Generic icons instead of application icons

In Finder windows, I regularly get generic document icons instead of those belonging to the associated application, e.g.,  generic PDF icons instead of the Adobe Reader icon (which is what I's like to show up). Solutions? Thank you.

Do a backup.
Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J.  When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder.  Select Library. Then go to Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist.  Move the .plist to your desktop.
Re-launch Finder by restarting the computer and test. If it works okay, delete the plist from the desktop.
If the same, return the .plist to where you got it  from, overwriting the newer one.
Thanks to leonie for some information contained in this. 

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