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DavidS2302
New Participant
August 22, 2025
Answered

Combining PDF files in DC

  • August 22, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 1520 views

When combining PDF files into one, I am getting a dialog box that says:  "You are currently using free Acrobat Reader. You also have Adobe Acrobat installed on your machine, which includes advanced tools.  Click OK to launch Adobe Acrobat to use this tool"

 

This issue started in the last few days.  Not aware of any updates that were downloaded or any change in the systems settings,

which still show to use Adobe Acrobat DC as the default when opening PDF files.

Correct answer DavidS2302

Hi @DavidS2302,

Thanks for the update. I’m directing this query to the appropriate product community, where experts can assist you more effectively.

Regards,
^AN


Anshul--I think I've fixed the issue.   It appears the free Adobe Acrobat Reader was downloaded to the computer a few days ago.   Just now happened to notice it.    I uninstalled Acrobat Reader, and now Acrobat DC is working like it should--message dilogue box went away and files to combine show as before.

Thanks again for your help.

1 reply

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Community Manager
Anshul_NautiyalCommunity Manager
Community Manager
August 22, 2025

Hi @DavidS2302,

Thanks for reaching out. This message appears when PDFs are opening in Acrobat Reader while Acrobat is also installed; Windows or macOS may have reassigned the default PDF handler to Reader or a browser after recent changes. Set Acrobat (not Reader) as the default PDF owner: in Windows, use Open with > Choose another app > Adobe Acrobat DC and check “Always use this app,” or set it from Acrobat’s Preferences > General > Select Default PDF Handler. Please check the following documentation: https://adobe.ly/4mtoUGb and https://adobe.ly/4fM5VnQ.

 

Repair Acrobat installation: open Acrobat DC → Help → Repair Installation.

Check licensing: ensure you are signed in with your Acrobat DC license. If your account signed out or reverted to free mode, Acrobat may default back to Reader behavior.

 

 

Please try these steps and let us know if the issue persists. 

Regards,


^AN

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DavidS2302Author
New Participant
August 22, 2025

Thank you for your response.  I tried all of these before I posted, and again after your response, and I am getting the same result.

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Adobe Employee
PravalJain
Adobe Employee
September 3, 2025

Hi Anshul,

 

I work with @JoUDC, and we have found that the latest version 

25.001.20643 does fix the issue when Reader and Pro versions have the same architecture (32bit or x64).

When the architectures are mixed - we have half of the company on Reader (32bit) and Pro (x64), the fix in version .20643 does not fix this scenario.


The issue around Combine opening Reader, when both Reader 32-bit and Acrobat 32-bit are present on the machine has been fixed in the latest release. You can refer to release notes - https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/ReleaseNotesDC/continuous/dccontinuousaug2025qfe2.html#dccontinuousaugtwentytwentyfiveqfetwo. Please update both Acrobat and Reader to latest version and let us know if you still see issues. 

 

@default0bid0k0al8x7  - Can you provide more details on the issue with Acrobat 64-bit, since Reader and Acrobat 64-bit cannot be installed on the same machine ? 

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