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DanBo948
Participant
October 9, 2023
Question

"No Preview Available" for .ai files in Explorer ...

  • October 9, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 7759 views

"No Preview Available" for .ai files in Explorer when I click on the file. 

Is there something in Prefs I could have changed accidentally??

I have reset the Prefs several times and have reinstalled Windows 10. Illustrator has every update available.

I am working on a Desktop PC w/ separate internal SSD drive for file storage. That is, separate from the SSD C drive. Did I break some communication app to use for the drives to communicate?

Same problem w/ .eps files. SVG files and PDF files seem to be OK.

3 replies

CmdrTomalak6330
CmdrTomalak6330
Inspiring
September 26, 2025

This is suddenly happening with my files as well.  All of my older files are still previewing properly in Windows Explorer.  As soon as save a new version, the preview is no longer there.  I've tried both suggested fixes in the comments here and neither fixes the issue.  29.8.1 (64 bit) Windows 11 Pro Ver 24H2

    Abhishek Rao
    Community Manager
    Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    September 29, 2025

    Hi @CmdrTomalak6330,

     

    Thanks for sharing this with us. I'm checking in with the product team regarding your report and will get back to you as soon as I have an update.

     

    Best,

    Abhishek 

    A
    ace1140
    Participant
    October 1, 2025

    Any updates on your findings? This also just recently happened to be in the last few days. All my old .AI files preview in the preview pane, any new work .AI files I have completed do not show up in the preview pane. 

      J
      Joseph2893283507oq
      Participant
      December 22, 2023

      Danbo, try this quick work-around. Use the "save a copy" function, instead of "save as" or "save". You can overwrite your ai file (keeping the original file name, if you desire), or save a new file. I just tried this today and it works. Pretty pumped about it too, because it's terribly frustrating not being able to see the ai thumbnail in preview pane.

      Anshul_Saini
      Community Manager
      Anshul_SainiCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      October 13, 2023

      Hello @DanBo948,

       

      It seems like you're encountering an issue where Windows Explorer is not showing file previews for .ai (Adobe Illustrator) and .eps files. Here are some steps you can try to resolve this problem:

      • Open Windows File Explorer.
      • Click on the "View" in the top menu.
      • In the "Show," ensure that the "Preview pane" is selected. This will enable file previews if the Ai file was saved with "Create PDF Compatible File" data checked while saving it.
      • Also, ensure that your Windows operating system is up to date. Sometimes, Windows updates can fix issues with file previews.

       

      After trying these steps, check if you can see the previews of .ai and .eps files in Windows File Explorer. If the issue persists, you might need to troubleshoot further, and in some cases, reaching out to Microsoft Support may be necessary to address Windows-specific problems.

       

      Please let me know if you continue to experience issues or if you have additional questions.

       

      Best,

      Anshul Saini

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