Currently, when I click on an PDF link in IE, it loads Acrobat Reader embedded in IE, which I don't like.

Now, ordinarily, I could right-click/save-as, but this doesn't work on links in emails, etc..

Can I configure IE to download the PDF instead?

I recall asking the same question about zip files. The answer was counter intuitive. You have to check a box in the "file types" for PDF that is (IIRC) essentially the opposite of what I would expect it to be. Lemme look up the name of that box...

Ah, the box is in the advanced section of the file types, "confirm open after download".

Can't seem to make that box appear for ".PDF" on my system, you may have to muck with it a bit.

I was trying to get something like this for a while, and I think the answer turned out to be removing Acrobat from the registered plugins and then adding it as a helper application. Serious pain to make it work. Ultimately, the problem that was biting me was that Acrobat 6.0, when trying to run as an ActiveX plugin, would sometimes wedge and I'd have to kill it off with the Task Manager. I ultimately solved that problem by downgrading to Acrobat 5.0.

Is there at least a way to get the embedded Acrobat to fully download the PDF? I'm not sure if that's what's happening, but whenever IE opens it for me it takes forever to scroll through to the next page. That's what frustrates me about IE opening the PDF. It loads it so much slower than you could download it.

I always just let it open in the browser and hit the acrobat save button inside the window. Works for me (and also ends up caching the lot so it's still quick to move around in the embedded viewer)

Hugo