Windows Explorer does not display PDF previews.

[Grafik Barton]

For about a month now, PDF previews in the preview pane of Windows 11 Explorer haven’t been working. PNG and JPG files display fine. Even previews of AI, IDML, and similar files show up. I heard it might be due to Acrobat settings, so I enabled the option to allow previews/thumbnails there. I also reinstalled Acrobat. I’ve asked AI, but I still have no idea what’s going on. I don’t have any other PDF viewer installed, just the full version of Acrobat. What should I do? Is anyone else experiencing the same issue? (My drives are half-empty, cache is cleared, I have a Ryzen 9, 64 GB RAM, 4060 GPU… so it’s definitely not a hardware issue.) 

Could the problem be on Adobe's side?

[kglad]

in the future, to find the best place to post your message, use the list here, https://community.adobe.com/

p.s. i don't think the adobe website, and forums in particular, are easy to navigate, so don't spend a lot of time searching that forum list. do your best and we'll move the post (like this one has already been moved) if it helps you get responses.

<"moved from using the community bugs">

[Amal.]

Hi there 

Hope you are doing well and thanks for reaching out. We are sorry for the trouble you are experiencing.

The PDF Shell component in Acrobat and Acrobat Reader allows you to see the thumbnails of PDF documents in Windows explorer, on both 64-bit and 32-bit versions of Windows. By default, this feature is OFF. You can enable it using a specific setting available in the preferences.

• Open Acrobat or Acrobat Reader. Select the hamburger menu   > Preferences.

• In the Preferences dialog box, choose General in the Categories list, and then select the Enable PDF thumbnail previews in Windows Explorer check box.

• Click OK.

• Wait for a few seconds while Acrobat is configured to show thumbnail previews in Windows Explorer.

  Note:

  If you don't see the Enable PDF thumbnail previews in Windows Explorer checkbox, update your Acrobat or Acrobat Reader to the latest version. To automatically update from the product, choose Help > Check for updates and then follow the steps in the Updater window to download and install the latest updates.

  For more information please check the help page https://adobe.ly/4kV0eFr 

[simon_5083]

I have spent hours and hours trying to resolve this problem using all the fixes out there on the web (Adobe, Windows, others). I have a Windows 11 OS on a Windows Surface ARM laptop 7th Edition.  I have the latest Adobe Acrobat free reader (have uninstalled and installed twice). The message that appears in Windows Explorer Preview pane is 'This file can't be previewed'.  Can you please recommend a solution?

[S. S]

Hi @simon_5083,

Hope you are doing well. Sorry for your experience with preview files on Windows Explorer using Acrobat.

This is a known limitation with Acrobat on ARM devices, as Acrobat runs on Emulation mode for ARM devices.

More info about it here: https://adobe.ly/3GG7JBE

Hope this clarifies the question.

Regards,
Souvik.

[simon_5083]

Thank you for the explanation Souvik. At least I don't have to waste any more time looking for a non-existent solution.

What would be helpful  from Adobe however, is whether you are planning a fix anytime soon?

Regards,

Simon

[soulpain11]

He/she stated that they had turned on the setting. Is this a human?

[roy_8227]

the preview screen always shows "the file you're attempting to preview may harm your computer..if you trust it then open it to view the content"
This only started happening around 2-3weeks ago and it's annoying. I've tried the fix you mentioned about and it didn't solve my particular issue. 

Any suggestions?

[ddlynne]

@roy_8227 

This is also happening with other PDF viewers, in my case Bluebeam.

[ddlynne]

Would love to know how to fix it!!!

[magnificent_wanderer2888]

I have the same problem starting Oct 21.  Does anyone have a solutio?

[theresa_2000]

I am quite sure this is a Windows 11 update issue.  This started happeiung to me a month ago as well after an Windws 11 updated. This really needs to be fixed as I need that preview pain working with pdfs. My work now takes so much longher being forced to open each document. 

[van_6461]

Same issue, nothing of the solutions shared have worked. Do we have a permanent fix yet?

[Chrismargspa]

Like everyone else, I have experienced the same problem and tried all the suggested solutions without success.  It would appear that either MS or Adobe have applied increased security measures.  However, I have discovered this work-around: 

In Windows Explorer, right click on the PDF file and select Properties > General, down at the bottom: Security – by checking Unblock, clicking Apply > OK – it allows the file to display in the Preview Pane!!!   Unfortunately, at present, you have to do this for each individual file.   If the file or files don't display immediately, refresh/restart Windows Explorer. 
The problem is that I have over a hundred PDF files – is there anyway to do a collective unblock???  

[theresa_2000]

I have thousands of file a week to look at in my legal job. Especially when doing file auditis. We all need a workaround fast!