However, many users in Microsofts forum said that their File Explorers Preview functionality isnt working consistently.
Itdoesnt let them preview PDFsor other file types.
In this guide, well sharesome quick fixesfor the Preview Pane not working in Windows 11.
Why Is the Preview Pane Not Working in Windows 11?
There could be several reasons for the Preview Pane not working issue in Windows 11.
So read this section and know some easy ways to fix it:
1.
This will eliminate the problem if its appearing because of some bugs and glitches in the PC.
2.Choose theRestartoption from the dropdown menu in theShut Down Windowsprompt.
3.PressEnteron your keyboard to reboot your PC and then peek if the Preview Pane is working.
So, we suggest youensure that its turned onyour Windows PC.
2.InFile Explorer, click theViewoption in the top ribbon menu to open a dropdown menu.
3.see to it theres a tick next toPreview pane.
If it isnt the same, tick it to initiate the Preview Pane.
Considering this, we suggest yourestart File Exploreron your PC using Task Manager.
2.Right-click theFile Explorer utilityand choose theRestartoption from the contextual menu.
3.Once done, open theFile Explorer utilityagain and look to see if the Preview Pane is working.
Tweak Systems Performance configs
1.To tweak your Windows PCs performance configs, launch theSettings programon it.
2.Open theAboutsection, and inRelated links, click theAdvanced system settingsoption.
3.UnderPerformance, click theSettings…button to pop pop the systems Performance prefs.
4.On the next screen, choose theAdjust for best appearanceradio button and clickApply.
5.Click theOKbutton to close theSystem Propertieswindow and check the issues status.
2.In theTerminalwindow, copy-pastesfc /scannowin it and press theEnter keyto run it.
3.Lastly, wait for the SFC scan to complete and repair corrupted system files to fix this issue.
To test whether this is the case,factory reset your entire File Explorers settingsto default.
2.ChooseFile Explorer Optionsfrom the listed search results under theBest matchsection.
3.In theFile Explorer Optionswindow, in theGeneraltab, click theRestore Defaultsbutton.
4.Lastly, click theApplybutton, and then click theOKbutton to save the changes and exit it.
You canuse the Microsoft PowerToys PDF Preview Handler utilityin that case.
2.Once installed,open it on your Windows 11 PC to open thePowerToys Settingswindow.
3.From the left pane of the window, chooseFile Explorer add-onsto view all the add-ons.
4.Turn on theEnable PDF (.pdf) preview toggleto activate the Preview Pane in File Explorer.
To check whether its the same in your case,create a new local admin account.
2.In theAccountswindow, chooseOther usersand then choose theAdd accountoption.
3.In the next window, Click theNextoption and thenAdd a user without a Microsoft account.
4.Enter the username and password you want to send in their respective fields and clickNext.
5.After creating the account, go toOther usersin theAccountswindow and select your account.
6.ClickChange account typenext toAccount options, and choose theAdministratoroption.
7.Click theOKbutton, sign in to your PC with the new account, and check the issues status.
it’s possible for you to do that using the ShellExView program from Nirsoft.
Weve mentioned the instructions to find out the same with ease below.
So follow them:
1.Clickhereto download theShellExView program from Nirsoft on your Windows 11 PC or laptop.
2.launch the ShellExView utility on your PC and let it show a registry for all the shell extensions.
3.ClickOptionsat the top, and clickHide All Microsoft Extensionsto activate the tick mark on it.
4.Once all the Microsoft extensions are hidden, simply sort out the search results usingType.
5.Right-smack the context menu handler types and chooseDisable Selected Itemsfrom the menu.
8.Open theFile Explorer utilityagain on your PC and look to see if the Preview Pane is working.
1.Press theWindows + Rhotkey to open theRun programand itsOpentext field, typemsconfig.
2.Hit theEnter keyto open theSystem Configuration utilityand proceed to itsBoottab.
3.In theBoottab, choose theSafe BootandNetworkoption under theBoot optionssection.
4.Move to theServicestab, checkHide all Microsoft services, and then clickDisable all.
5.Head to theStartuptab and click theOpen Task Manageroption to launch Task Manager.
6.InTask Manager, close all the running non-Microsoft tasks and then check the issues status.
This tool will repair the corrupted Windows system image and hopefully fix this issue.
If not, then check it and save the changes.
Considering this, we also suggest you do the same and verify if it fixes the issue.
2.From the contextual menu, choose theRenameoption and remove the#from the file name.
3.Click theApplybutton at the bottom of the prompt to save the changes and preview the file.
3.After that, set theOpen File Explorer to:another available option thats currently not selected.
4.Click theApplybutton at the bottom and thenOKto save the changes and exit the window.
As a result, the Preview Pane isnt working on your Windows 11 PC or laptop.
The File Explorer supports almost all file types.
To peek if its the same in your case,spin up the CHKDSK toolon your Windows computer.
This tool will scan your hard disk for errors and resolve them to make the PC work properly.
2.In the Command Prompt window, enter theChkdskcommand and hitEnterto run it on your PC.
3.After completing the CHKDSK scan, reset your system and confirm the issues status.
FAQs
How Do I fire up the Preview Pane in Windows 11?
Why Is My Preview Pane Not Working?
Other reasons could be incorrect File Explorer tweaks and corrupted PC files.
How Do I Enable PDF Preview in Windows 11?
But, like other Windows 11 functionalities, it also sometimes faces issues in working.
If yes, let us know which fix helped you fix the Preview Pane not working issue.
