Can't change default app from Acrobat Reader DC to Acrobat

SoFine409 said:

I'm having the same problem on one of my desktop PCs but this suggestion doesn't help. I've uninstalled Adobe Reader and reinstalled it twice but to no avail. The PC that I'm having the problem with is Win10 Pro but the one that is set up exactly the same but doesn't have the problem is Win10 Home. I wonder if that has anything to do with it

The solution I posted was made on Windows 10 Pro, so your problem may be something different. Are you trying to get the system to recognise a different version of Acrobat Reader? My problem was to change the default program for PDF files to Acrobat rather than Acrobat Reader.

To clarify: With Adobe Reader and Acrobat Std (no Pro) installed on both PCs (a Win 10 Home and a Win 10 Pro), I can only change the default PDF app to Acrobat Std on the Win 10 Home PC. The Win 10 Pro PC will not keep the change. Tried use file associations, the preferences in Acrobat Reader, and reinstalling several times. From searching the Adobe Forums this is not an uncommon problem. I'm just wondering if it has anything to do with the differences between Win 10 Pro and Win 10 Home?

SoFine409 said:

To clarify: With Adobe Reader and Acrobat Std (no Pro) installed on both PCs (a Win 10 Home and a Win 10 Pro), I can only change the default PDF app to Acrobat Std on the Win 10 Home PC. The Win 10 Pro PC will not keep the change. Tried use file associations, the preferences in Acrobat Reader, and reinstalling several times. From searching the Adobe Forums this is not an uncommon problem. I'm just wondering if it has anything to do with the differences between Win 10 Pro and Win 10 Home?

OK, when I made the changes in the file associations for Windows 10, it accepted my change but then reverted to Acrobat Reader immediately. However, when I made the change in the preferences/General settings of Acrobat (Pro) the change is permanent, after a reboot of the system. I did not try making the change in the Preferences in Acrobat Reader. Before I made this change I had changed all the Adobe file type associations to Acrobat Pro (as per this forum), although this change alone did not work - the .pdf files type reverting to Acrobat Reader. I do not have a Windows 10 Home to try. Your system spec looks very similar to mine, so I cannot think of any reason why it shouldn't work on your Windows 10 Pro box. The only significant difference is the anti virus software.

ams said:

OK, when I made the changes in the file associations for Windows 10, it accepted my change but then reverted to Acrobat Reader immediately. However, when I made the change in the preferences/General settings of Acrobat (Pro) the change is permanent, after a reboot of the system. I did not try making the change in the Preferences in Acrobat Reader. Before I made this change I had changed all the Adobe file type associations to Acrobat Pro (as per this forum), although this change alone did not work - the .pdf files type reverting to Acrobat Reader. I do not have a Windows 10 Home to try. Your system spec looks very similar to mine, so I cannot think of any reason why it shouldn't work on your Windows 10 Pro box. The only significant difference is the anti virus software.

When I open Reader here is the dialogue box that appears:

I click 'No' but that has no impact. As soon as I do this and close the application the icon for all of the PDF on my desk to change to the Adobe Reader icon. After that nothing will change them back.

I just googled this and it looks that this is an issue that people have had in Win 7, Win 8.1 and Win 10.
It is odd that its not happening on my Win 10 Home box. Since I need to be able to work with PDFs that I download through my browser on a daily basis, I'm just going to keep Acrobat Standard 9.x and ditch Reader. Its really not imperative to have both.

UPDATE: After doing a bit of research on the Adobe Users Forum I've discovered that the behavior by Adobe Reader DC is by design. It runs in protected mode and therefore is considered by Adobe to be secure. It therefore assumes priority for opening pdf files. However Adobe goes on to say that when it installs and it detects that you have another adobe reader, in my case Acrobat Standard 9.5.5, it will ask you which program you wish to be the default pdf handler. Despite numerous uninstalls and reinstalls I never get the chance to choose. Reader DC will simply not let me assign Acrobat as the pdf handler, except Edge. Also interesting is that this is not happening on my WIN 10 Home PC, although it also has Acrobat Standard 9.5.5 installed. Possibly if I changed Reader DC to the default handler and then tried switching back to Acrobat Standard 9.5.5 I might have the same problem. In any case I've ditched Reader and kept Acrobat Standard.
I've also noticed that whenever I uninstall Reader DC and then try to run Acrobat that Acrobat has to reinstall/repair itself. Could be an indication that Reader DC is doing something to Acrobat at a very basic level to insure that it remains the default. If anyone has any additional info I like to hear it.

SoFine409 said:

UPDATE: After doing a bit of research on the Adobe Users Forum I've discovered that the behavior by Adobe Reader DC is by design. It runs in protected mode and therefore is considered by Adobe to be secure. It therefore assumes priority for opening pdf files. However Adobe goes on to say that when it installs and it detects that you have another adobe reader, in my case Acrobat Standard 9.5.5, it will ask you which program you wish to be the default pdf handler. Despite numerous uninstalls and reinstalls I never get the chance to choose. Reader DC will simply not let me assign Acrobat as the pdf handler, except Edge. Also interesting is that this is not happening on my WIN 10 Home PC, although it also has Acrobat Standard 9.5.5 installed. Possibly if I changed Reader DC to the default handler and then tried switching back to Acrobat Standard 9.5.5 I might have the same problem. In any case I've ditched Reader and kept Acrobat Standard.
I've also noticed that whenever I uninstall Reader DC and then try to run Acrobat that Acrobat has to reinstall/repair itself. Could be an indication that Reader DC is doing something to Acrobat at a very basic level to insure that it remains the default. If anyone has any additional info I like to hear it.

Have you tried installing Reader and then go into Acrobat Std and making the default change there instead of in the Reader. This is what I did and have had no problems since. I can open a file in Reader, but this does not change my default pdf application - it always stays as Acrobat Pro.

I looked around but I couldn't find any place in Acrobat Standard 9.5 where I can make that change. Is it in Edit/Preferences/General? Could you direct me to the place I will definitely try it.

SoFine409 said:

I looked around but I couldn't find any place in Acrobat Standard 9.5 where I can make that change. Is it in Edit/Preferences/General? Could you direct me to the place I will definitely try it.

Unfortunately I am running Acrobat Pro X. In this version it is under Edit/Preferences/General and a large button in the 'Application Start Up' section at the bottom of the dialogue.

Unfortunately it's not there in 9.5.5. Thanks much for your help.

SoFine409 said:

Unfortunately it's not there in 9.5.5. Thanks much for your help.

When Acrobat changes the file associations it will be changing a value in the registry. Therefore it should be possible to find the appropriate place in the registry and manually make the changes. This may be something you are not happy doing, therefore your solution to remove Acrobat Reader from your computer is probably the best solution (or upgrade to Acrobat Pro X!). After all, you probably never use the reader if you have Acrobat - even the browsers allow you to have an Acrobat plug-in instead of a Reader plug-in.