Are your PDF thumbnails always the default ones? Are you unable to get PDF thumbnail preview in Windows 10 file explorer? If yes, let’s find out how to fix the preview pane not working for pdf files in Windows 10 operating systems.
It happens to most of us sometimes, and if you are also one of those users facing the issue of the preview pane not working for PDF files in Windows 10 operating systems and wish to enable thumbnail preview for pdf files, then this is the perfect guide for you.
Today, we will answer each and every question you may have about PDF previews and PDF thumbnails. So, without further ado, let’s dive right in.
How to Enable PDF Thumbnail Previews in Windows Explorer (via Acrobat Preferences)
The process to enable pdf thumbnail previews in windows explorer as well as disable pdf thumbnail previews in windows explorer is pretty much the same and extremely easy to follow. All you need to do is follow the steps below.
- Open Adobe Acrobat.
- In the edit menu, you will find preferences. Click on it.
- A new dialog box will open up. Here from the left panel, click on General.
- Now on the right side, ensure that Enable PDF thumbnail previews in Windows Explorer box is checked.
- Click OK and then exit.
You will now notice that Adobe has enabled pdf thumbnail preview in windows 10 and they will start showing in the Windows explorer within a few minutes. This is how you can enable pdf thumbnail previews in windows explorer
How to Disable Thumbnail Preview of PDFs in Windows Explorer (via Registry Editor)
Windows creates registry entries for preview handler and thumbnail extractor automatically when Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is installed on a Windows 10 and if you want to disable thumbnail preview of pdfs in windows explorer for some reason then you can do so by quickly changing some Windows registry entries.
Before we go ahead, a word of caution. Tinkering with the Registry is a dangerous process and may harm or corrupt your system. It can also cause irreparable damage. Proceed at your own risk with caution.
- Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog then type Regedit.exe and hit enter
- Once the Registry Editor opens, click on the path and paste this
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PreviewHandlers - Click enter and once you reach the branch above, click on File from the top ribbon and Export the settings as a backup.
- Find the Handler GUID which is:
{DC6EFB56-9CFA-464D-8880-44885D7DC193} - Click on it and delete it.
- If you are asked for confirmation, click yes.
- Exit the registry editor and reboot your computer.
Check if you were able to successfully disable thumbnail preview of pdfs in windows explorer. By using this method you will be able to easily achieve what you set out to do.
Conclusions
We hope that using the methods above you enable thumbnail preview for pdf files in windows 10 file explorer or disable thumbnail preview of pdfs in windows explorer if you choose to do so.
Your question, how to fix preview pane not working for pdf files in Windows 10 must be answered by now. If you have any more questions for us or want help with any other issue that you are facing then feel free to let us know about it in the comments below and we will surely help you out.