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The Case of the Phantom Adobe Reader

radcen

radcen

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The Case of the Phantom Adobe Reader

My desktop has Adobe Reader set as the default program when I click on a file in file manager. I have Acrobat 9, though, and I want that to be the default.

Sounds easy, right? Problem is, control panel won't let me change it, even though it lists Acobat as an option. Even if I use the "Open with..." right-click option and pick Acrobat it opens in Reader.

And here's where it gets weird. I don't have Reader on my machine. I uninstalled it trying to make this issue go away. It is not listed as a program in my program list in either Windows Control Panel or CCleaner. Acrobat is, not Reader. Yet, PDFs open in Reader.

If I open Acrobat separately, I can browse and pick a file and open it and work with it just fine. I only cannot pick a PDF in file manager and have it use Acrobat.
 
radcen said:
The Case of the Phantom Adobe Reader

My desktop has Adobe Reader set as the default program when I click on a file in file manager. I have Acrobat 9, though, and I want that to be the default.

Sounds easy, right? Problem is, control panel won't let me change it, even though it lists Acobat as an option. Even if I use the "Open with..." right-click option and pick Acrobat it opens in Reader.

And here's where it gets weird. I don't have Reader on my machine. I uninstalled it trying to make this issue go away. It is not listed as a program in my program list in either Windows Control Panel or CCleaner. Acrobat is, not Reader. Yet, PDFs open in Reader.

If I open Acrobat separately, I can browse and pick a file and open it and work with it just fine. I only cannot pick a PDF in file manager and have it use Acrobat.
Click to expand...

What is the default program on the pdf file itself? Right click on the file, click properties, and see what it says, if it says reader that's odd, try to change it to acrobat 9. Once checked, all files should change to acrobat 9.
 
NeverTrumpGOP said:
What is the default program on the pdf file itself? Right click on the file, click properties, and see what it says, if it says reader that's odd, try to change it to acrobat 9. Once checked, all files should change to acrobat 9.
Click to expand...

Didn't make a difference. Even rebooted. I'm baffled.
 
radcen said:
Didn't make a difference. Even rebooted. I'm baffled.
Click to expand...

Are you sure reader is popping up and not an internet browser? Sometimes the internet browsers are the default, but it's weird that reader still opens. I wonder what would happen if you reinstalled reader, then went in and changed the default program with reader still on the computer. Once you get it permanently fixed, uninstall it again?

Sometimes these programs can cause lingering bugs in system that makes it think it's still there when it's not.
 
I have heard of issues with Acrobat and Reader conflicting and it's recommended to only have one or the other. Obviously uninstalling Reader should have sorted it out though.

Are you sure it's not opening the reader element of Acrobat rather than the stand-alone Adobe Reader? You could use Task Manager to find what and where the actual running exe is (which would also identify if Reader is still hanging around, though that sounds unlikely). You could also try uninstalling Acrobat too. That should leave you with no file association for PDFs. You can then reinstall it and hopefully everything will link up correctly.
 
I was not aware there was a separate Reader element within Acrobat, but I guess that makes sense.

I have considered uninstalling and reinstalling Acrobat, and may try that tomorrow evening.
 
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