default browser

Hi tmichaelmcn,

This requires changing system settings ( not something in Acrobat)-

Go to Control Panel ->Add/Remove Programs.
Select Set Program Access and Defaults.
Select Access and choose Opera as the default browser.
Disable access to the Internet Explorer.

Hope that helps,

Dimitri
WindJack Solutions
[url=http://www.windjack.com]www.windjack.com[/url]

Unfortunately, this had no effect. All it did was disable access to "add/remove programs." I had to restart the machine to restore the default.

I, too, tried to disable IE as the default browser using Dimitri's suggestion,
even though Firefox has been my system default Browser for .htm and .php
settings for at least 2 years on my XP system. This setting has no effect on
the browser that Acrobat 7 chooses when a link is clicked in a PDF.

In fact, when I went to Acrobat's
Edit/Preferences/Internet/InternetSettings/Programs
the "make IE the default" was NOT checked and the "MakeDefault" button
was active. There was no button or select anywhere to change to a different
default. On a lark I clicked the "MakeDefault" button, hoping that a new
alternative widget would appear to let me set a different browser -- and I
*assumed* that a widget would appear to let me UNDO that change. Ha.
Once clicked, the button is grey and there is no way in Acrobat 7 to unselect it.
And clicking CANCEL on each panel all the way to the top and killing Acrobat
also did not undo that change! On reopen of Acrobat, IE remained set.
However, Dimitri's suggestion *did* work to reset this panel back to the
way it was before I played with that button. Nevertheless, clicking a link
in a PDF still invokes IE, even though that is clearly not my "default browser",
as indicated by *both* the
1. above mentioned panel in
2. Settings panel in ControlPanel

Anyone know how to disable IE as the "default browser" in Acrobat 7 on XP?
It's really annoying because IE attempts to modify the registry each time it
is loaded. I don't link things messing with my registry uninvited.

Thanks,

John

The fact that URL links from within Adobe Reader always launch Internet Explorer instead of the default browser, say Firefox, seems be a common problem from within the Reader, and from within the Help (Google "Adobe Reader default browser").

Last year Adobe's own tech note declared it "a rare problem and there is no known solution":
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=tn_15579
and the problems continue in relation to Vista [HTML links don't open in default web browser on Windows Vista (Adobe AIR)]:
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb403122

It also seems to have been a problem for long time going back to early versions of Mozilla Firefox 1.06. Various other forums too suggest that it's just a matter of using Start | Set Program Access and Defaults, and choosing "Use default browser" or forcing Firefox to be the default.
http://www.velocityreviews.com/forums/t219716-adobe-reader-6.php
Like contributors here, I found that neither method worked.

Note that Mozilla's own useful KB article:
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Default_browser#Force_Firefox_to_make_itself_the_default
suggests you set individual file types to default to FireFox, but I had already had those set anyway.

The solution I chose to make URL links in PDFs trigger my Firefox browser reliably was to dump Adobe Reader and install the faster and smaller Foxit Reader (http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php). The only change you have to make inside Foxit is to tick the "Create links from URLs" tickbox under Edit | Preferences | General.

If anyone comes up with a 'URL link fix' for Adobe Reader I'd be interested to hear.

Under the Acrobat Edit --> Preference --> Internet Categories, if you select the Internet Settings button ... the standard Internet Properties menu comes up. Under the Program tab on this menu there is a checkbox (Windows XP) for the following "Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is the default browser".See if checking this box corrects the issue.

The suggestion from lkassuba does not work either. On my XP with Acrobat 7.0.2, the
menu path is a bit different: Edit/Preferences/Internet/InternetSettings/Programs
and under that tab's "Default web browser" section the checkbox is labelled:
"Tell me if Internet Explorer is not the default web browser."
Checking this has no effect on which browser is used when clicking a URL in a PDF.
IE is still opened by that action -- the only difference is that now, IE will itself popup a
dialog box saying "IE is not currently your default browser. Wanna make it so #1?"
If you uncheck the "Always annoy me with this question", then that box you just
checked in Acrobat's Edit/Preferences... also gets unchecked.

Thanks for trying, Ikassuba; however, this is irrelevant to the problem at hand:
get rid of IE as the action for URL links in a PDF.

IMAO, so far PaulC has contributed the most useful information to this thread. It seems
pretty clear from all this that Acrobat 7, at least, is just broken on this feature. Oh well,
it has so many other things that work. I am monitoring this thread and, Like PaulC, am
still interested in a workaround to this problem, if anyone has one. (I'm just not ready
to switch to Foxit ... but I am getting closer !!)

John

You might want to review the updates for version 7 to see what has been fixed between 7.0.2 and 7.1.0.

You may also want to check the updates for FireFox.

This is a good suggestion because Acrobat 7.0.2 did not support FireFox, it wasn't until the 7.0.5 update that support for FireFox (1.0.6 or 1.5.x) was introduced. There is more information on this at:
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=331152&sliceId=1

Correct Answer (sorry if this is a crude way to note this: I didn't see any
sort of explicit widget to mark it so).

After upgrading to 7.0.5 at the recommendation of lkassuba and gkaiseril,
Acrobat now recognizes a Firefox default browser setting.

By the way, I kept checking with the interim patches, and it was not until
.05 that it started working.

Thanks everyone for spending the time to try and help me, and special
thanks to the gurus that finally got me over the top. Someday, when I
get enough expertise, I hope I'll be able to contribute to the Community
like you all have.

John

Thanks for letting us know that this worked for you John. To accept an answer just look for the "widget" with the check box in the specific post that best answered your question.

I am having the very same problem with Acrobat Standard 7.1.4.

I can set up my win xp pro system to have Seamonkey as the default for html OR I can do the same for Firefox. However, in either configuration when I click on a link in a pdf file it still starts IE and because of my very conservative setting for IE I basically can't work from there.

[Can someone tell me how to include a jpeg screen image in a post?]

I have verified that Menu Edit->Preferences->Internet->Internet Settings shows 1) Default Web browser is NOT IE and 2) Check box Tell me if IE is not the default browser is UNCHECKED.This is so painful and has been at least 3 years busted (I started with 7.0) can't someone fix this?

PLEASE!

Is Internet Explorer checking to see if it's the default browser (under your Internet Options)?

Thanks for responding.
I don't use IE although it is kept up to date by windows update. The current version is 8.0.6001.18702. However over the past years windows update has taken me thru many major releases and minor updates. ALL I have configured as indicated and ALL have responded this way with Acrobat Standard.

As I previously indicated, the IE->Tools->Internet Options->Programs->Default Web Browser indicates, and has ALWAYS been set this way, 1) IE is currently NOT the default web browser and 2) Tell me if IE is not the default web browser is UNCHECKED.I'm not sure how to answer otherwise since I don't see anything that specifically deals with "Is Internet Explorer checking?".

Am I missing something?

thanks

Update: This problem ONLY happens in Acrobat. All other embedded links in e.mails, ms office documents and such start the desired browser. Only Acrobat insists on starting IE which is not configured as the default browser.

Just installed Acrobat Pro Extended 9.3.2.
When clicking Help > Online Support... > Knowledge Base, Acrobat opens the link in IE8 instead of in my default browser. And IE8 is not my default browser, that is confirmed. All other apps open web links in my default browser. All *.php files on my HD show the default browser icon, etc...This is Win7 Pro x64 with all recent updates.

Does this problem persist if you create a new Windows account?

None of the solutions on here function for this problem. In fact, I also have Acrobat 8.2.3.
My default browser is Chrome, not Firefox. Hyperlinks are opening in Firefox, and not Internet Explorer.

This is only with Acrobat. Every other time, links are opening in Chrome.
So, when the problem is not with Internet Explorer.. yet it is the same problem listed above, how do I open links in Chrome?

In fact, Acrobat is opening firefox when I click "allow" about opening links. However, it is not opening the links, but instead only opening the firefox browser (which is not set as my default browser for windows).

What I need it to do is open the links, and open them within my default browser, which is Google Chrome.

I even checked default file type associations. Firefox is not set as the default for any of the hyperlinks in Windows which I tried to open.

I use Windows Vista.

This issue occurs on Adobe Reader 9.4 and Adobe Acrobat 8.1.0 as well. I am using Windows XP SP3 with the latest updates.

Note(s):

1. Under Reader or Acrobat "Edit | Preferences... | Internet | Internet Settings..." just calls Internet Explorers Internet Options.

2. Very disappointing that no one from Adobe seems to be reading this forum to resolve the issue; especially an issue that has been around for 3 years.

Common Adobe; when are you going to resolve this issue?

Thanks everyone for spending the time to try and help me, and special
Someday,when I get enough expertise, I hope I'll be able to contribute to the Community
like you all have.
dog fences