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

I am very frustrated with Microsoft Edge continuously hijacking PDFs.

Just to set the record straight, Edge isn't hijacking anything. Windows 10 has a number of default apps for a few things so the user is never left high and dry. Since XP days, there has been a default browser, a default media player, a default mail client (except for in Windows 7, and that caused untold angst for hordes of users), and later, after Adobe released the PDF standard to open-source, a default PDF reader. Following all the expensive hullabaloo about browser choice, the concept of user choice was introduced. 

When a user changes a default app - using the Default appssettings page, or by selecting Always use this app ... in a file-open dialogue - the association is registered in key called UserChoice. Now, if an app comes along and tries to register itself as the default for a file type, Windows will reject this attempt to interfere with the inviolate User Choice and restore the Windows default. For PDF files, that is Edge. This mechanism also prevents malicious, accidentally-downloaded apps from making changes like this.

Older versions of Adobe Acrobat regularly try to reassert the program as the PDF default, causing the change you observe. This was corrected in later versions (released 2018 onwards), so the solution is to upgrade Acrobat to the latest version.

I have the latest version of Adobe (that is when the problems started) and have done the standard way of changing the association (through Control Panel | Default Programs).  I have also done so through right clicking on the PDF and changing the association that way.

Whatever I do I am in the same frustrating situation - I have been working on this desktop for just over two hours now and three times have had to reset the association back to Adobe.

I just want Edge to back off and let me use the product that I have paid good money for.

Hi Greg.

It has always been listed there.  I keep changing it and it keeps changing back - four times so far this morning!

That's really annoying, Lester. I had thought we'd gotten past that bug.

In the Adobe Settings have you tried NOT setting it as default reader, just doing it in the Windows Settings alone? As strange as it sounds, this is what worked for most when this was rampant several years ago.   WIndows wouldn't recognize any default except its own, and by itself.

Hi Shawn.

I have already tried all of the ways listed in the second link - multiple times.  

With respect to the first link, thank I had not tried that. 

Option 1: It was already disabled, so this didn't work.  Edge obviously ignored that.

Option2:  I tried this, but it is still defaulting to Edge again.  It worked for maybe an hour with Adobe, then went back to Edge.

I am at the stage that if I could I would delete Edge.

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