Default Applications in Windows are the first applications that Windows will default to when a user is opening different types of files. The application differs on the file type, and multiple applications can be used as the default app for a single file type. The most common example of this would be the fact that most people use Adobe Acrobat as the default application for PDF files, however you can use applications like Google Chrome to open and view PDF files as well.

Windows 11

To change your default applications in Windows 11, use the search bar at the bottom of your screen to search up "Default Apps" from your system settings. From there you will see a list of various applications on your PC that can be used as default apps. (As shown in the GIF below)

As you can see above, Google Chrome is the current default app for PDF files on the computer. If one wanted to change the default app back to Adobe Acrobat, they would just have to click the icon and select Acrobat again. (As shown in the GIF below)

With the changes made above, now whenever a user opens a PDF file, it will be opened with Adobe Acrobat instead of Google Chrome.

Windows 10

With Windows 10, the process is roughly the same. Search up “Default Apps” in the bottom left search bar. From there, it will show you the default apps for common processes. In the GIF below, we are changing the default web browser from Microsoft Edge to Google Chrome.