Acrobat Reader no Preview Pane

[iains34435972]

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

[Carolyn275055883bo3]

My win 11 22H2 was giving the error message "This file can't be previewed because of an error in the Preview Handler" and since this was happening in windows explorer I went to the MS community and they suggested installing Microsoft PowerToys which is a free app.  I can now preview documents again in the preview pane which is an absolute need in my job of looking at contracts all day.  Thumbnails don't cut it as they are too small.  Hope this helps someone.

[Valerie327788365bz9]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! Your response needs to be posted everywhere! I installed PowerToys from the Microsoft Store -- easy-peasy. I opened it, then clicked on "File Explorer add-ons" from the menu going down the left side, then toggled on the "PDF" option (it was the only one that was off) under the "Preview Pane" section on the right. No going into the registry, changing the registry keys, rebooting, etc. -- I re-opened File Explorer, clicked on a PDF file, and there was my preview! Why have I seen this solution nowhere else???

[Valerie327788365bz9]

P.S. I am using Windows 11 and a very old version of Adobe: Acrobat X Pro.

[ArtGuerra]

Best answer Valerie! For me was the only thing that works. Thank you very much!

[ninjahippoUK]

Good grief. I've been through a ton of posts and sites with supposed solutions. I've uninstalled and reinstalled more than I care to remember. I saw your post and tried Powertools, and it has made it work for me again. so thank you for your comment!

[James29824673m21x]

Installing PowerToys and enabling the PDF handler is the perfect answer to this question. Thank you!

[wade33215835zpad]

This is the fix!! for me anyway.

[KingDonkeyKong · Accepted solution]

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. 

[S. S]

Hi @KingDonkeyKong,

Hope you are doing well.

Thanks for sharing what worked for you.

Marking this as a correct answer for future users to use as a reference.

Regards,
Souvik.

[anknez]

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

[c35449760q73h]

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

[Stephen33085745b70t]

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.

[PLC2926402814e5]

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.

[Nicholas208]

did installing the 32bit version work for you?

[Alan29916173wzkj]

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!

[Nicholas208]

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.

[AkanchhaS]

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 

[Jay_27]

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.

[jrosario7]

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.

[Stevethetrumpet]

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.

[Stevethetrumpet]

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]

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.

[c35449760q73h]

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

[KingDonkeyKong]

this topic is not related to preview on outlook, but only on aside panels
on windows explorer.

Best Wishes

[c35449760q73h]

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!