How to Choose a Default App for PDFs, Email, or Web in Windows 11

Before you start

Check these four points first. They explain most of the problems people hit later.

• The app must be installed. Windows can only offer apps that are installed and registered with it. If an app is missing from the list, install it 💿 first. Portable apps that run without an installer often do not register and will not appear.
• The choice is per user account. Each person who signs in to the PC has their own defaults. Changing yours does not change anyone else’s.
• You do not need administrator rights for any step in this guide on a personal PC. On a work or school PC, an organisation can lock these settings (see the troubleshooting section below).
• You do not need to restart. The change applies as soon as you make it. If an app already open still behaves the old way, close it and open it again.

These steps match current Windows 11. Button labels shift slightly between builds—I’ll flag those moments. Home and Pro editions use the same screens; the difference only appears on managed PCs, where organization policy can override your choice.

Open the Default apps page

Every method below starts here. This page lists your installed apps and lets you search for a file type or link type.

1. Press Windows key + I to open Settings.

   

2. Select Apps in the left sidebar.

   

3. Select Default apps. You now see a search box labelled Set a default for a file type or link type, a second box labelled Search apps, and a list of installed apps below it.

   

From here, you can work two ways. Start from the file type if you already know which app you want ("I want PDFs to open in Adobe"), or start from the app if you want to see what it can handle ("I want Firefox to handle all my links"). Each section below uses whichever is faster.

Choose a default app for PDFs

Windows opens PDFs in Microsoft Edge unless you change it, or unless an installed PDF reader has taken over. This sets the app that opens when you double-click a PDF file.

1. On the Default apps page, select the box labelled Set a default for a file type or link type.

   

2. Type .pdf, including the dot. A result for .pdf appears with the name of the app that currently handles it.
3. Select the .pdf result. A picker opens listing apps that can open PDF files.
4. Select the app you want, such as Microsoft Edge or Adobe Acrobat, and confirm with Set default. The .pdf entry now shows your chosen app.

If your PDF app is not in the picker: the app is either not installed or did not register itself with Windows. Look in the picker for an option such as Look for an app in the Microsoft Store or Choose an app on your PC. The wording varies by build. If neither helps, reinstall the app using its full installer, then repeat the steps. Many PDF readers also have a setting such as "make default PDF viewer" in their own options.

Check the result

Open File Explorer, find any PDF and double-click it. It should open in the app you chose, and the file's icon should change to match that app.

Choose a default app for email

Email works differently from PDFs. The setting you change is a link type called MAILTO. It controls which app opens when you click an email address on a web page, or choose "Email" in another program. It does not change which email account or service you use.

1. On the Default apps page, select the box labelled Set a default for a file type or link type.

   

2. Type mailto. A result for MAILTO appears with the current email app.
3. Select the MAILTO result. A picker lists the email apps installed on the PC.
4. Select your email app, such as Outlook, and confirm with Set default. MAILTO now shows your chosen app.

To test it, open any web page with an email link and click it. A new message window should open in your chosen app.

If your email app is missing from the list: the app may not register for MAILTO. Web-based email such as Gmail in a browser is not an installed app, so it will not appear here. Those services use a separate setting inside the browser that lets the site handle email links. That setting belongs to the browser, not to Windows. Open the email app's own settings and look for an option to make it the default mail app.

Choose a default web browser

Your default browser opens when you click a link in another program, such as an email or a document. It handles the HTTP and HTTPS link types, and the .htm and .html file types. Windows 11 lets you set them from the browser's page in one step on current builds.

1. On the Default apps page, select the box labelled Search apps and type the name of your browser, for example Firefox or Chrome.
2. Select the browser in the results. Its page opens and lists the file types and link types it can handle.
3. Select Set default at the top of the page, if you see it. Windows then assigns the browser to the main web types in one go.
4. Scroll through the list and check that HTTP, HTTPS, .htm and .html all show your browser's name.

If there is no Set default button, your build handles this one type at a time. Select each of the four entries above, choose your browser from the picker, and confirm. If Microsoft Edge prompts you to reconsider, choose the option to continue with the change (wording varies by build).

Firefox, Chrome or another browser says it is not the default, but Settings shows it is: the browser checks all the types it wants, not only the four above. Open the browser's page under Default apps again, and look through the full list. Any entry still showing another app is the cause. Select it and assign your browser. Then open the browser's own settings and check its default status again. Closing and reopening the browser makes it re-check.

Set the default from inside the browser

Most browsers include a button that sends you to the same Windows page. In Firefox, Chrome and Edge, open the browser's Settings and look for a Make default or Set as default option, usually on the default browser or startup section. Selecting it opens the matching page in Settings > Apps > Default apps. You still confirm the change there, because Windows requires you to make the choice yourself.

What still opens in Microsoft Edge

Some Windows features open links in Microsoft Edge no matter what your default browser is. Web results in Windows Search and links in the Widgets panel do this. It is a Windows design choice, not a sign that your default failed. Links you click in your own apps, such as email or documents, follow your default browser.

Choose a default app from a file you already have

If you have a file in front of you, you can set the default without opening Settings. This works for PDFs and any other file type, but not for email or web links.

1. Right-click the file in File Explorer.
2. Select Open with. A short list of apps appears.

   

3. Select Choose another app at the bottom of the list. A window opens with a list of apps.
4. Select the app you want.
5. Select Always. The file opens in that app, and every file of the same type now opens in it by default.

If you select the other button, Once, the file opens in that app this time only. Your default does not change.

If the right-click menu in Windows 11 shows only a short list, select Show more options to reach the full classic menu, then choose Open with from there.

Change the default for many file types at once

If you want one app to handle all the types it supports, such as a media player or a photo viewer, start from the app instead.

1. On the Default apps page, find the app in the list or search for it with Search apps.
2. Select the app. A page opens showing each file type and link type it can handle, with the current default beside each.
3. Select an entry that does not show this app, choose the app in the picker, and confirm.
4. Repeat for each entry you want to change. Entries you leave alone keep their current defaults.

Change only the entries you need. For example, setting a PDF reader as the default for image types as well can change how your pictures open.

Fix a default that will not stick or cannot be changed

The choice reverts after a while

Because of that, a few things can still undo your choice. Updating or reinstalling an app can re-register it and change the default. A Windows feature update can do the same. Another app may also show a prompt asking to become the default, and accepting it replaces your choice. If this keeps happening, open the app's own settings and turn off any option such as "always check whether this is the default app", then set the default again in Windows.

The picker is greyed out or says a setting is managed

If you see a message such as Some settings are managed by your organization, or the choices are greyed out, your PC has policy settings from a work or school account. You cannot override these from Settings. Ask your IT team, or remove the work account if the PC is yours and you are allowed to do so. I am not listing a Group Policy or registry route here, because I cannot confirm the exact path from the material I have, and a wrong value could lock the setting in the wrong way.

The app is not in the list

Install the app using its standard installer. If it is a Microsoft Store app, install it from the Store. Then close Settings, reopen it, and go back to Apps > Default apps. An app that is installed but still missing usually needs a repair or reinstall.

You picked the wrong app and want it back

Repeat the same steps and choose the original app. To go back to the Microsoft defaults for everything, scroll to the bottom of the Default apps page and select Reset all default apps (under Related settings on current builds). This resets every default, not only PDFs, email or web links. Your apps and files stay in place, but each type goes back to the app Microsoft sets, so use it only if you want a full reset.

What to do next

Keep the steps for the type you changed, because a Windows feature update or an app reinstall can reset it. If it does, repeat the same steps or use Open with > Choose another app > Always on a sample file. If you want to change the app for another file type, such as images, music or video, use the same Set a default for a file type or link type search box with that extension.