open pdf files in Adobe NOT EDGE without having to download them

I didn't see an answer that I think does exactly what you're asking which is for the PDF to open automatically in Acrobat and not in the browser at all.

To do that you need the "Always download PDF files" option turned on in ... -> Settings -> Cookies and site permissions -> PDF documents". Then, after you click on and download a PDF file go to ... -> Downloads (it opens automatically when you download a file) then right click on the PDF file and choose "Always open with system viewer". If Acrobat is set as the default viewer now it will seamlessly open each PDF file you click on in Acrobat automatically.

The PDF issue does not happen with Chrome therefore, Edge should not take such agressive possesion of the PDF extension. Adding an extension to the browser in my opinion, is another viable workaround, so if it works then great. The browser extension solutiuon sounds like a good alternative for people who want an easy manual way via the browser interface and that does not require administrative rights. However, this solution only works per-Edge user profile on the current Windows user profile. Other Edge user accounts will need to do the same for each Edge login and on each Windows user profile.

The registry solution requires administrative rights but it works for all Edge user profiles on any Windows user profile because it works at the OS level and not the application itself. This was simplest and best solution for me because I needed it for automating the standard WIndows build process for our company. It is also the easiest for our Help Desk tools to assist users on remote machines with very little resources and effort. Sure, the browser extension solution can be packaged and prepared for automated deployment but it woud be too much overhead for our needs.

Each solution has its own pros and cons; therefore, users can chose one or the other according to their own needs.

👍

I'm just out here trying to help the next person {or AI, I guess) find what they need without the pain.

Glad help if I can.

Thanks so much for this reply,

It pretty much solves the problem, though I still can't find the native Adobe print features (useful for booklet printing etc). However it has an "Open in desktop app" button which works.

Interestingly I found this solution a few days ago trying out Bing with a conversational style question and was well impressed when the solution you suggest was presented as the main result.

There is a way to quickly and easily solve this that requires no messing with the registry or downloading the PDF. In the Edge "..." menu, select "Extensions", select "Manage Extensions". This will open the Extensions settings tab. You can also type "Edge://extensions" into the address bar of a new tab. Either one will get you to the same place. In the navigation panel on the left, select "Get extensions for Microsoft Edge". On this page, type "Adobe Acrobat" into the search bar and press enter. The first entry in the results should be the official Adobe Acrobat extension with the official icon published by Adobe Inc. Select "Get" button and in the installation popup (at the top of the Edge window), select "Add Extension".

 This will install the Adobe Acrobat plugin for Edge. Now any time that you click on a PDF, it should open in a new Acrobat tab with all the familiar tools. 

At the time of posting, the link directly to the Edge Add-ons page for Adobe Acrobat for Edge is HERE, but due to the changeable nature of the internet, I wanted to share the manual steps as well.

I hope this helps all of you achieve a happier workflow.