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How can I force IE to open pdfs with Adobe Reader and not Standard?

Forum Index > General Acrobat Topics > How can I force IE to open pdfs with Adobe Reader and not Standard?
2009-08-20 01:39:54
Merago
Registered: Aug 19 2009
Posts: 3

Hello,

I have a strange issue that's causing a bit of head scratching. We run a Citrix farm with a limited number of Adobe Standard licenses. Each of the Citrix servers has Adobe Reader installed which should be the default for pdf files, and is as far as the file associations are concerned under "File Types". We use a browser based file management system and when users try to open pdfs from it, the pdfs are opening in Adobe Standard. I have no idea why this is happening or where to go to stop it, but, when I browse to the network location for the pdfs in question, they open fine in Adobe Reader.
I've tried running a Repair on Adobe Reader to see if it renews the IE plug ins but this has had no effect whatsoever. Has anyone seen this sort of behavious before or can anyone point me in the right direction for a fix? We don't want Adobe Standard to open at all unless it is specifically asked to open.
Thanks in advance,

Merago

My Product Information:
Reader 9.1, Windows
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2009-08-20 02:37:07
#1
try67
Expert
Registered: Oct 30 2008
Posts: 2398
You should not install Reader and Acrobat Standard on the same machine.

- AcrobatUsers Community Expert - Contact me personally at try6767 [at] gmail [dot] com
Check out my custom-made scripts website: http://try67.blogspot.com

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2009-08-20 05:09:22
#2
UVSAR
Expert
Registered: Oct 29 2008
Posts: 1357
try67 - yes you can, and many people do (it's the only way to test things like reader extensions if you only have one computer). It's not officially supported, but A9 and R9 play well together at system level.

However, plugin wars inside IE are very common (not Adobe's fault - M$ kinda assumes there's only ever one way to open each mime type). There are a couple of options, but since IE doesn't allow you to manually pick the executable for a mime type in the way Firefox does, you have to set Reader to be the default for the entire OS, either within the registry or via a custom deployment.

See http://forums.adobe.com/thread/391794
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2009-08-20 05:18:02
#3
try67
Expert
Registered: Oct 30 2008
Posts: 2398
I didn't say you CAN'T, I said you SHOULDN'T...

- AcrobatUsers Community Expert - Contact me personally at try6767 [at] gmail [dot] com
Check out my custom-made scripts website: http://try67.blogspot.com

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2009-08-21 01:36:59
#4
Merago
Registered: Aug 19 2009
Posts: 3
Thanks for the replies folks. Ignoring the fact that Adobe Acrobat and Reader aren't supported, (Officially supported or not, I know they can work, they've worked together in the past on multiple systems over the years I've been in this job. In fact, I'd go so far as to say, up until this particular issue cropped up, I can't recall having seen any other problems with dual installs) I've already tried the registry stuff suggested in the link without any joy. Can anyone tell me how I access the Adobe Customization Wizard?
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2009-08-21 05:22:51
#5
UVSAR
Expert
Registered: Oct 29 2008
Posts: 1357
The ACS for version 9 is here - http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=3993

Same download for all types of Acrobat, and Reader.
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