Here's a hacky workaround for you:

I found a strange entry in ~/.local/share/applications/mimeapps.list

application/octet-stream=gedit.desktop;

This means open almost any kind of binary file in gedit.

Perhaps you have something similar.

Deleting that line has solved the problem for me, until next time.

There is very likely to be a next time; let me explain:

Probably, one day I asked Ubuntu to open a file that I thought was text
in gedit, only to get some kind of scrambled nonsense since the file was
actually binary.

My particular case aside, opening an unkown file in the wrong
application is a very easy mistake to make.

Ubuntu quietly, and insidiously, saved my mistake as a mime-application
override (nothing indicates that your one-time choice will become
permanent).

Fortunately, this had no apparent affect on my everyday work in Ubuntu
(this time, other times it has had an effect.).

How could I have known that firefox gets its half-brained ideas about
what applications open what from that list of overrides.

-- 
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/918019

Title:
  Firefox does not use default application to open PDF files

To manage notifications about this bug go to:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox/+bug/918019/+subscriptions

-- 
ubuntu-bugs mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs

Reply via email to