Documentation Issue: They're Not Really "Downloads" for Two Layers

I’m annoyed by one aspect of even obtaining documentation: The buttons labelled “download”… don’t. They instead force open a reader window (in the same tab) for PDFs. THAT’S NOT A DOWNLOAD. (That the reader itself doesn’t include a “save to disk” command on its top level, but hides it — also called “download” — inside a menu, while it does provide a “print” command on the top level, is the second layer and a further annoyance.)

If it’s not saving directly to disk, it’s not a download. Please don’t call it something that it’s not. If you are going to insist on working only through that within-browser special reader (foolishly, IMNSHO — requiring or implicitly encouraging documentation to be online-only for a program that is locally installed is rather self-defeating),* ensure that it’s set up so that there’s a “save to disk” at least on the top line, and preferably right next to the Print icon.

This is much more a “usability of LibreOffice.org” than “usability of LibreOffice” issue, but things can cascade all too easily.

  • This is particularly annoying to those of us who don’t read PDFs in the browser in the first place, but instead use a separate program – one that can be optimized for certain visual issues in ways that none of the browsers on the market (nor that special reader) can.

That is a setting in your browser.

1 Like

Please, improve your question. I don"t understand it at all. Is it related yo the AskLO site? To TDF online documentation site? To implemented LO Help function?

Which is your LO version and OS (because some platforms have embedded help not using an external browser) if you’re targeting buit-in help?

@BruceTheShark


To confirm @EarnestAl’s comment: This is what the setting looks like in the Opera browser.


2026-07-22 09 31 50

What browser do you use? I also see this more often since Mozilla integrated a pdf-reader. Actually it is (usually) a download to some temporary folder and opened from there.
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As @EarnestAl already wrote: Check settings of your browser how to handle pdf.

My readers in the browser usually have the downward arrow available for this…

I already have all PDFs set to download in Firefox. Your system is overriding that preference. My mention of “other readers” and “those of us who don’t read PDFs in the browser” seems to have not been quite clear enough.

Thus, none of the suggestions are on point.