Win7/64 Laptop: Can't Install Adobe Acrobat Reader

Hi! I've been having an issue with my Win7/64 laptop at a day program: I've been unsuccessful in reading .pdf files in Adobe Acrobat Reader there: a few seconds after I open a file, the program displays a message indicating that it needs to be activated before continuing, and the only option I can use is to exit. I tried several times to install it from the internet, and every time, I get two script errors then a blank window. I really want to get it to work on that computer, as sometimes, I need to look up some information about certain compilers and old systems. Any advice?

 

Use something other than Acrobat. Me, I like Sumatra, which I believe is available through Major Geeks. Another option might be Foxit, but that's a larger and more hoggish application.

https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/sumatra_pdf.html

https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/foxit_reader.html

By the way, it almost sounds as if you've installed Acrobat rather than Acrobat Reader; Acrobat is, or at least it was, a fairly expensive program for the creation and editing of PDFs, while Acrobat Reader is the free, reader-only application.

 

I think I have Sumatra on the computer, but it's not the default .pdf viewer. Is there a way to have it be the default viewer other than through Open With? BTW, you're probably right about Acrobat.

 

Sorry, I had to go spend the afternoon and evening elsewhere.

I don't recall the Windows 7 interface as well as I perhaps should, but somewhere in Settings, you should be able to set your default 'Open With...' options. In Windows 10, there is a search box in the Settings window: all I have to do is type 'open with' in that box and it will get me to the correct part of Settings...but I don't recall if Win 7 has the same sort of interface. It's been too long since I used Win 7, and I never liked it all that much.

If you do some digging around, you should be able to find what you're looking for without too much trouble.

 

From a search I just ran in Brave:

Set Default Open Program in Windows 7
To set the default “open with” program in Windows 7, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the file you want to change the default program for and select “Open with” > “Choose default program.”
2. Select the desired program from the list of installed programs. If the program you want is not listed, click “Browse” to locate it.
3. Check the box labeled “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file” to ensure the change applies to all files of that type.
4. Click “OK” to apply the changes.

Alternatively, you can use the Control Panel method:

1. Open Control Panel and navigate to Default Programs > Associate a file type or protocol with a program.
2. Select the file type you want to change and click “Change Program.”
3. Choose the program you want to set as the default and click “OK.”

If you encounter issues where the default program does not change, you may need to edit the registry:

1. Press Windows Key + R, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.extension (replace .extension with the file type you are changing).
3. Modify the settings under OpenWith to point to the desired program.

These methods should help you successfully set the default program for opening specific file types in Windows 7.

 

I can do Open With. I just want the program to do it for me, that's all.

 

If you were to follow the directions given, Sumatra would become your default PDF reader, and double-clicking on a PDF would open it in Sumatra. That's as good as it gets.