FAQ - How do I get documents (files, PDFs, etc) to open in a browser window instead of downloading to my computer?

This is generally a browser setting that determines if documents download to your computer, or open in a browser window. Below are some generic instructions from Google as well as a few example instructions for several common browsers:

Generic Instructions from Google

To have a Word document open in your browser instead of downloading, you'll need to either upload it to a cloud storage service like OneDrive or Google Drive and then open it there or configure your browser to use a Word Online or similar viewer. 

Here's a breakdown of the methods:

1. Using OneDrive or Google Drive:

• OneDrive:
  Go to onedrive.live.com and sign in. 
  Upload your Word document. 
  Open the document from your OneDrive, it should open in Word Online (the browser-based version of Word). 

• Google Drive:
  Go to drive.google.com. 
  Upload your Word document. 
  Right-click on the document and choose "Open with" > "Google Docs" (or similar). Google Docs will handle the document in your browser. 

2     Browser Configuration (Less Common):

• Some browsers may have extensions or settings that allow you to view Word documents directly in the browser, but this is less common.
• You can also try using a third-party service or tool that offers a Word document viewer within a browser. For example, Google Docs offers this functionality. 

3.   If you want to open files locally in the browser (not recommended for security reasons):

• You can configure your browser to open files of a specific type (e.g., .docx) automatically after downloading. However, this is generally not recommended for security reasons.
• In Chrome, you can find this setting in Settings -> Downloads -> "Open certain file types automatically after downloading". 

In most cases, using a cloud storage service (OneDrive or Google Drive) is the easiest and most secure way to view Word documents in your browser. 

Firefox

1. Navigate to your Firefox browser settings
   
2. Scroll down until you see a section called Files and Applications. 
   Here you can configure how you want your browser to behave with different actions and file types. For example, if you always want to have your PDFs open in a browser instead of downloading, you can find the PDF type shown below. You can also default all files to a certain behavior with the configuration under "What should Firefox do with other files?"
   
   
   To configure specific types of files, such as PDF, click on the down arrow on the PDF Action column as shown below and choose what you would like to happen for PDF files:
   

Chrome

1. Navigate to your Chrome browser settings
   
2. From Settings, navigate to the Privacy and security tab and find the Site Settings
   
   
3. In Site settings, click on Additional content settings down arrow to expand your options and find PDF documents as shown:
   
4. Once in PDF documents, you can chose the behavior you desire for PDFs:
   

Here are some generic instructions: