Windows 10: Microsoft Edge hijacks .pdf extension at every Windows initialization

Hello MIcrosoft , That´s not a question but a complaint. It's an old issue that had given me for some time a respite but now is back and much worse than before. Since last update Microsoft Edge has hijacked .pdf extension at every damn morning as I start up Windows. I believe that's not a system bug but it is deliberate. That's a "pushy" strategy to promote Edge but no way Microsoft : I won´t use this ****. It makes me very angry every time I have to open Default Apps to switch pdfs to Acrobat Reader. Learn to respect people's choice , ask a question before making changes.

:)

 

Can't stop Microsoft Edge from hijacking .pdf and .htm files

Hi again,

Before reinstalling Windows I decided to try registry changes. It seems to do the trick!

Here is what I did:

1) Start Regedit

Search for regedit.exe

Open regedit as administrator by right click on it and choose "run as administrator"

2) Find keys identifying the hijacking

a) Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModel\Repository\Packages

b) Locate Microsoft Edge

In my case

Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_38.14393.0.0_neutral__8wekyb3d8bbwe

Expand Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_38.14393.0.0_neutral__8wekyb3d8bbwe => MicrosoftEdge => Capabilities

Look at all the file extension keys and their values

Make a note of the values for file extensions that Edge hijacks.

In my case I have these hijacked file extensions:

.pdf => AppXd4nrz8ff68srnhf9t5a8sbjyar1cr723

.htm => AppX4hxtad77fbk3jkkeerkrm0ze94wjf3s9

.html > AppX4hxtad77fbk3jkkeerkrm0ze94wjf3s9

In my example there where 2 different hijacking keys that Edge uses to hijack my .pdf and .htm files:

AppXd4nrz8ff68srnhf9t5a8sbjyar1cr723

AppX4hxtad77fbk3jkkeerkrm0ze94wjf3s9

Repeat 2b if you have other hijacking apps from Microsoft (other than Edge) i.e. Groove music hijacking .mp3 etc.

3) Locate those hijacking keys and add strings to make Edge keep off

a) For each hijacking key

Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\<hijacking key>

Example: Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\AppXd4nrz8ff68srnhf9t5a8sbjyar1cr723

Select the Hijacking key in the left pane.

b) In the right pane, right click and select New => String Value

Set Value Name to NoOpenWith

(Leave Data empty)

Repeat b, but the second String Value is named NoStaticDefaultVerb

Repeat 3 for each hijacking key

Exit regedit

Go to Windows Settings, search for "Choose default app for each file type". Find your file extensions and select your favorite apps.

Done!

Final note:

Hijacking might resume when windows is updated, so you might need to go through all these steps again if this happens.

Somebody should make an app fixing these settings automatically! I see a great market potential!

Best regards,

Per

 

Microsoft Edge is hijacking PDF's

How do I stop Edge hijacking pdf's?



***Subject edited for clarity and post moved by the moderator to the appropriate forum category.***

Original Title: Edge

 

Edge keeps hijacking PDF

I have been having the same issue for years, I am currently using Windows 10 (2004) with Adobe Acrobat XI v11.0.23. I can sometimes get this to work for a long period of time, but occasionally Microsoft Edge hijacks the PDF extension with the following
message: "An app default was reset. An app caused a problem with the default app setting for .pdf files, so it was reset to Microsoft Edge," This time this message has come up at least 50 times in the last 15 minutes. I have tried change the default program
by a couple of methods. Sometimes each works for a time, but eventually are hijacked again. One method is to right-click on any .pdf, select properties, click on the "Change" option for "Opens with", and select your program. Currently this is not working.
I have also tried Settings/Apps/Default Apps/Choose default apps by file type. Scroll down to the .pdf extension, click where it now says "Microsoft Edge" and under "Choose an app," select my program. This worked for a moment and the Edge took it away...
again. I agree with the earlier post that Microsoft Edge sucks, at least in this respect. Although the Chromium version is okay as a browser.

I am now also getting the following messages that are probably related:

"An app default was reset. An app caused a problem with the default app setting for .jpg files, so it was reset to Photos,"

"An app default was reset. An app caused a problem with the default app setting for .pdf files, so it was reset to TWINUI," What is TWINUI?

Thanks for allowing me to vent.

...

I just rebooted my PC and was able to reset Adobe Acrobat as my default PDF reader. Let's see how long it lasts this time.