Disable the prompt to set Acrobat as the default PDF application

Issue

On Windows, when Acrobat isn't set as the default PDF handler and it's launched, a dialog prompts whether to make Adobe Acrobat the default PDF application.

Resolution

Select the Do not show this message again checkbox to suppress the message. Upon selection, a registry key will be created to record this preference. The key is stored at the following registry path:

Path: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\(product name)\(version)\AVAlert\cCheckbox]
DWORD: iAppDoNotTakePDFOwnershipAtLaunch
Value: 1

Note:

If the AVAlert or cCheckbox entries don't exist by default, select the Do not show this message again checkbox in the dialog, then verify if the entries have been created.

For Windows 10 users, the DWORD is named iAppDoNotTakePDFOwnershipAtLaunchWin10.

The registry key can have the following values:

  • 1: Suppresses the message permanently.
  • 0: Continues to show the message each time Acrobat is launched until it is set as the default PDF handler.

You can manually create or configure this key to suppress the message during software deployment.

 Adobe

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