Fix: “This File Cannot Be Previewed” Error in Outlook

Have you ever had a problem where you got the message and know how to Fix “This File Cannot Be Previewed” Error in Outlook ?” Users can’t look at the attached files in Outlook because of this mistake. The files you attach can be in any type you want, such as Word, Excel, PDF, PowerPoint, and so on. Outlook’s preview feature lets you see what’s in an email without having to read it. Usually, if you double-click on the file, the sample will open. But if you don’t have the program you need to see the paper, the preview might not work right.

When you try to preview attachments in Microsoft Outlook, you may get a message that says, “This File Cannot Be Previewed” Error Before you try any of the fixes below, make sure that your computer has the right program for opening the file. For example, to open PDF files on your PC, you need Excel for spreadsheets, Word for papers, and Adobe Reader. Here’s how to fix “This File Cannot Be Previewed” Error most of the time.

Run Adobe Reader in Compatibility Mode

It turns out that some Office 2016 programs, like Outlook, don’t work right when they are made to run normally on an operating system like Windows Server 2016. Several affected users in this situation have said that every time they tried to preview a file straight in Outlook, they got the PDF Preview Handler error. If this is the case, force Adobe Reader to run in Compatibility Mode with Windows 8 should fix the problem. Here’s a quick explanation of how to do it:

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the location of your Adobe Reader installation. If you didn’t install the PDF reader in a custom location, you will be able to find it in:
   • C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC
2. Once you get to the correct location, double click on the Reader folder.
3. Next, scroll down through the list of files and locate AcroRd32.exe. When you see it, right-click on it and choose Properties from the context menu.
4. Once you’re inside the Properties of AcroRd32.exe, select the Compatibility tab.
5. Next, under Compatibility more, check the box associated with Run this program in compatibility mode for, then select Windows 11/10 from the drop-down menu directly below.
6. Click Apply to save the changes, then restart your computer and repeat the action that was previously triggering the PDF Preview Handler error.

Optimize the User Interface

If you can’t open the paper, try making the user interface compatible. Open your previewer, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, etc., and do these things to fix the problem. If you want to know more information about this Visit Official Outlook Support site.

1. Go to File and tap on Options
2. In the General tab, select Optimize for Compatibility under User Interface Option
3. Click on the OK button and restart the previewer application

Disable Internet Auto-Detect

As it turns out, an Adobe Reader setting called “Internet Auto Detect” is one of the most likely things to cause the PDF Preview Handler problem. Several users who couldn’t use Outlook’s default previewer at all said that the problem was finally fixed when they went into the LAN settings of Adobe Reader and turned off the option to Automatically identify settings. Users who have this problem on Windows 10 usually say that this possible fix works. What you have to do is:

1. Open up your Adobe Acrobat Reader application. Once the utility is fully opened, go to Edit (from the ribbon bar at the top) and click on Preferences at the bottom of the newly appeared context menu.
2. Once you’re inside the preferences screen, use the Categories menu on the left-hand side to select Internet.
3. With the Internet tab selected, move to the right section and click on Internet Settings (under Internet Options).
4. After you manage to get inside the Internet Properties screen, select the Connections tab, then click on the LAN settings button (under Local Area Network settings).
5. Inside the Local Area Network (LAN) settings menu, uncheck the box associated with Automatically detect settings, then click Ok to save the changes.
6. Now that you’re back into the Internet Properties menu, click on Apply to save the changes.
7. Close Adobe Reader and restart your computer. Then, at the next computer startup, see if the issue is now resolved.

Make Adobe Reader the Default PDF Handler

As it turns out, this problem could happen if Adobe Reader is installed but isn’t set up to be the usual PDF handler and PDF thumbnail previews aren’t allowed in the application’s settings menu.

In this case, you can fix the problem by going to the Preferences menu and changing the settings so that Adobe Reader is the preferred choice. Here’s how to make Adobe Reader the default PDF handler, step by step:

1. Open Acrobat Reader and go to Edit > Preferences from the ribbon bar at the top.
2. Inside the Preferences menu, go to General from the left section, then move over to the right-hand side and start by enabling the checkbox associated with Enable PDF thumbnail previews in Windows Explorer.
3. Next, scroll down to the Application Startup section and click on Select As Default PDF Handler.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to make Adobe Reader the global PDF handler.
5. Once the operation is complete, restart your computer and see if the issue is resolved at the next system startup.

Accept Adobe Reader’s EULA

Another thing that could keep the PDF Preview Handler from working in Outlook is if Adobe Reader was installed but never started, so the EULA was never accepted. You have to agree to the EULA of Adobe Reader before you can use the preview function outside of Adobe Reader.

If this is the case, you can easily fix the problem by opening Adobe Reader for the first time and hitting the Accept button next to the Adobe Software License Agreement. After you do this, you can safely close the app and restart your computer. You should be able to use the previewer tool in Fix “This File Cannot Be Previewed” Error the next time you start it up.