Set .ai association for Reader

The way file associations work changed completely in Windows 8 and 10. Which version of Windows are you using?

In Windows 10 the easiest way to force file associations is to set them manually on one computer, export those associations as an XML file then use that file in Group policy. Here is a link below similar to how i used to do it in the past.

https://www.loginvsi.com/blog/login-vsi/518-fixing-default-file-type-associations-in-windows-10

Sorry I forgot to mention we run Windows 7 in production. Since we'll be deploying 10 later this year the above is very useful.

Under Windows 7 I have changed default file associations using the ftype and assoc commands, but could never get it to associate .ai files properly.

Um, powershell?

#Creates a PS Drive for the Classes_Root registry Hive.
New-PSDrive -PSProvider registry -Root HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT -Name HKCR | Out-Null

#Change directory to the new drive
Set-Location HKCR:

#Grab the name of the application currently handling PDF files. Since it is Adobe Reader as well, it works for your .ai needs as well.
$assoc = (Get-ItemProperty .\.pdf -Name ‘(default)’).'(default)’

#Update the key for .ai to be the same application as the pdf file extension
Set-ItemProperty -Path .\.ai -Name ‘(default)’ -Value $assoc -Type String

This should in theory copy the application that handles pdf files (Adobe Reader), to the .ai extension making Adobe Reader the default for that as well. This isn't tested, and kinda off the cuff, but should do what you need for your Win 7 clients.

EDIT: I fixed the script above. I had some time to test tonight, and the code above correctly changes the registry key. I have an illustrator file floating around I believe that I can use to fully test this for you. Stand by.

I've confirmed that the above provided code correctly associates the file on a Windows 8.1 machine. There will be no difference with the method I have provided between Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. I've also tested it on Windows 10, and it works there as well, so this should be a one-stop method for now and future needs.

To execute this, rather create a powershell step and paste the code into it, or save the code as a ps1 file and then say "Insert Script File" inside the Powershell Step Window.

Please let me know if you have issues with the script, or need further assistance.

Haha, glad it worked. Embrace the powershell, it is your friend.

A nice idea for the package library.

Do you have a way to set Adobe Acrobat DC as default pdf handler rather edge using powershell? I kind of struggle doing that using powershell. Thanks.