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
    2021-01-20T08:04:18+00:00

    Hi Greg

    Thanks for your reply.  I didn't have this problem until the other day when Adobe made me upgrade from my old, and better, Adobe X to the online version.  I have done this on my laptop and not had the problem, only on my desktop.

    I have tried a dozen times to set Adobe as the default through the pathway that you suggest.  But once I have had to do this a number of times within one session I figure that there must be a better way.

    I will start by uninstalling Adobe and see what happens next after reinstallation.

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-01-20T06:36:37+00:00

    Hi Lester. I'm Greg, awarded MVP for eleven years, Volunteer Moderator, and Independent Advisor here to help you until this is resolved.

    The complaints on this have gradually tapered off over the past five years to where I rarely see them any longer. What's worked most is to NOT set Adobe Reader as default in its own Settings, only in Windows Settings > Apps > Default Apps > Choose Default by File type > PDF. For some reason it's own Settings are ignored, but Windows are not.

    You may need to reinstall Adobe Reader from a fresh download to get it to show up:

    https://get.adobe.com/reader/

    If you want to report this to Edge Developers you can choose the Edge Hub (three dots to right of URL address bar) then Help & Feedback, then Feedback form to fill out. They will not even see it here, as this is a tech forums where mostly volunteers try to help others with their problems.

    I hope this helps. Based on what you report back I can answer any questions and may have other steps to perform.

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