Stop Edge from taking control of PDF's permanently!!!

Anonymous
2021-01-20T05:56:56+00:00

I am very frustrated with Microsoft Edge continuously hijacking PDFs.  I run Adobe Acrobat and need to have the tools.  I have tried the standard ways of setting Adobe as the default program for PDFs - through Control Panel, through Properties of the file, through Open with.  None of these work for even an hour.

I have also tried a couple of hacks through Regedit that seem to work for others but not for me.

I am at the stage that if i could I would uninstall Edge.

So, how can I permanently set Adobe as the default program for PDFs?

Microsoft Edge | Read PDFs | Windows 10

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-11-03T15:47:57+00:00

    Agreed MonroeMullinix! I have had to switch the pdf default 2 times back to Adobe just this week. There are 1000's of complaints (business and consumer) on-line dating back to the introduction of Windows 10 on this issue. There are 39 replies to just this post. Everyone, Microsoft is playing us here and could care less about these post and complaints and they no longer answer their phones. This is clearly a Government Antitrust and Unfair Competitiveness issue that needs to be remedied by the FTC. Is there anyone out there that has experience filing a complaint with the FTC? I will look into and any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, -Todd

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-02-06T23:55:01+00:00

    I unchecked the PDF file association in ACDSee and that fixed it.

    Thank you very much for posting this. I must admit that the possibility of some program other than Adobe asserting itself as the default in defiance of User Choice hadn't occurred to me.

    @Lester - is this a possibility? If you open Windows Settings > Apps > Default apps > Choose default applications by file type and click on the current entry for .pdf, is there any other option than Adobe Acrobat DC?

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-01-22T02:18:58+00:00

    There are supposedly unintended consequences with (at least) WIndows Search if you remove Edge. But you can create a System Restore point first and then Uninstall it using the method in this article: https://www.cloudwards.net/how-to-uninstall-mic...

    There is also the script created by this TechNet Uninstaller tool which creates scripts to uninstall apps that don't have an Uninstall button:

    https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcen...

    System Restore point to go back if needed:

    https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-system-r...

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-01-21T05:13:20+00:00

    Hi Greg

    Thanks for the suggestion.  I have uninstalled all Adobe products, rebooted and cleaned caches and Registry using CCleaner.  I've then reinstalled Adobe Pro DC and made sure that I did not make it the default from within the program.  Next I changed the default program association to Adobe through Control Panel | Default Programs.

    An hour down the track and it is still working.

    Let's see what happens from now on ...

    Regards

    Lester

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-01-20T18:04:44+00:00

    Is Adobe not listed as a choice in Settings > Apps > Default Apps > Choose Default File Type > PDF?

    Try reinstalling to see if it shows up.

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