The other night I needed to download a couple hundred PDF’s from a single web page and was hoping to do so using a Google Chrome extension. After a quick search I located the Download All extension for Chrome that allows you to specify a specific type of file to download from a single web page however there are a couple steps that need to be completed before allowing it to work with PDF files. Follow the directions below to install the Download All extension for Google Chrome, configure Chrome to allow it to work, configure Download All to allow it to work, and last but not least download every single PDF linked from a specific web page.
Install Download All Extension For Google Chrome:
Click here in your Chrome browser to visit the Download All extension web page. Click the blue Install button to install the Download All extension for Google Chrome.
Modify Chrome Settings To Allow Download All To Download PDF’s:
- Disable Chrome PDF Viewer: To disable the Chrome PDF Viewer click the wrench in the top right corner of your Chrome browser and select Options from the drop down menu. This will open the Chrome Options configuration window as shown in the below example image.
Now click the Under The Hood tab which will look similar to the below.
Once on the Under The Hood tab click the “Content settings…” button to open the below window.
Now select Plug-ins from the left navigation of the Content Settings configuration window as shown in the below example image.
Click the small link underneath the Exceptions button called “Disable individual plug-ins…” to open the Chrome Plug-Ins configuration window as shown in the below example image.
Scroll down to Chrome PDF Viewer and click the Disable link which will make the Chrome PDF Viewer display greyed out as shown in the above example image. Once disabled you can close the Plug-Ins configuration window as well as the Content Settings configuration window but leave the Chrome Options Under The Hood configuration window open.
- Disable Ask Where To Save Downloads: Now scroll down the Under The Hood configuration window until you see the Downloads section. Make sure there is not a check mark in the box next to “Ask where to save each file before downloading” and if there is remove the check mark.
You can also temporarily modify the download location by clicking on the Browse button and selecting a different folder. I would suggest creating a folder for the set of PDF’s you are going to download, selecting that folder as the download location, and then modifying the setting again once you are done downloading all of the PDF files. Once these settings have been modified click the Close button to close the Google Chrome Options configuration window.
Now that Google Chrome is configured you will need to modify the Download All extension settings. This can be done using the information below.
Modify Download All Extension Settings For PDF Downloads:
In your Chrome browser window you should now see a double blue downward arrow which is displayed in the example image below. The icon shown below is the Download All extension icon.
Click the Download All extension icon to display the Download All extension file type selection as well as a note about the Download All extension as shown in the below example image.
Click the “tweak it” link to go to the Download All extension configuration page as shown in the below example image. You should remove “pdf” from the Filetypes list and then click the save button. In the example image below pdf has already been removed and saved.
With these settings completed you are now ready to begin using the Download All extension for Google Chrome to download all PDF’s on a single web page.
Download All PDF’s On A Single Web Page Using The Chrome Download All Extension:
Visit the web page that has links to all of the PDF files you would like to download and click the Download All extension icon. Type pdf in the “Download files of this filetype” window and then click the Download All button. This will display a pop up in the middle of the page asking how many files to download at a time. I would suggest downloading only 1 or 2 PDF files initially to make sure everything is working and then click the Download button.
You will notice that you will get a warning message for each PDF file downloaded that states the file could be harmful to your computer as shown in the below example image.
You will have to click Save for each PDF that is downloaded. I found that the easiest way to do this is to open a second tab and type in “chrome://downloads” which will list all downloaded files. This way you can quickly click save for each PDF file you are downloading. While this is not the most convenient method it still beats right clicking and selecting Save As for each single PDF file. The files will be located in the folder you created in the earlier Chrome Settings section above.
