How-To

What To Do If PDF Preview Handler Is Not Working On Windows 10, 11

Sarang Bhargava
Published 2023-03-27

Unable To Preview PDF Attachments In Outlook? It Could Be That There Are Issues In The PDF Preview Handler. Here Are Ways To Fix The Issue. 

Many users use Microsoft Outlook as a way to send emails. One of the reasons why users prefer Outlook over various other email platforms is because it lets you preview attachments. However, lately, many users have been encountering the “PDF Preview Handler” error. If you are the one facing this issue, here are ways that could help you fix the issue.

What Happens When You Receive The Preview Handler Error In Outlook in Windows?

As the error code suggests, when you get the “PDF preview handler” error, you won’t be able to preview your PDF files. One way is to download the attachment and use a PDF viewer to view the PDF document at least till the time you can fix the issue. A third-party PDF viewer can especially come in handy when Adobe Acrobat Reader or your PDF reader is creating issues.

Advanced PDF Manager is one of the best options you can consider to view PDFs. While primarily it is a proficient PDF management tool, it packs a decent PDF viewer as well.  The PDF viewer comes with five different view modes as can be seen in the screenshot below –

To know more about these modes and other PDF management features of Advanced PDF Manager, check out this post.

Things You Can Do if PDF Preview Handler Is Not Working On Windows 11/10

1. Delete Temp Files

Sometimes temporary or cache files are the main cause behind errors, one of them being the “PDF Preview Handler” error in Outlook. In this case, you can clear temp files using the steps mentioned below and check if the problem is resolved –

  1. Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog box.
  2. Type %temp% in the Windows and press Enter.
  3. Press Ctrl + A to select all files.
  4. Press Shift + delete to delete all Temp

2. Ensure That the “PDF Preview Handler” Is Enabled

Another thing that you can check is if you have enabled the “PDF Preview Handler” option in Outlook. It could be that is disabled by default. Here are the steps to enable it –

  1. Open Outlook.
  2. Go to File and then to Options.
  3. Head to Test Center.
  4. Click on Trust Center
  5. Click on Attachment Handling from the left-hand pane.

  1. Uncheck Turn off Attachment Preview 
  2. Click on the Attachment and Document Previewers

  1. Check the PDF Preview Handler

  1. Click on OK

3. Fix Corrupted PDF File

Up until now if you have not been able to fix the “PDF preview handler error” in Outlook, chances are that your PDF file is corrupted. In such an event, you can take the help of a PDF repair tool like Stellar Repair for PDF that can help you repair PDF files. This tool can also help you restore forms, headers, footers, comments, and other elements.

  1. Download, install, and run Stellar Repair for PDF
  2. Click on the Add File

  1. Click on the Repair button

4. Run Windows Update

You might also want to consider checking your Windows for the latest updates since if you are unable to open attachments or preview them in Outlook, it could be that your Windows is outdated. To update Windows –

  1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
  2. From the left-hand side, click on Windows Update.
  3. Click on Check for updates.

  1. Fetch any pending updates.

Can’t update Windows? Receiving an error every time you try to update Windows, here are ways to fix the issue.

5. Manually Create Adobe Reader-related Registry Records

A corrupted registry entry with regards to Adobe Reader could be the reason why you are getting the PDF Preview Handler error in Outlook. You can create the registry required manually and check if you have been able to fix the issue. Before that, we urge you to take a backup of your registry and even create a System Restore Point so that if anything goes wrong, you can roll back to a version when everything was working fine –

  1. Open the Run dialog box and type Regedit.
  2. Navigate to the following location –

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Classes\CLSID\{DC6EFB56-9CFA-464D-8880-44885D7DC193

  1. Once you have reached the location, double-click on the AppID on the right and change the value data to 534A1E02-D58F-44f0-B58B-36CBED287C7C
  2. Click on OK.

Wrapping Up

We hope you can now preview your PDF files in Outlook and are no more receiving the “Preview Handler Error” on your Windows PC. If yes, do let us know which of the above fixes has worked out for you. For more such content, keep reading WeTheGeek. You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, and Flipboard.

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