Troubleshooting Guide
PDF Downloader
The floating button isn't appearing
The most common issue — happens on browsers that suppress injected page elements.
Some browsers (notably Arc) block extensions from injecting visible elements onto the page. The extension is still running and detecting PDFs — the floating button just doesn't render.
Fix: Use the popup instead
- Click the PDF Downloader icon in your Chrome toolbar.
- The popup lists every PDF detected on the current tab.
- Click the download button next to each file to save it.
Extension says "No PDFs detected"
The PDF loaded before the extension was ready, or is served via an unusual mechanism.
The extension detects PDFs by intercepting network requests as they happen. If the PDF loaded before the extension was active, or was served through a JavaScript-generated URL, it may have been missed.
How to Fix It:
- Reload the page with the extension active (Cmd+R or Ctrl+R).
- If the site uses a button to load the PDF, click that button again after reloading.
- If the PDF is behind a "view" button that opens a viewer, click it to trigger the network request.
- Check the popup — sometimes the PDF is detected but the floating button didn't appear.
Download starts but the file is empty or corrupt
This usually means the PDF URL requires an active authenticated session that expired between detection and download, or that the server rejected the download request.
- Re-authenticate: If the site requires a login, make sure your session is still active and try again immediately after the PDF loads.
- Try right-click save: If the extension can detect the URL, right-click the floating button and open the link directly to try a manual save.
Bulk ZIP is missing some files
The extension only captures PDFs that loaded during your current visit to the tab. If you opened the page, waited a while, and then triggered additional PDF loads, some may have been missed.
- Reload the page and trigger all PDF loads before clicking "Download ZIP".
- If the page paginates PDF lists, scroll through all pages to ensure every PDF request is intercepted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still need help?
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