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I am running Windows 11 version 21H2 patched up to date and have noticed this problem recently, although I am not sure exactly when it started in relation to recent patches.
When I open a folder the preview pane shows "Select a file to preview".
Selecting a .jpg file shows the preview.
Selecting a .doc file shows "No preview available" - expected as I do not have Microsoft Office.
Selecting a .pdf file causes the preview pane to go blank.
My solution is to untick the Show Preview Pane option, close explorer, open explorer, tick the Show Preview Pane option.
Selecting a .pdf file now shows the preview. (This does not work without closing explorer and reopening it.)
Has anyone else experienced this, and more to the point, does anyone know of a fix?
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Nothing works for me. I have tried everything recommended here and on the Internet in vain. Is was working perfectly, now it isn't and the only explanation is that this happened after a Win 11 update.
Yesterday I read an article about this problem that so many people have, and I edited the Registry - didn't work. Damned annoying.
I don't have Power Toys installed and it works fine for me.
Make sure you have Power Toys app installed and updated. I promise that is what is wrong.
Yes, it's weird isn't it. These machines have minds of their own.
I have just discovered that I can view all file types perfectly well if they are in a folder on this PC. Previously I was accessing them via my LAN, as they were in the onedrive folder on my other PC.
Anyway, problem solved for now, as I have just made a copy of all the relevant files onto this PC.
Good luck!
I have a similar, but different problem.
My preview pane shows PDF, docx, xlsx all no problem. But it doesn't show jpg files.
I'm in win11 and I have set Photos as the default app to open jpgs, which it does correctly.
I'd be grateful for any insights to help me correct this.
