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Henry Is5E13
Participant
September 9, 2020
Answered

Automatically changed all my pdf to open in acrobat. How do I reverse this?

  • September 9, 2020
  • 11 replies
  • 32998 views

I didn't know I had acrobat installed, it came with an update or something. I don't want it at all but it changed all my normal pdf files to acrobat files which has me confused. How do I change the files back to just displaying PDF instead of an Adobe Acrobat Document? Is there a difference? Can it be fixed by removing Adobe?

    This topic is closed to new replies. Start a new post to keep the conversation going.
    Correct answer Amal.

    Hi there 

     

    Hope you are doing well and thanks for reaching out and I’m sorry for the trouble this has caused.

     

    I want to reassure you that when a file is saved as a PDF through Adobe, it is still a standard PDF file and can be opened in any PDF reader, not just Adobe Acrobat. What you’re likely noticing is that your computer has set Adobe Acrobat (or Reader) as the default application to open all PDF files, so they appear with the Adobe icon. This does not change the file type—it’s still a PDF.

     

    If you’d like, you can change the default app on your device so that PDFs open in another viewer (like your browser, Preview on Mac, or another PDF program). Doing this won’t affect the PDF itself, just how it opens by default.

     

    Your clients should have no trouble opening and viewing the files, since they remain in the standard PDF format.

     

    Hope this information will help.

     

    ~Amal

    11 replies

    colette_2882
    Participant
    October 1, 2025

    Hi, I am having a similar problem. When I create a PDF,  it automatically saves it as an  Adobe file .  There is no option to do anything else. The clients I send these to don't want Adobe files, they just want a regular PDF. And it automatically converted all my previously saved PDFs to Adobe. I hate this and I'm not happy. 

     

    Amal.
    Amal.Correct answer
    Legend
    October 2, 2025

    Hi there 

     

    Hope you are doing well and thanks for reaching out and I’m sorry for the trouble this has caused.

     

    I want to reassure you that when a file is saved as a PDF through Adobe, it is still a standard PDF file and can be opened in any PDF reader, not just Adobe Acrobat. What you’re likely noticing is that your computer has set Adobe Acrobat (or Reader) as the default application to open all PDF files, so they appear with the Adobe icon. This does not change the file type—it’s still a PDF.

     

    If you’d like, you can change the default app on your device so that PDFs open in another viewer (like your browser, Preview on Mac, or another PDF program). Doing this won’t affect the PDF itself, just how it opens by default.

     

    Your clients should have no trouble opening and viewing the files, since they remain in the standard PDF format.

     

    Hope this information will help.

     

    ~Amal

    Pat35544343gfgs
    Participant
    February 19, 2024

    Henry.  Your answer is insufficient. WHY...Why should I have to go through individually thousands of files to revert back to PDF all those that Adobe without my knowledge or permission swictlltched to Adobe. 

    PLEASE COME UP WITH A BETTER ANSWER THAT DOES NOT TAKE HOURS OF MY TIME.  Adobe taketh away, and Adobe should restore....efficiently.

      Amal.
      Amal.
      Legend
      February 19, 2024

      Hi there

       

      What is the version of the Acrobat DC you are using? To check the version go to Help > About Acrobat and make sure you have the recent version 23.08.20533 installed. Go to Help > Check for updates and reboot the computer once.

      Also try to repair the installation from the help menu (Win Only) and see if that works.

      Please try to reset the Acrobat preferences as described here https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/how-to-reset-acrobat-preference-settings-to-default/td-p/4792082

       

      Let us know how it goes.

       

      ~Amal

      Anonymous
      January 23, 2024

      Same thing as above....suddenly Acrobat is opening everything and it is a pain.

      I have never optioned it as the 'Open in'  selection...It is nearly always Chrome, sometimes

      Word.   What's up here?

        Amal.
        Amal.
        Legend
        September 10, 2020

        Hi Henry

         

        We are sorry for the trouble. Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is a freeware application used for viewing, printing, signing, sharing, and annotating PDFs For more information please look at the help page https://helpx.adobe.com/in/reader/faq.html

         

        You may change the default PDF viewer on your computer as follows

         

        For Mac:

        1. Select any PDF file from Finder. Control-click to open the menu.
        2. Choose Get Info from the menu that opens.
        3. From the Open with: section in the new window that opens, select your preferred application, such as Adobe Reader or Preview.
        4. Click the Change All button.

         

        For Windows:

        1. Right Click on the PDF file.

        2. Go to properties.

        3. Under, Open With  Click on 'Change'

        4. Select the desired application from the list of applications and click OK.

         

        Regards

        Amal

          Carly23674588b1f5
          Participant
          March 21, 2022

          somehow I changed all mine to google I want to change all PDF back to adobe how can I change all of them at once?

           

          Amal.
          Amal.
          Legend
          March 21, 2022

          Hi there,

           

          Please check the steps shared above and see if that works.

           

          Regards

          Amal

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