Viewing PDF Shows Symbols Instead of Alphabetic Characters In Mozilla Firefox Browser

Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian products on the Data Center platform.

Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.

*Except Fisheye and Crucible

Summary

Symptoms

In Mozilla Firefox browser, viewing PDF file that is uploaded to a page shows symbols instead of alphabetic characters which are the real content of the PDF file.

Diagnosis

Ensure the Firefox Add-on for Office Connector plugin is installed in the PC that encounters the problem

Cause

The cause hasn't been known yet.

Solution

Workaround

Use another PDF Viewer instead of the built-in PDF Viewer by following the instruction in this article.

Updated on April 8, 2025

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