Viewing a PDF file without downloading?

Whenever I open a PDF, or even a Word file from a website it always downloads and saves onto my desktop. I don't want that to happen. Is there a way to just open a file without saving it?

Thanks

One way or the other, the file has to get downloaded; otherwise your computer doesn't have the data to open.

Some programs will download to a TEMP folder and delete unwanted files once in a while; Safari downloads everything to the folder you indicate. This is actually a better set-up, in my opinion, because it lets you find the downloaded file easily if you want to keep it, and lets you delete it easily if you don't.

If you are using Safari, it can open PDFs in the browser window.