Android: How to set/restore the default app handler for different file types

This is a quick guide to assist you with either restoring the default app file type handler on your tablet or if you need to set a specific app to open a specific file type.

Step 1: Accessing the Settings menu

This is fairly simple in Nougat, because Google has made it so much easier to access the specific settings. You can go to Settings > Apps.

Then select the gear/cog icon on the top right of the screen to access the “Configure apps” menu.

Step 2: Changing your Default apps

Under the Configure apps menu, you’ll see a section marked “Default” – which is what we need. This section shows you the default apps for Home app (launcher), Browser app, Phone app, and SMS app.

To change the default app, touch the category you want to change.

If you touch the SMS app for instance, you will see choices for what you can use as a default SMS app.

Your installed third-party SMS app should show up in the choices.

The same is true for the other categories. You can select a different default launcher, browser, or phone app.

Step 3: Changing back to stock default apps

Of course, if you happen to discover that you don’t like the third-party app you installed, you can always roll back to the stock app of your device. Just follow the same instructions, tap the category you want, and select the default or stock app of the device.

We recommend using the below apps for PDF and Excel file viewing:

Google LLC PDF Viewer
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.pdfviewer&hl=en_ZA

Google LLC Sheets
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.sheets&hl=en_ZA