Safari 5.1: Fails to include PDF metadata when saving PDF file from Safari display

Posted by Pierre Igot in: Macintosh
September 8th, 2011 • 12:24 pm

I’ve already written about the fact that Safari 5.1 no longer lets you disable the so-called “native” support for display of PDF documents. If you enter the URL for a PDF file in Safari’s address bar and press Return, Safari automatically loads the PDF in the browser window, and the only way to force Safari to download the PDF as a file in the “Downloads” folder is to press option-Return instead of Return after entering the URL. (You can also option-click on a link to a PDF file in a web page to force the download.)

In previous versions of Safari, there was a hidden setting that let you disable this and force a download every time, even without the Option key. In Safari 5.1, this hidden setting no longer works.

Now, I have discovered an additional problem introduced in Safari 5.1 with PDF files. When you force the download of a PDF file, Safari automatically includes some metadata with the file, which can be seen in the “More Info” section of the “Get Info” window for the file in the Finder. For example, take the following link, copy the URL and enter it in Safari’s address bar:

StudentPerfBrochure1.9.pdf

Then press option-Return. (You can also simply option-click on the link above.) This will force Safari to download the PDF instead of displaying it in the browser window. Once the file is downloaded, go in the Finder, select the file and open the “Get Info” window for the file. You’ll see this section:

More Info

Quite a bit of useful information here, including the URL that the file comes from.

Now, instead of pressing option-Return, just press Return after entering the URL in the address bar. This will load the PDF file in the Safari window itself. When it’s there, go to the bottom of the window and click on the button to save the PDF in the “Downloads” folder:

Save PDF button

And now go in the Finder, select the file and open the “Get Info” window for the file. You’ll see this in the “More Info” section:

No More Info

Not quite as useful, is it?

The bottom line here is that, if you care about the metadata for your PDF files, you’d better make sure you always use option-Return or option-click to download them instead of saving them from within their display in a Safari window — until Apple fixes this bug, that is.


One Response to “Safari 5.1: Fails to include PDF metadata when saving PDF file from Safari display”

  1. Betalogue » Safari 5.1.4: Restores ability to disable native support for display of PDF documents says:

    […] displayed in the browser by clicking on the “Save PDF” button at the bottom of the window fails to include the metadata about where the PDF came from with the saved PDF […]