Windows 7 Preview Pane not working

To determine whether the issue that you are experiencing is caused by one or more system files that are used by Windows, run the System File Checker tool. The System File Checker tool scans system files and replaces incorrect versions of the system files by using the correct versions.

To run the System File Checker tool, follow these steps:

1.Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.

2. Right-click cmd in the Programs list, and then click Run as administrator.

3.If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password or click Continue

4.At the command prompt, type the following line, and then press ENTER: sfc /scannow

When the scan is complete, test to see whether the issue that you are experiencing is resolved.

Rating posts helps other usersMark L. Ferguson MS-MVP

try this guys :

Windows Explorer displayed .pdf files as preview thumbnails on Zill Niazi’s old Windows 7 laptop. But on a new laptop, also running Windows 7, it displays them only as icons. Can this be fixed?

I’m going to guess that your older computer--the one that previewed .pdfs--ran the 32-bit version of Windows 7, and that your new one, with its more powerful processor, uses  the 64-bit version. In its 32-bit incarnation, Windows 7 supports .pdf previews, but not in the “improved,” 64-bit product.

Why? If I could read Microsoft’s corporate mind I’d…well, I’d probably suffer a nervous breakdown.

[Email your tech questions to********@pcworld.com**.]

But there are solutions—at least for Windows 7 x64. I'm sorry to say that I haven't found a Windows 8 solution. (If any of you have, please tell us the comments section below.)

Windows 7 users should try Vivid Document Imaging’s PDF Preview for Windows 7. Install it, and Windows Explorer will display thumbnails of each .pdf’s first page. You can also preview the document in Explorer’s Preview pane. I tried this on two computers, and it worked on both.


But not without issues: The installation routine asks if you want to put a shortcut to the program on the desktop. Whether you uncheck that option or not, you’ll get not one but three such shortcuts. You can easily delete them.

More troubling, the installation saddles you with the company’s own PDF viewer, called simply PDF Viewer. Worse, it tells Windows to make that the default program for .pdfs.

You could, of course, change that default back to your preferred viewer. But in my tests, setting Adobe Reader as the default program robbed PDF Preview of the ability to show thumbnails, although it could still use Windows Explorer’s preview pane. I had no such problem when I set Foxit as my default .pdf program. That’s fine with me, because Foxit is my preferred viewer, anyway.

Note, however, that in my tests, this program doesn't work with Windows 8. Kimberly Taylor of Foxit confirmed, "On Windows 8.1 64-bit, our PDF Preview program does not work very well. The preview window might fail to show."

In my case it was already unchecked - so I checked it, then a few minutes later unchecked it again - and problem solved!

Thanks  ;o)

Well, I just found out the solution for my issue with PREVIEWING ANY FILE in EXPLORER's RIGHT PANE. In addtion to AnhNguyen's recommendation which is also necessary, do not forget to check the option for: SHOW CONTROLLERS FOR PREVIEW IN THE PREVIEW PANE, without that option you may be able to ony see the first page of some file or document but not the whole file or document. In addition you need this one checked in so that you can PREVIEW: DOCX, TXT, PPTX, XLSX, ... documents. The controllers for these applications must be loaded in EXPLORER's preview pan so that it will let you see the respective files or documents. 

Have a great computing day!

Roger