
>>
>> I get it Frank, that invest all your time shooting down solutions to
>> problems so that you can propose absurdly complex, substandard &
>> proprietary workarounds that only work for a subset of people, but...
> 
>    Since when is an extra file manager "absurdly complex, substandard &
> proprietary"!?
> 
>    And note that it is not just my suggestion. also Arno's (and I think
> Andy's).

And mine.

And I installed mine from F-droid, so it is not proprietary.


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

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#156741

On 2026-10-29 17:28, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> wrote:
>> Frank Slootweg wrote:
>>>    Read my other response. The Android version of WhatsApp cannot save,
>>> only share and share has no 'save' choice, unless you have a file
>>> manager, which can be a share destination, which can do that. (As said,
>>> no such problem with the Windows version of WhatsApp.)
>>
>> Hi Frank,
>>
>> Thanks for that data about Android WA not having a Share-to-Save choice.
>>
>> Thankfully, I found a way to add "Save on Device" to WhatsApp sharesheet!
>>   <https://i.postimg.cc/B6ryMZpn/saveasfile.jpg>
>>
>> As are almost all my solutions, it's universal, simple, and hence,
>> brilliantly elegant, since it works for any app that won't let you save.
> 
>    <barf!>

I also posted a solution using a file manager. But arguably, some people 
might find easier to use a small app that just does "saves as" which is 
easier to handle.

To me, it is easier to use an existing file manager than install a new 
app for a single purpose.

-- 
Cheers, Carlos.
ES🇪🇸, EU🇪🇺;

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#156796

Carlos E.R. wrote:
> I also posted a solution using a file manager. But arguably, some people 
> might find easier to use a small app that just does "saves as" which is 
> easier to handle.
> 
> To me, it is easier to use an existing file manager than install a new 
> app for a single purpose.

You're correct.

So is Richmond. 

What happened was, out of the blue, I needed to open a PDF in WhatsApp
which was sent to me by one of my kids who is on the Apple platform.

I fumbled about, and opened the PDF (because I needed to see if the
plumbing quote to advise my kid whether she should pay for it or not).

Turns out it cost me $15 in parts for what the plumber quoted $740, 
so I gave the parts to my son in law who installed them quickly.

Since I had fumbled with opening the PDF (ending up using a geotagger for
map PDFs, of all things), I figured I'd ask this ng what they use.

Turns out that both questions are immensely more complex when we dug into
them than they at first appeared to be.

I had NO IDEA how unintuitive the Android Share Sheet was, for example.
Nor how unintuitive the Open With sheet is. Nor the fact that, at least on
my system, plenty of apps that 'can' open a PDF, won't show up in them.

Anyway, we learned a ton about share sheets and open with, and we found out
from Frank's astute observations that the Windows WhatsApp saves directly.

The GOOD NEWS is we now have three apps which save directly if we need it.
 1. <https://f-droid.org/packages/name.lmj001.savetodevice>
 2.  <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mateusrodcosta.apps.share2storage>
 3. <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.trishunyainfotech.savelocal>

They should work in all situations. Not just for PDFs. And not just for WA.
That's good because I don't remember us discussing that feature before.

So we've accomplished the goal of appreciably adding to the ng tribal
knowledge in every thread. This is all new to me so I learned a lot!

Thanks!
-- 
On Usenet, the best ideas often come from someone else's correction.

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#156812

A few days ago, Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> wrote:
[...]

> The question was to find a UNIVERSAL solution that everyone can benefit
> from, and I found it, since almost never am I stumped by Android problems.

  Just for kicks, I checked another solution, which is universal (for
non-deGoogled phones, so not for your (deGoogled) phone).

  The solution is to use the (Google) 'Drive' app as your choice in the
'Open with' dialog, when opening the PDF in WhatsApp. (The 'Drive' app
should be standard on any normal Android phone.)

  While 'Drive' implies The Cloud and similar horrors :-), it can work
without the cloud, which we do in this case. The 'Drive' app will just
open and display the PD, i.e. step one of your "reading & saving PDFs on
Android".

  Now tap the three-vertical-dots icon and tap 'Download', which will
*not* - as one might expect  - download something from the cloud, but
will download the displayed PDF to your Download folder. From there, you
can copy/move it to any place you like, , i.e. step two of your "reading
& saving PDFs on Android".

  Elementary, dear Watson!

  Yes, this method has a few more steps if your desired 'save' target is
other than your Download folder, but it *is* "UNIVERSAL' for all normal
Android phones.

  As a famous poster said: "So no need to install anything else."! :-)

[...]

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#156822

On 2026-11-01 20:43, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> A few days ago, Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> wrote:
> [...]
> 
>> The question was to find a UNIVERSAL solution that everyone can benefit
>> from, and I found it, since almost never am I stumped by Android problems.
> 
>    Just for kicks, I checked another solution, which is universal (for
> non-deGoogled phones, so not for your (deGoogled) phone).
> 
>    The solution is to use the (Google) 'Drive' app as your choice in the
> 'Open with' dialog, when opening the PDF in WhatsApp. (The 'Drive' app
> should be standard on any normal Android phone.)

Yes, I thought of this, too, initially, but knowing who was asking, I 
skipped it ;-)

> 
>    While 'Drive' implies The Cloud and similar horrors :-), it can work
> without the cloud, which we do in this case. The 'Drive' app will just
> open and display the PD, i.e. step one of your "reading & saving PDFs on
> Android".

It is possible that there is a hidden step, drive making a local to it 
copy, meaning a copy in the cloud for it to work with.

Then the download button makes sense.

>    Now tap the three-vertical-dots icon and tap 'Download', which will
> *not* - as one might expect  - download something from the cloud, but
> will download the displayed PDF to your Download folder. From there, you
> can copy/move it to any place you like, , i.e. step two of your "reading
> & saving PDFs on Android".
> 
>    Elementary, dear Watson!
> 
>    Yes, this method has a few more steps if your desired 'save' target is
> other than your Download folder, but it *is* "UNIVERSAL' for all normal
> Android phones.
> 
>    As a famous poster said: "So no need to install anything else."! :-)
> 
> [...]


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

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#156830

Carlos E. R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
> On 2026-11-01 20:43, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> > A few days ago, Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> wrote:
> > [...]
> > 
> >> The question was to find a UNIVERSAL solution that everyone can benefit
> >> from, and I found it, since almost never am I stumped by Android problems.
> > 
> >    Just for kicks, I checked another solution, which is universal (for
> > non-deGoogled phones, so not for your (deGoogled) phone).
> > 
> >    The solution is to use the (Google) 'Drive' app as your choice in the
> > 'Open with' dialog, when opening the PDF in WhatsApp. (The 'Drive' app
> > should be standard on any normal Android phone.)
> 
> Yes, I thought of this, too, initially, but knowing who was asking, I 
> skipped it ;-)

  For 'Arlen', the method is not applicable, because he deGoogled his
phone, but for nearly everybody else. it's universal.

> >    While 'Drive' implies The Cloud and similar horrors :-), it can work
> > without the cloud, which we do in this case. The 'Drive' app will just
> > open and display the PD, i.e. step one of your "reading & saving PDFs on
> > Android".
> 
> It is possible that there is a hidden step, drive making a local to it 
> copy, meaning a copy in the cloud for it to work with.

  Yes, I thought of this issue, but there is no (temporary) cloud copy.
I could do more stringent tests like disabling tthe network, logging out
of my Google accoun, etc., but for me no visible copy in the cloud is
enough proof.

> Then the download button makes sense.
> 
> >    Now tap the three-vertical-dots icon and tap 'Download', which will
> > *not* - as one might expect  - download something from the cloud, but
> > will download the displayed PDF to your Download folder. From there, you
> > can copy/move it to any place you like, , i.e. step two of your "reading
> > & saving PDFs on Android".
> > 
> >    Elementary, dear Watson!
> > 
> >    Yes, this method has a few more steps if your desired 'save' target is
> > other than your Download folder, but it *is* "UNIVERSAL' for all normal
> > Android phones.
> > 
> >    As a famous poster said: "So no need to install anything else."! :-)
> > 
> > [...]

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#156832

Frank Slootweg wrote:
>> It is possible that there is a hidden step, drive making a local to it 
>> copy, meaning a copy in the cloud for it to work with.
> 
>   Yes, I thought of this issue, but there is no (temporary) cloud copy.
> I could do more stringent tests like disabling tthe network, logging out
> of my Google accoun, etc., but for me no visible copy in the cloud is
> enough proof.

I looked it up & I trust that Frank is correct that it doesn't use the net.
-- 
It might have telemetry but the file itself doesn't seem to be put online.

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#156712

Frank Slootweg, 2026-10-28 18:20:

> 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.

Exactly - "share" *is* the "save" feature, since this allows you to use
the data wherever you want. You can also "share" data it with a file
manager which then saves it as file.

>   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.

Yes - *if* the PDF viewer has a "save" function. This was the original
question in this thread - which PDF viewer provides a "save" function.
And since you can just use a file manager to store data as file, I also
suggested to "share" it this way:

>> 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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#156737

Arno Welzel wrote:
> Exactly - "share" *is* the "save" feature, since this allows you to use
> the data wherever you want. You can also "share" data it with a file
> manager which then saves it as file.

Hi Arno,

You bring up a good point, where, moments ago, I had responded to Andy 
after looking up the design intentions, and agree with you on this fact.

Luckily, the solution I came up with uses the share feature to save.
 *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/>

>>   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.
> 
> Yes - *if* the PDF viewer has a "save" function. This was the original
> question in this thread - which PDF viewer provides a "save" function.
> And since you can just use a file manager to store data as file, I also
> suggested to "share" it this way:

When I first saw you suggested "the PDF viewer" in WhatsApp, I didn't say 
anything because I don't see any PDF viewer inside of the WhatsApp GUI.

Notice I ignored, in this thread, all the suggestions that didn't work.
I focused on only the suggestions that stood a chnce of working for all.

I just looked it up to be sure about what I'm about to say next, which is I 
don't think there is a PDF viewer inside of WhatsApp, so that won't work.

Sure, it will work if the person has a PDF viewer, but, that's why I asked 
the question of what Android PDF viewer people felt they liked the most.

Of course, I have a billion PDF viewers, but that wasn't the question.
 <https://i.postimg.cc/tRmWnpFP/whatsappshare.jpg>

The question was hoping to find a GOOD PDF viewer (better than others).
-- 
On Usenet, we can pool our knowledge and skills so everyone learns more.

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#156738

Maria Sophia wrote:
> The question was hoping to find a GOOD PDF viewer (better than others).

In fairness to Arno, I should commend him for understanding the subject of
this thread, which he did, which is the chosen PDF viewer has to also save.

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#156749

On 2026-10-29, Maria Sophia wrote:

> Maria Sophia wrote:
>> The question was hoping to find a GOOD PDF viewer (better than others).
>
> In fairness to Arno, I should commend him for understanding the subject of
> this thread, which he did, which is the chosen PDF viewer has to also save.

Meanwhile, the one I did mention that also seems to have Save (As) has
eluded discussion so far :-D

-- 
Nuno Silva

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#156761

Maria Sophia, 2026-10-29 20:43:

> Arno Welzel wrote:
>> Exactly - "share" *is* the "save" feature, since this allows you to use
>> the data wherever you want. You can also "share" data it with a file
>> manager which then saves it as file.
> 
> Hi Arno,
> 
> You bring up a good point, where, moments ago, I had responded to Andy 
> after looking up the design intentions, and agree with you on this fact.
> 
> Luckily, the solution I came up with uses the share feature to save.
>  *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/>
> 
>>>   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.
>>
>> Yes - *if* the PDF viewer has a "save" function. This was the original
>> question in this thread - which PDF viewer provides a "save" function.
>> And since you can just use a file manager to store data as file, I also
>> suggested to "share" it this way:
> 
> When I first saw you suggested "the PDF viewer" in WhatsApp, I didn't say 
> anything because I don't see any PDF viewer inside of the WhatsApp GUI.

No, I didn't.

I assumed, that WhatsApp has a "save" feature (I never used WhatsApp).
And if this is not the case, then use "share" and select a file manager
like "Cx File Manager" as target where you then can save the file.


-- 
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

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#156763

Arno Welzel, 2026-10-30 15:24:

> Maria Sophia, 2026-10-29 20:43:
> 
>> Arno Welzel wrote:
>>> Exactly - "share" *is* the "save" feature, since this allows you to use
>>> the data wherever you want. You can also "share" data it with a file
>>> manager which then saves it as file.
>>
>> Hi Arno,
>>
>> You bring up a good point, where, moments ago, I had responded to Andy 
>> after looking up the design intentions, and agree with you on this fact.
>>
>> Luckily, the solution I came up with uses the share feature to save.
>>  *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/>
>>
>>>>   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.
>>>
>>> Yes - *if* the PDF viewer has a "save" function. This was the original
>>> question in this thread - which PDF viewer provides a "save" function.
>>> And since you can just use a file manager to store data as file, I also
>>> suggested to "share" it this way:
>>
>> When I first saw you suggested "the PDF viewer" in WhatsApp, I didn't say 
>> anything because I don't see any PDF viewer inside of the WhatsApp GUI.
> 
> No, I didn't.
> 
> I assumed, that WhatsApp has a "save" feature (I never used WhatsApp).
> And if this is not the case, then use "share" and select a file manager
> like "Cx File Manager" as target where you then can save the file.

The correct name is "Cx File Explorer" not "Cx File Manager".


-- 
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

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#156780

Arno Welzel wrote:
>> I assumed, that WhatsApp has a "save" feature (I never used WhatsApp).
>> And if this is not the case, then use "share" and select a file manager
>> like "Cx File Manager" as target where you then can save the file.
> 
> The correct name is "Cx File Explorer" not "Cx File Manager".

+1. I agree. 

It's on my system as "CX File Explorer" (as you correctly noted).
  <https://i.postimg.cc/YqnZzMvq/cxfileexplorer.jpg>

The main issue (that I didn't know, until moments ago when I tried to
document the list of apps/activities that show up in the sharesheet), is
that the sharesheet gives a DIFFERENT result on different invocations. 

That's nuts.

So, sometimes an app will show up. Sometimes it won't.
The only way I know, at this time, to get the full list, is using adb.

 C:\> adb shell cmd package query-activities -a android.intent.action.SEND -t application/pdf --user 0 | grep -E "(packageName|name=)"

That gave me 87 entries out of 54 distinct apps (64 individual activities)

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#156800

On 2026-10-30 19:58, Maria Sophia wrote:
> The main issue (that I didn't know, until moments ago when I tried to
> document the list of apps/activities that show up in the sharesheet), is
> that the sharesheet gives a DIFFERENT result on different invocations.

It is sorted by most recent use and some other criteria I don't know. 
So, yes, indeed it changes from call to call

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

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#156811

Carlos E. R. wrote:
> On 2026-10-30 19:58, Maria Sophia wrote:
>> The main issue (that I didn't know, until moments ago when I tried to
>> document the list of apps/activities that show up in the sharesheet), is
>> that the sharesheet gives a DIFFERENT result on different invocations.
> 
> It is sorted by most recent use and some other criteria I don't know. 
> So, yes, indeed it changes from call to call

Thanks. 

What I've found out in this thread is that the options are capriciously 
presented, where even the "Save on device" option shows up only sometimes.

I didn't know Android was that badly designed in terms of what shows up.
Now I do know that it's basically capricious in what it presents to us.

Which is good to know. Because we have to be prepared for it.

Anyway, Carlos & Andy & Richmond were correct that the latest Firefox 159 
acts differently than Firefox 117 did in how it's presented in the sheets.

Proof below:

Newsgroups: alt.comp.software.firefox
Subject: Re: Android Firefox does NOT show up in my WhatsApp PDF attachment OpenWith sheet
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2026 10:01:44 -0400
Message-ID: <11c7go7$2hik$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com>

R Daneel Olivaw wrote:
> Carlos E. R. wrote:
>> On 2026-10-31 19:04, Maria Sophia wrote:
>>> This implies that my Android Firefox build (v117.1.0) limits its 
>>> ACTION_VIEW
>> 
>> Update it. You are using an obsolete version, thus you miss features. 
>> FFx is striving to be the best free PDF cross platform viewer.
>> 
> 
> My Android Firefox says it is 159.0.
> Of course updating from 117 to 159 will totally change all sorts of 
> things because the developers seem to like change for the sake of change 
> but - irritating though that is - it is better to be current, especially 
> if you want some "correct" feature(s).

Woo hoo!

Carlos & Andy were right all along! 

Thank you all for sticking with this, because what I've learned is 
 a. Android Firefox 117 does NOT show up in the WA OpenWith sheet
 b. Android Firefox 159 DOES show up in the WA OpenWith sheet!

PROOF BEFORE:
 Firefox does not show up in the Samsung Android 13 WA PDF OpenWith sheet:
  <https://i.postimg.cc/59qhZRmR/openwithpdf.jpg>
 Firefox does not show up in the Samsung Android 13 WA PDF ShareTo sheet:
  <https://i.postimg.cc/YqnZzMvq/cxfileexplorer.jpg>

PROOF AFTER:
 Firefox DOES show up in the Samsung Android 13 WA PDF OpenWith sheet:
  <https://i.postimg.cc/9XNGYXGf/wa-openwith-firefox.jpg>
 Firefox still does not show up in the Android 13 WA PDF ShareTo sheet:
  <https://i.postimg.cc/9XtN17LJ/washareto.jpg>

The rest below are just the commands I used to install Firefox 159
(since I operate my phone from the desktop, as the phone is on Wi-Fi
so there's no need to touch it to use it when I'm at home mirroring).

Note: When sideloading Firefox from the official Mozilla repo
      <https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/fenix/releases/>
      It won't automatically update in the background.

The latest official non-beta build appears to be 159.0 in the list.
 <https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/fenix/releases/159.0/>
 <https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/fenix/releases/159.0/android/>

Since I always strive to make universal decisions that are globally useful 
to everyone, I decided not to install the targeted Firefox for my device.
 <https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/fenix/releases/159.0/android/fenix-159.0-android-arm64-v8a/fenix-159.0.multi.android-arm64-v8a.apk>
 C:\> cd c:\software\apk\browser\firefox\.
 C:\> curl -O https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/fenix/releases/159.0/android/fenix-159.0-android-arm64-v8a/fenix-159.0.multi.android-arm64-v8a.apk
 Name: fenix-159.0.multi.android-arm64-v8a.apk
 Size: 133943377 bytes (127 MiB)
 SHA256: F78E11ABC85C59DD7AAB03DD8F926AC62DF99731CCF62EC6EC937C18B3E33AA9

But, instead, I installed the universal Firefox that anyone can use.
 <https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/fenix/releases/159.0/android/fenix-159.0-android/fenix-159.0.multi.android-universal.apk>
 C:\> cd c:\software\apk\browser\firefox\.
 C:\> curl -O https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/fenix/releases/159.0/android/fenix-159.0-android/fenix-159.0.multi.android-universal.apk
 Name: fenix-159.0.multi.android-universal.apk
 Size: 304962287 bytes (290 MiB)
 SHA256: D95992785DC9D72D2EE0406477879E3B24AFD7E67768CB6E7476B11DE6B5F63F

The phone is in some drawer somewhere in the house, but since I fully 
control the Android phone over Wi-Fi from the desktop PC, I installed using
 C:\> adb install -r fenix-159.0.multi.android-universal.apk
      Performing Streamed Install
      Success
 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=159.0

 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
 
 C:\> adb shell dumpsys package org.mozilla.firefox | grep -A 15 "MIME Typed Actions:"
      MIME Typed Actions:
      android.intent.action.SEND:
        13b34de org.mozilla.firefox/org.mozilla.fenix.IntentReceiverActivity filter c74fa78
          Action: "android.intent.action.SEND"
          Category: "android.intent.category.DEFAULT"
          StaticType: "text/plain"
      android.intent.action.VIEW:
        13b34de org.mozilla.firefox/org.mozilla.fenix.IntentReceiverActivity filter 9429fdb
          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"

Thank you all for testing this as it didn't seem likely that
the manifest would change between releases, but it apparently did.
-- 
On Usenet you can often find people who know a lot more than you do.

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#156823

On 2026-11-01 15:12, Maria Sophia wrote:
> Carlos E. R. wrote:
>> On 2026-10-30 19:58, Maria Sophia wrote:
>>> The main issue (that I didn't know, until moments ago when I tried to
>>> document the list of apps/activities that show up in the sharesheet), is
>>> that the sharesheet gives a DIFFERENT result on different invocations.
>>
>> It is sorted by most recent use and some other criteria I don't know.
>> So, yes, indeed it changes from call to call
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> What I've found out in this thread is that the options are capriciously
> presented, where even the "Save on device" option shows up only sometimes.
> 
> I didn't know Android was that badly designed in terms of what shows up.
> Now I do know that it's basically capricious in what it presents to us.

Another consideration is that you seem to have a lot of apps that can go 
into that list. 60 I think you said. My list is far shorter: only 6 entries.

It is possible that Android doesn't cope well with that number.

...

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

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#156824

Carlos E. R. wrote:
>> What I've found out in this thread is that the options are capriciously
>> presented, where even the "Save on device" option shows up only sometimes.
>> 
>> I didn't know Android was that badly designed in terms of what shows up.
>> Now I do know that it's basically capricious in what it presents to us.
> 
> Another consideration is that you seem to have a lot of apps that can go 
> into that list. 60 I think you said. My list is far shorter: only 6 entries.
> 
> It is possible that Android doesn't cope well with that number.

Yup. +1. Agree. With every single thread on this newsgroup, I learn MORE
AND MORE about Android, but on this thread, I learned a ton about Android
in this thread, much of which shocks me because it's so badly designed.

For example, when I looked up what was happening, it turns out when an app
triggers a share action (ACTION_SEND), the Android OS dynamically
constructs the share sheet UI on the fly, but it caps out in a short time.

 So what openwith/shareto choices we get are, essentially, random.

They're not completely random, as you noted, as if you only have half a
dozen, then it's less likely to time out, but I have more than 10X yours.

Every openwith/shareto sheet set of choices is different. 

That's nuts.

Who knew? Not me. Now I do. And now we all know it. Which is good.

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#156827

On 2026-11-03, Carlos E. R. wrote:

> On 2026-11-01 15:12, Maria Sophia wrote:
>> Carlos E. R. wrote:
>>> On 2026-10-30 19:58, Maria Sophia wrote:
>>>> The main issue (that I didn't know, until moments ago when I tried to
>>>> document the list of apps/activities that show up in the sharesheet), is
>>>> that the sharesheet gives a DIFFERENT result on different invocations.
>>>
>>> It is sorted by most recent use and some other criteria I don't know.
>>> So, yes, indeed it changes from call to call
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> What I've found out in this thread is that the options are capriciously
>> presented, where even the "Save on device" option shows up only sometimes.
>>
>> I didn't know Android was that badly designed in terms of what shows up.
>> Now I do know that it's basically capricious in what it presents to us.
>
> Another consideration is that you seem to have a lot of apps that can
> go into that list. 60 I think you said. My list is far shorter: only 6
> entries.
>
> It is possible that Android doesn't cope well with that number.

Well, then it's poorly designed. Windows 4.10 with an editable program
list in the Start Menu might have lacked package management, it might
have lacked automatic categorization in that menu, but at least that
menu could be customized. A lot. As could context menu options for
content handling (Windows back then came with an editor for such
associations).

Meanwhile on Android 15, I've had to disable Google Drive in order to
make the application/activity chooser for PDF files put Fossify
Documents at the top, so that I could choose "Always". Did I miss some
other way of doing this? How does one change the order in which options
are presented, and how does one make it so that another one is the top
one, and how does one choose "Always" for an option other than the top
one?

Note: this isn't after an association has been set, but *before*...

-- 
Nuno Silva

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