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A
agsteele
Participant
November 5, 2016
Answered

Edge takes over PDF files - Where is the best place to raise my issue..?

  • November 5, 2016
  • 3 replies
  • 5517 views

I have an issue with Microsoft Edge continually taking over the default for PDF files even though I change it back to Acrobat.  I realise that this is a M'soft issue and I plan to complain there.  However, I can imagine that I will not get a hearing.

But it is an issue that many people seem to face and I would imagine that Adobe might have a view that this issue is anti-competitive.  But there is no obvious place to pass the concern up the chain.

FWIW, the issue is as follows...

1.  I use Acrobat XI (not the reader) and do not wish to uopgrade to DC.  XI offers me the functions I require and DC seems to limit my options.  I can access the default app for pdf files setting in Windows 10 Settings and select Acrobat.

2.  For the time being every time I click on a pdf file it will open in Acrobat.

3.  At some indeterminate point in the next 24-48 hours the icons on pdf files will change to the default Microsoft Edge icon. From then on Edge becomes the default program to open pdfs.

4.  Go back to step 1 and repeat...

There are many accounts of others with the same issue but all that is offered is to go to Windows 10 settings and reset the application.  I'm about to save the relevant registry entries and save them to a file so that I can quickly click and reconfigure without the slightly more tedious manual steps.  But it really shouldn't be like this and I would be upset if I was Adobe.

Any insights and glimmers of hope welcome.

Andrew

This topic has been closed for replies.

3 replies

I
imichaelgrossman
Participant
July 12, 2023

I am also using the cloud version of Adobe Acrobat and like many, I'm also finding that Microsoft keeps taking over Acrobat and trying to force me to use the Edge PDF version. This is really annoying but I haven't found any solution except to waste a lot of time each time I use Acrobat by resetting the app priority over and over again. Microsoft - if you can't get folks to use Edge PDF by making it a better app, what makes you think irriating us by trying to force us to use it will win you friends in the long haul?

    I
    ith74528050
    Participant
    October 2, 2020

    Just fixed this issue yesterday for a user.  They would set PDFs to open with Adobe and then Edge would change it back.  Set PDFs using Set defaults by app in Default apps.  Then Adobe and Edge were contantly swapping control causing all of the desktop icons to flash and taking up about 50% of the CPU.  The issue turned out to be a corrupted user profile.  Deleted the user's profile and when they sign in again the issue was resolved.

      kglad
      Community Expert
      kgladCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
      Community Expert
      November 5, 2016

      http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/edge-hijack-pdf-htm-associations/

      A
      agsteeleAuthor
      Participant
      November 6, 2016

      Thank you for the useful link.  I had seen this previously but it has been updated to add some insight on the Win 10 Anniversary edition.  That may be the additional clue needed to resolve the issue for now.

      That said, it still isn't really an adequate solution.  It shouldn't be necessary to delve into the registry and is solution only available to those of us who aren't phased by these things.

      In my view the 'bug' seems rather more intentional on the part of Microsoft.  But whether that is true or not it has the effect ofbeing anti-competitive in that it restricts the ability of customers to use alternate software (the same holds true for file association with .ht and .html files which also revert to Edge with the same regularity).

      I'll report back if this seems to provide a solution.

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