Pdfs are displaying with Preview icon instead of traditional Acrobat Logo after installing Ventura

[PetalsandPrint]

I have recently installed the Ventura operating system on my Mac. Since doing so all pdf documents are displaying with a preview icon instead of the traditional red Acrobat Logo.

My cleints are hesitate to open these documenst even though they have the .pdf extension as they do not look like a traditional pdf file anymore. I have set all pdfs to open with Acrobat Reader, however the icon is still displaying with the preview icon.

Any help woule be appreciated.

[BarlaeDC · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Select a PDF file and open up the information, there should be a section called "Open With" if you change that to Acrobat and click the "Change All" button that should fix it

[BarlaeDC · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Select a PDF file and open up the information, there should be a section called "Open With" if you change that to Acrobat and click the "Change All" button that should fix it

[AkanchhaS]

I second the expert's (BarlaeDC) response.

It's all about setting up Acrobat as the default viewing to open .pdf files. Maybe after upgrading the OS, your default app is set to Preview rather than Acrobat.

Following the steps above will help you switch back to Acrobat Pro.

Additional info:

Acrobat and Reader official update 23.003.20215 is now available. This update will be automatically pushed to all existing installations of Acrobat and Reader. If you want, you may also manually trigger the update early by opening the application and going to Help > Check for Updates>reboot Acrobat.

More information about this release is here: Release Notes | Adobe Acrobat, Reader

Let us know if it still doesn't help!

Thanks,

Akanchha 

[dominick_0917]

Unfortunatley, did not work.  I went so far as to unistall, and reinstall my entir Adobe suite. 

[AnandSri · Accepted solution]

Hello @dominick_0917!

I hope you are doing well. Thanks for reaching out. We're sorry for the trouble you had with the app.

Could you please provide more details about the issue? Are you using a Mac or a Windows machine, and what version is it? Are you using the paid version of Adobe Acrobat or the free Acrobat Reader? This thread is quite old and pertains to an outdated operating system.

If you have the same issue and are on a Windows machine, tell Explorer to show icons, not thumbnails. Open File Explorer, click the View tab, then select Options → Change folder and search options. In the Folder Options dialog, go to the View tab. Check “Always show icons, never thumbnails”, click OK.

Your PDFs will now display the default file-type icon (Acrobat’s red logo) instead of a preview thumbnail. 

If you are on a Mac, in Finder, select any PDF file and press Command + I (or right-click → Get Info). In the “Open with:” section, choose Adobe Acrobat Reader (or Adobe Acrobat Pro) from the dropdown. Click “Change All…” and confirm. Close the Info window.

Please ensure you have the latest version of Acrobat installed on the machine: 25.001.20474 (Win) | 25.001.20476 (Mac), Apr 28, 2025. Check for any pending updates from the Menu > help > check for updates, install the updates, restart the app and the machine, and try again.

Let us know how it goes.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

[dominick_0917]

Hi Anand,

A few hours of trying this, that, and patience and it has all worked out.

Thank you for concern and reaching out, but it’s all good!

Best Regards,
Dominick

[AnandSri]

Hi Dominick!

Glad to know that it worked for you. Thanks for your time and cooperation. Fee free to reach out if you need any assistance.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.