Photoshop Beta v24.1 takes over as the default app for psd files

[jeasolar]

Photoshop Beta v24.1 takes over as the default app for psd files. I want that to remain as the released Photoshop v24.0 and I can't seem to change it back. In Windows 10 settings to choose a default app for psd there is no choice for the released v24, it's stuck on the beta. I just want to try some beta features occasionaly, not use it all the time. One example is when I "Edit With" Photoshop in Capture One Pro it now opens in the Beta because that is the default app for psd. So how do I keep the beta installed but have the release as the default. 

[Chuck Uebele]

Reinstall the version you want as default. The last version installed will take over. I have the same issues sometimes, as I also have the beta. So I normally open the version I want to use, rather than clicking on a file and seeing what opens.

[mikem60178444]

But what happens to the preferences and settings that did not get transferred to the beta version? If I uninstall regular Photoshop and reinstall it, how can it find those settings anymore?

Reinstall the version you want as default. The last version installed will take over. I have the same issues sometimes, as I also have the beta. So I normally open the version I want to use, rather than clicking on a file and seeing what opens.

By @Chuck Uebele

[D Fosse]

When you uninstall, there is an option to keep preferences. It's precisely for when you plan to reinstall later. Preferences are stored in your user account, separate from program files.

[ThioJoe]

I believe I've found the solution. In the Windows registry there is apparently a couple entries that define which executable to actually use when "Photoshop.exe" is called. And after installing the Beta, it defines the beta version as 'photoshop.exe', which we want to change back. Of course the usual advice applies to back up the registry before messing with it.

Just to be safe, I'd make a backup of both the whole thing (File > Export > Export Range 'All') and just the 'Photoshop.exe' folder you'll see in a second (File > Export > Export Range 'Selected Branch').

The keys can be found in the registry at:

Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\Photoshop.exe

Then the two folders we want to look for in there are:

...\Photoshop.exe\edit\command

and

...\Photoshop.exe\open\command

For both, you'll see an entry on the right named (Default) and the 'Data' column is most likely set to:

"C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop (Beta)\Photoshop.exe" "%1"

Simply edit the path of both to change the path from "Adobe Photoshop (Beta)" to "Adobe Photoshop 2023" or whatever is the version you want.

So in the end for me both look like:

"C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2023\Photoshop.exe" "%1"

Then, restart the computer. Now, right click a .PSD file and select "Open With" > "Choose Default Program". You should now see an entry for "Adobe Photoshop 2023" that has the normal version's icon, so select that one then hit 'Always'.

Before, trying to change the default program wouldn't work (I didn't even see Photoshop 2023 as an option, and even after manually selecting the 2023 exe it still kept saying beta). But now after changing the registry, it should.

[D Fosse]

There is no reason to fiddle with the registry, just reinstall the one you want to have set as default. As Chuck says, the last installed will take file associations, regardless of version numbering or beta/production.

Editing the registry is only called for if file associations are permanently stuck on an uninstalled version. That can happen if you uninstall old versions with newer versions still in place. To avoid that, always uninstall the one holding file associations first, before uninstalling older versions. Then reinstall as needed. Normally this means following strict version order both ways, but having a beta installed disrupts the sequence a bit.