Setting Program Defaults (Adobe Reader vs Microsoft Edge)

From time to time I’ve noticed that the settings for my default applications on my Windows 10 PC are changed back to their original values.  I first noticed this upon upgrading to Windows 10 from Windows 7.  The default application for PDF documents was changed to Microsoft Edge.  This caused PDF documents to open in Edge rather than Adobe Reader when I double-clicked on them.

To change the default application for PDF documents (or any other file type), use this checklist.

  1. Find a PDF document in the File Explorer and right-click on it.
  2. Choose Open With from the menu.
  3. In the sub-menu select Choose another app.
  4. Choose Adobe Reader (or the app that you would like to use to open the file type you right-clicked on above).
  5. Enable the checkbox that reads Always use this app to open .pdf files.

Now all of your PDF files will open in Adobe Reader by default when you double-click on them.