Open PDF Outside of Browser

This question has passed my threshold of answering as forum posts, so it’s going on the blog:



Does anyone know how to export a crystal report into a seperate adobe reader instead of embedding the reader into the current browser window?

I am successful in exporting to pdf and excel, but it would be great if I could bring up a “save as or open” prompt.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.


The “save as or open” prompt is something the browser does automatically when it encounters a file type it can’t open itself (either unknown file type or viewer program unknown).  There is a setting in Acrobat Reader you can use to override this, but it’s one the clint has to make–you can’t script it.  For Reader 6, go to Edit >> Preferences >> Internet, and uncheck “Display PDF In Browser”.


If this doesn’t solve your problem, try reading CodeSnip: Opening Crystal Reports in a New Window in ASP.NET.