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iains34435972
iains34435972
Participant
January 7, 2019
Answered

Acrobat Reader no Preview Pane

  • January 7, 2019
  • 12 replies
  • 65353 views

Updated Acrobat Reader yesterday and Windows explorer preview panel is no longer working

      Correct answer KingDonkeyKong

      I used the value from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PreviewHandlers\\Microsoft PDF Previewer instead and it is working for me.


      This solution has worked to me! I hope everybody tries it and fix the problem with this simple solution:

      1. In Regedit go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PreviewHandlers
      2. Copy the Value Name for the Previewer that you want to use - in this case, "Adobe PDF Preview" whose Value Name is {3A84F9C2-6164-485C-A7D9-4B27F8AC009E}
      3. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pdf\shellex\{8895b1c6-b41f-4c1c-a562-0d564250836f}
      4. Change the Default to the Value Name you copied in Step 2 (3A84F9C2-6164-485C-A7D9-4B27F8AC009E).

      No need to reboot the PC 

       

      PS: I did it on my WINDOWS 11. Perhaps you might restart your pc in order to work properly. 

      12 replies

      S
      Stephen33085745b70t
      Participant
      May 1, 2025

      For me, it stopped several years ago then after a Win 11 update it
      miraculously started working again but now it has stopped again and I am
      very annoyed.
      I have tried everything that is suggested on forums like this, YouTube
      videos and nothing solves this problem. I have restored my system to an a
      earlier date to no avail.
      One thing I have discovered is if you go into folder options, (in Win
      Explorer the three dots at the top) click option and the view tab and
      UNcheck (strangely) the Show Preview Handlers in Preview Pane then you will
      have a preview but only the first page
      It is better than nothing. Hopefully Microsoft will realise this is of
      their making - not Adobe.

      Best regards,
      *Stephen Misson*
      [Personal info removed by mod: email]

      C
      c35449760q73h
      Participating Frequently
      May 1, 2025

      I'm not convinced that either Adobe or Microsoft have fixed anything as my Outlook .pdf preview has now stopped working.

      K
      KingDonkeyKong
      Participant
      May 1, 2025
      this topic is not related to preview on outlook, but only on aside panels
      on windows explorer.

      Best Wishes
      C
      c35449760q73h
      Participating Frequently
      May 2, 2025

      Is it not the same - its a .pdf preview on a microsoft product AND last time it happened here it stopped working in both Explorer and Outlook - seems to me there is a connection! 

      S
      Stevethetrumpet
      Participant
      October 2, 2023

      It seems many people have this problem. Wih my Win 11 Pro, Explorer worked perfectly by previewing pdf files (a function hat i eally needed) bu then I had a Windows update and the preview no frustratingly longer worked. Now I have had a further update and I do get a small represenation of the pdf page but it is not clear enough to read it (music in my case).

      I have tried all the mentioned suggestins for a fix to no avail.

      So I am certain that this is a Windows update problem. They stopped it working, now they have to get it working again.

      S
      Stevethetrumpet
      Participant
      April 23, 2025

      As I said above, I was always convinced this was a Windows update problem and now I can confirm this is correct because after an update, everything is back as it should be. And I am very pleased.

      S_S
      Community Manager
      S_SCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      April 23, 2025

      Hi @Stephen32662158petc,

       

      Hope you are doing well.

       

      That's great news! 

      Also, thanks for taking the time and letting us know that it works now.


      Regards,
      Souvik.

      J
      jrosario7
      Participant
      September 26, 2023

      I have' Windows 11 Home' and after I enabled the 'Enable PDF thumbnail previews in Windows Explorer' and saved the setting-- it would not work. I had to restart the laptop/device for it to work! Please try this way. I hope it works for you! It was also affecting my files' navigation.

        J
        Jay_27
        Participant
        July 14, 2023

        Hello, If anyone reads this

        I found myself in this situation. I have a Windows 64 installed and was switching between Adobe 32-bit Reader and Acrobat. I was a paid subscriber but I wasn't aware of the differences between the two until I came across the problem with the preview pane.  I checked both the preview pane boxes on both applications and was not getting any feedback, so I decided to uninstall the programs and install the 64-bit Acrobat.

        What happened after I restarted the computer, my Acrobat Program was updated, was seeing the new look and I turned on the preview pane checkbox. Once the change was done, I checked the pdf files and it was working.

        If anyone can answer what may have been the case of why it was not working, that would be very much appreciated.

         

        A
        Alan29916173wzkj
        Participant
        June 1, 2023

        My IT guy hacked the registry and told it to use MS Edge as the preview where Acrobat is set as the default PDF program. This also fixed the issue of the preview making an opened PDF documnet read only!

         

          N
          Nicholas208
          Participant
          June 1, 2023

          we attempted to do the same thing, but it did not work for us, it at least told us that it wasnt working at that point.. currently, its just a blank prieview panel.

            AkanchhaS8194121
            AkanchhaS8194121
            Legend
            June 8, 2023

            Hi @Nicholas208 

            Are you referring to the thumbnail preview in Windows or the Page Thumbnail in Acrobat Reader itself?

            Could you please share the current version of Acrobat Reader you are working with? Also, share the screenshot of blank preview you see at your end. 

            Install the latest patch of Reader as well as Windows and 

            Go to Acrobat> Help > Check for updates and reboot the computer once (you must save all the work before restarting)

            To download the patch manually, more information about this release is here: Release Notes | Adobe Acrobat, Reader

             

             

            Thanks,

            Akanchha 

            P
            PLC2926402814e5
            Participant
            April 5, 2023

            Same issue here...Win10 x64 22H2. Adobe doesn't seem interested in resolving this issue 4 years later. SMH.

            Thumbnail prevew works, however the PREVIEW PANE doesn't work in file explorer or outlook. 

            Currently installing 32-bit version hoping it works.

              N
              Nicholas208
              Participant
              May 26, 2023

              did installing the 32bit version work for you?

              A
              anknez
              Participating Frequently
              August 26, 2022

              We're facing the same issue right now. 32-Bit works fine, but not 64-Bit. Has anyone found a solution yet?
              Windows 10 Enterprise 21H2
              Adobe Acrobat Reader DC 2022.002.20191 64-Bit

                C
                c35449760q73h
                Participating Frequently
                March 25, 2024

                Oddly - here its the 32 bit version that doesn't work - the 64 bit seems ok Win 11 (latest version)

                S
                Stephen33085745b70t
                Participant
                March 25, 2024
                It has been like this for a couple of years and nothing seems to solve the
                issue for me. I am convinced it is a Windows problem because it happened
                after an update.
                J
                Joe25787608sjbc
                Participating Frequently
                August 25, 2022

                Same here - File Explorer Preview Pane takes over 20 seconds to show the preveiw file.  Previous Adobe Pro version installed showed the preview in < 1 Second.  

                 

                  J
                  Joe25787608sjbc
                  Participating Frequently
                  October 26, 2022

                  Hello All:

                  Here is a solution that worked for me.

                  1. Make sure you have Adobe set to view previews.

                  2.  This is a case of who cotnrols the viewer.  Follow the steps below.  This worked for me.  Good Luck

                   

                  1. In Regedit go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PreviewHandlers
                  2. Copy the Value Name for the Previewer that you want to use - in this case, "Adobe PDF Preview Handler for Vista" whose Value Name is {DC6EFB56-9CFA-464D-8880-44885D7DC193}
                  3. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.pdf\shellex\{8895b1c6-b41f-4c1c-a562-0d564250836f}
                  4. Change the Default to the Value Name you copied in Step 2.

                  • Mandatory: Restarted the PC after applying all the troubleshooting steps to check if things are working fine? 

                    A
                    anknez
                    Participating Frequently
                    October 31, 2022

                    Hey Joe,

                    Thanks for the update, but in my case the value was already the correct one. Unfortunately the problem still remains. I hope Adobe will fix this problem soon.

                      HelenLouise
                      HelenLouise
                      Inspiring
                      March 31, 2022

                      Hi, I also have just had this problem. It arose after I updated with a new laptop, Windows 11, when I uploaded my Adobe CS6 stuff, after a few weeks the Acrobat X pro dropped off and I had to download the basic one until I could reinstall. That one was still fine with the preview pane. Now I have reinstalled the X pro, both the thumbnails and the preview pane is not available and the check box ascribed here to fix it is not in the Preferences, General. Has anyone found a solution yet? Thank you!

                      T
                      Tom242840199maj
                      Participant
                      May 2, 2022

                      Same issue.  I've searched forums and none of the several soluitions worked.   I unistalled the 64 bit version and re-installed the 32 bit.  Now the preview pane works without issue.

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