Adobe Acrobat Reader includes a thumbnail extractor shell extension which generates thumbnail preview for PDF files in Explorer. If you want to disable PDF thumbnail generation for performance or for other reasons, use the steps listed below:
(This assumes that you have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed in your system.)
Disable Thumbnail Preview for .PDF files
Note: For an automated solution using REG files, see section Registry Fix in this article.
1. Launch Regedit.exe and navigate to the following branch:
2. Backup the branch using the Export option under File menu.
3. Right-click {BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1} and choose Delete. Click Yes when prompted for confirmation.
4. Exit the Registry Editor.
5. Logoff and login back for the change to take effect.
If you’re using Windows Vista, the Preview pane can still generate preview for PDF files, despite the above setting.
Registry Fix
1. Download pdf-thumb.zip and save to Desktop.
2. Extract the files to a folder.
3. Double-click pdf-thumb-disable.reg to run it.
4. Logoff and login back for the change to take effect.
Undo information: To reverse the changes, run the file pdf-thumb-enable.reg.
Related Posts
- How to Disable Taskbar Thumbnail Preview in Windows 7
- How to Fix Image Thumbnails Not Displayed in Windows 7 and Vista?
- Enable Thumbnail Support for .NEF File Type in Vista
- How to Increase the Taskbar Thumbnail Preview Size in Windows 7
- How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows 7 and Windows Vista
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To those looking for a 64-bit PDF thumbnail fix:
http://www.pretentiousname.com/adobe_pdf_x64_fix/index.html