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We currently use Adobe Reader XI in a Windows 7 environment and have been rolling out Nuance PowerPDF recently. Adobe Reader XI always remains the default however some websites have had issues- we've found the solution is to open Adobe Reader, select Edit -> Preference, General and click Select Default PDF Handler. This fixes our issue by running an installer and possibly correcting whatever files were modified by PowerPDF, even though PowerPDF was never set as the default.

The problem is we need to do this for over 900 users in multiple offices. Is there a command or automated way to run this process through group policy or SCCM? It runs what seems like an installer so it has to be this process, not as simple as just selecting a default file association.

navgs400
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  • As per https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1997078?start=0&tstart=0 have you tried OWNERSHIP_STATE=2 while creating application script in sccm? ( msiexec /i "AcroRead.msi" /q TRANSFORMS="AcroRead.mst" OWNERSHIP_STATE=2 ) IT says windows 10 is having issues , yet other os should work.. – Aravinda Jan 23 '16 at 17:23
  • Reader is installed so we're just looking to modify rather than install. Found this: msiexec /i REINSTALL=”ReaderBrowserIntegration,ReaderPDFIntegration” DEFAULT_VERB="Read” IW_DEFAULT_VERB="Read” /qn Been testing over the last week but it doesn't fix for everyone. Only thing that works every time is going through Reader and click "Select Default PDF Handler". Does anyone know exactly what process runs when you click this? Looking to find out the exact function of the button- everything it's checking for or modifying. Thanks! – navgs400 Jan 26 '16 at 21:31

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While comparing the registry of the PowerPDF install vs the Default PDF Handler process I believe I was able to find the solution to the issue- it is the result of the PowerPDF install deleting a registry key.

With Adobe XI installed, prior to PowerPDF, the following key exists:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\MIME\Database\Content Type\application/pdf

It contains the following strings:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\MIME\Database\Content Type\application/pdf\Extension: ".pdf" HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\MIME\Database\Content Type\application/pdf\CLSID: "{CA8A9780-280D-11CF-A24D-444553540000}"

During the PowerPDF install I confirmed the entire key for HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\MIME\Database\Content Type\application/pdf is deleted even though PowerPDF is set not to be the default in their customization wizard. I was able to see that running the Adobe "Select Default PDF Handler" adds it back, fixing the issue. Thankfully adding registry keys back are an easy fix.

navgs400
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