Outlook won't preview PDF files

[AlexLeadingEdge]

Hi guys,

When I open an email in Office Professional Plus 2013 and click on a PDF file attachment I get the error message"This file cannot be previewed because there is no previewer installed for it". The same issue occurs in Explorer.

Reinstalling Adobe Acrobat Reader DC I now can see the preview of a PDF in Explorer.

When I look in the Trust Center for Outlook I see that "PDF Preview Handler" is not listed.

Repaired Office, no change.

Anyone know how I get it to come back?

[bullmoon137 · Accepted solution]

I had this same issue - tried several crazy ideas of repair / reg hack / firewall...etc.  Turns out I had recently installed PowerToys for Windows and it has a PDF previewer as well - it can be disabled in the settings and once I did that, all was good.

[Amal.]

Hi there

Hope you are doing well and sorry for the trouble. As described you are unable to preview the PDF documents in Outlook.

Please try to turn off the Acrobat protected mode for testing (Windows Only). Go to Edit > Preferences > Enhanced Security > Uncheck 'Enable Protected mode at startup' Turn off the protected mode and uncheck 'Enhanced Security' > Click OK and reboot the computer once.

Note: please turn on the security after testing to avoid any security risk.

If it doesn't work, please check the steps shared in the similar discussion i have found on Microsoft  help page https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice_outlook-mso_win10-mso_o365b/help-cant-pr... and see if that helps.

Regards

Amal

[AlexLeadingEdge]

Hi Amal,

I have tried turning off Protected Mode, I've also reinstalled Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, and made sure that Adobe Acrobat Reader DC was the default.

I have also run a quick repair on the Office install.

[AlexLeadingEdge]

I can see that the add-in doesn't exist in Outlook, but everything I'm reading says it should:

[AlexLeadingEdge]

This is what it should look like:

[Amal.]

Hi there

Sorry for the delay in response. As described the outlook shoud have the add in for PDF preview handler but it didn't please try to repair the Outlook also check for any missisng/pending updates for Computer OS and try updating  it and check if that helps.

Regards

Amal

[AlexLeadingEdge]

Hi Amal,

It seems there is two different versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader on this computer. I have used the AdobeAcroCleaner to get rid of the other install. I now can see the PDF preview in Outlook, but I have lost the ability to preview PDFs in File Explorer. I will have another look at settings, and perhaps another clean install.

[bullmoon137 · Accepted solution]

I had this same issue - tried several crazy ideas of repair / reg hack / firewall...etc.  Turns out I had recently installed PowerToys for Windows and it has a PDF previewer as well - it can be disabled in the settings and once I did that, all was good.

[Mike22886829vtp3]

This was driving me nuts. PowerToys was the culprit for me as well.

[stryqx]

PowerToys for Windows was the culprit here as well.

Had to also perform a Repair install on Acrobat Reader after disabling the PDF previewer in PowerToys for Outlook to be happy again.

[pmunbodh · Accepted solution]

Thanks, bullmoon137. Had the same as well only to find that the PDF Previewer setting in PowerToys was the culprit all along. 

To fix PDF Previewer issue in Outlook:

1. Right-click the PowerToys icon in the Show Hidden Icons tray (lower right hand side of taskbar).

2. Select Settings.

3. Go to File Explorer Add-Ons on the left hand menu.

4. Deselect "Enable PDF (.pdf) preview".

5. Close Outlook, PowerToys and any other app and restart computer.

6. PDF Previewer now working in Outlook.

[user9410961]

Worked like a charm!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[pmunbodh]

It is a pleasure. 

[Zach Lambert]

This was spot on.  Thank you!!

[nora_3604]

Thanks all for this PowerToys fix for Outlook -- you just saved me hours of troubleshooting and my sanity. Well, hours anyway.

[S. S]

Hi @nora_3604,

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.

[Peter25227529uepn]

In Outlook, navigate through “File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center settings > Attachment Handling” and: Make sure that “Turn off Attachment Preview” box is unchecked. Click “Attachment and Document Previewers” button and check if “PDF Preview Handler” is enabled/ticked in the list in the opened window.

This May Work,

Peter