[Fix] PDF Thumbnail and Preview Not Showing Up in File Explorer

pdf thumbnail and preview using microsoft powertoys

In your Windows computer, File Explorer may not display PDF thumbnails, and instead, show only the default icon assigned for PDF files. This might happen even if you have the option Always show icons, never thumbnails unchecked in the View tab of the Folder Options dialog.

pdf thumbnail and preview using microsoft powertoys
::BEFORE:: — No thumbnail and preview for PDF files

Also, in Microsoft Outlook you’ll see the error when viewing emails that contain PDF file attachments:

The file cannot be previewed because there is no previewer installed for it

This article tells you how to enable PDF thumbnails as well as the PDF preview capability (for the Preview pane) in File Explorer and Microsoft Outlook. The first method (PowerToys) works whether or not you’re using a third-party PDF viewer (e.g., Adobe PDF Reader or Foxit Reader).

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How to Print Your Windows Update History By Exporting to Text or HTML File?

winupdateslist - view installed windows updates

Every time you install an update or system installs it automatically, the Windows Update history is updated with the KB number. You can check the Windows Update history, but the GUI provides no option to print the list of updates installed from the Windows Update history screen. Here a couple of tools from Nirsoft site that can help you print the Windows Update history.Read more

How to Save and Restore Desktop Icon Layout Automatically in Windows

desktop icon layout desktopok

When testing various display resolutions or after completing a remote desktop session, the desktop icons may go out of order. Another case is that when you accidentally use the Ctrl+ Scroll button (mouse) on your desktop, the Desktop icon size changes. But reverting to the original icon size may not restore the custom icon positions on your desktop. You can quickly undo the icon rearrangement by terminating explorer.exe forcefully, but that works only in certain circumstances.

In this article, we’ll see how to automatically save and restore desktop icons layout using different methods in Windows.Read more

How to Delete a Windows Service in Windows 10/11 and Earlier

service short name services mmc

Have you come across a situation where uninstalling software leaves its Service or driver entries in the registry, and Windows tries to load them at every boot, fails, and logs the error to the System Event log at every startup?

This article tells you how to delete an orphaned service in Windows 10 (and earlier) using the registry, SC.exe command-line, PowerShell, or Autoruns. Before proceeding further, create a System Restore Point and take a complete Registry backup.

If you find that no dependents exist for a service, you can delete the leftover or unwanted Service in Windows using one of the following methods.

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