If you have a program like Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat Pro installed, you might wish to use either of those applications to open PDF documents and files that you download to your computer. Ordinarily, when these applications are installed, they are supposed to be automatically configured as the default programs to open such files. Sometimes updates from the operating system and even other programs can change this setting without your permission, which can cause confusion, problems, and even stress. Thankfully, there is a simple way to be able to update this setting, which we will detail in this article.

Step 1 - Locate a PDF Document

To begin, open up a file explorer. The file explorer icon should look like one of these:

Once you have a file explorer open, go ahead and browse to the location where a PDF file would be located. You can go to the location of any PDF file, as long as you know it is a PDF.

Step 2 - Choose the Program to Open PDF Documents

Once you have located the file, position your mouse over the name of the file, right-click it and choose Properties.

On the General tab, click the Change button located in the Opens with: section.

In the pop-up that appears, choose the program in the list that you wish to handle opening PDF files, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.

Note: If the program you are looking for does not appear in the pop-up list, you may need to click More options to see more programs. If it still does not appear, then scroll down to click Look for another app on this PC and browse to the installation location of the program you wish to use and select the applicable executable.

Step 3 - Save the Setting

You should now see the program you chose appear next to where it says Opens with:. If it doesn't, click the Change button and try selecting your program again. Otherwise, if everything looks good, click OK at the bottom of the dialog.

At this point, you should be all set! Simply double-click your PDF document, and it should open with the program you selected.