Default Application - Dual Install of Adobe Pro Extended 9 & Adobe Reader XI

[Guest]

Hello,

<TL;DR> How can I set Adobe Pro Extended as the default .PDF handler with Adobe Reader XI present, in a TS/RDP environment. File Association & Default Application changes won't default to the version I want.</>

I have a terminal Server environment running Server 2012 R2.

I have a dual install of Adobe Pro Extended 9 & Adobe Reader XI (Adobe Pro Extended 9 alone works fine)

I have attempted various installations, no matter what order, toggles between install mode, no matter which application a repair is done to, once Reader XI is installed it becomes the default app.

I can't have it this way, the users are becoming annoyed.

Adobe Pro Extended 9 must be the default for all but 1 user, 1 poor receptionist who isn't doing what the rest of the staff do with Adobe Pro Extended.

They are why Reader XI is there, unfortunately.

I have:

- Right clicked a .PDF file, choosen Open with, told it to be default, even though I choose PRO, XI becomes default !

- In Control panel, default applications, Adobe XI is the only one in the list once it's installed. Even with Pro installed afterwards, XI remains alone.

- From the application it self, under Preferences>General> THERE IS NO BUTTON "Select Default PDF Handler".

Normally I would manually edit the registry, point to the right .EXE the but I'm not familiar with the strange voodoo Adobe does in there with PersistantHandlers.

[EnterpriseHelp · Accepted solution]

If I understand correctly, you need Reader 11 for one user. My suggestion would be to install Reader locally on that person's machine.

There are a few issues with what you're trying to do:

• Acrobat 9 has been end of lifed and is a rather old product in software years.
• Because 9 is EOL, installing with Reader 11 is unsupported, and no one at Adobe would know if it works.
• Acrobat 9 is not supported on your version of WTS. See Windows Terminal Services — Enterprise Administration Guide
• Setting the default handler via registry manipulation is unsupported and unlikely to be possible. It requires (for earlier product versions at least), running/invoking the installer. Use the Wizard or run from the cmd line with certain properties set: See Adobe Properties — Enterprise Administration Guide.

Still, you can experiment and might be able to make it work, but it might be worthwhile considering the time cost vs the eventual benefit.

hth,

Ben