Resource types

I'm developing materials with Moodle version 3.8. I want to add pdfs with the embed appearance so that the file appears within Moodle with the resource description underneath (I selected "Embed" and "Display resource description" to do this). Simple enough. In my view and in Student View, it looks like that, but when I tested with my dummy student participant, the resource description doesn't appear, just the file, as if I had selected "Open" instead. Any ideas?