I am using KDE on Ubuntu 6, and am trying to open a PDF from an attachment in the fewest steps possible. I am setting the computer up for senior citizens, and using Ubuntu to avoid Windows ME and giving more money to M$. It also looks cool and doesn't get those damn viruses

I guess what I really need to do is make the PDF viewer the default application in either my system or Firefox, but when I go into the Firefox settings, I don't know which directory my applications are in.

I tried making a shortcut to my PDF viewer on the desktop, but it doesn't work when I select it in Firefox.

I know that I can save it, open the PDF Viewer, and do a File-Open, but is there an easier way.

I am trying to figure out how to do this with other file types to.

Is there a control panel setting for default application, or do I just need to choose a default application in Firefox?

To my knowledge, there is no way in Firefox to change the settings for how it handles each file type after it is set. However, Firefox will asked how you want to handle each file type the first time you open it up. I recommend that you make Firefox "forget" how to handle files. Then you can teach Firefox how to handle files again the next time you open up each file type. You can make Firefox forget how to handle file types by renaming the mimeTypes.rdf file while Firefox is closed and letting Firefox create a new one. The mimeTypes.rdf file is located in your Firefox preferences folder, something like ~/.mozilla/firefox/abcdefgh.default/ ("abcdefgh.default" will be different on your machine). You could also try editing the file to remove specific file types (which, of course, is more error prone). Good luck!

So then it will default to Ubuntu's default application for whatever file type I am trying to open?

You can install add-on called "pdf download" where you can set how firefox will handle pdf files.

from: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/636/

"Allows to choose if you want to view a PDF file inside the browser (as PDF or HTML), if you want to view it outside Firefox with your default or custom PDF reader, or if you want to download it!"

Good idea, but what about Word Documents to AutoOpen in OpenOffice?

buckdog,
The answer to your question is basically yes, it defaults to Ubuntu's default application. However technically, I think the default is defined by your desktop environment, not by Ubuntu. My Gnome desktop suggests I open a pdf using evince - but I prefer Kpdf, so I set Firefox to use Kpdf instead. Your KDE desktop might already select Kpdf for you.<br>
I just tested the following steps on my pc:
1) I closed Firefox
2) I renamed my mimeTypes.rdf file to mimeTypes.rdf.bak so I could restore it if I needed it
3) I opened Firefox and opened a pdf file on a web site
A Firefox dialog box opened up titled "Choose Helper Application" with the following contents:<br>
"You have chosen to open filename.pdf which is a: PDF document
What should Firefox do with this file?<br>
(radio button 1) Open with Document Viewer (default) <br>
(this is a pull down menu that lets you select a different
application for opening the document)<br>
(radio button 2) Save to Disk<br>
(checkbox) Do this automatically for files like this from now on.<br>
(button) Cancel<br>
(button) OK<br>
<br>
4) I changed the default application to Kpdf, checked the checkbox to make this the automatic choice going forward, and clicked on the OK button
<br>
I hope this works for you.

This is my train of thought exactly, but I do not know where the actual application is so I can point Firefox to it.

Thanks!