Blog

Outlook Having PDF Preview Issues With Microsoft PowerToys

Apr 11, 2022 | Blog

Do you use Microsoft PowerToys?  If you’re not sure what that is then you probably don’t. If you’re curious, Microsoft has an open-source set of tools called PowerToys which is designed to allow power users to customize their Windows environments to taste.

In some instances, for some Microsoft 365 users, if the user in question also has PowerToys installed, it may cause an issue with Outlook’s PDF previewer. So when you get an email with a PDF attachment, and the conditions laid out above are also true, Outlook’s built in PDF viewer may not function for you.

This is obviously not an issue that is impacting millions of users around the world.  The conditions described above would only apply to a tiny slice of Windows 10 users. If you happen to be a Windows 10 user and you use Microsoft 365, you have PowerToys installed, and you also get emails with PDF attachments on a regular basis, you may have noticed this problem.

If it crops up for you, you’ll get a message telling you that Outlook is unable to preview the file because there is no previewer installed for it.

According to Microsoft, one of the reasons this error appears is because there is a PDF preview File Explorer add-on bundled with Microsoft PowerToys.  This add-on over-rides the PFD Preview setting in Microsoft 365.

Fortunately, if you are being impacted by this error there’s a simple fix for it.  You can simply open your PowerToys software, clicking “File Explorer Add-Ons” on the left-hand sidebar, and toggle the “Enable PDF Preview” option to off.

Again, this isn’t something that most people will ever even see.  There are a very specific set of conditions that must be true for this error to even pop up on your radar. If you are seeing it, now you know why, and knowledge is power.

FBI Program Tasked with Infrastructure Security Compromised

FBI Program Tasked with Infrastructure Security Compromised

The FBI program tasked with ensuring critical infrastructure security has been compromised by hackers, who now offer access to the program's data on the dark web. The breach was initially disclosed by Brian Krebs of Krebs on Security, who claims that the data was for...

Streamline Your Business with the Latest Smart Home Technology

Streamline Your Business with the Latest Smart Home Technology

Are you a business owner looking to get the most out of your Google smart home devices? If so, you're in luck! Google has enabled its Nest products and Android OS with the initial rollout of the Matter smart home standard. This means that businesses now have the...

Data Breach at Sequoia One Exposes Sensitive Customer Information

Data Breach at Sequoia One Exposes Sensitive Customer Information

What do you do when your most personal information has been compromised? This is likely the question that customers of Sequoia One asked themselves earlier this month as they were informed that the company had been hacked. Sequoia One specializes in the management of...

Cisco Reports Critical IP Phone Vulnerability

Cisco Reports Critical IP Phone Vulnerability

As a business owner, it's important to stay informed about potential vulnerabilities that could impact your organization. Recently, Cisco reported a critical vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022-20968, affecting its IP Phone 7800 and 8800 Series. This new vulnerability...

Google Chrome Releases Two New Features

Google Chrome Releases Two New Features

Google Chrome is one of the more commonly used web browsers. Over the years, though, Chrome has gained a reputation for utilizing a large portion of a computer's memory. This can be a problem if you're running other resource-intensive tasks and don't want to slow...

Get a Free Consultation

 

Fill out the form below to receive a free consultation and learn how we can make your technology worry-free!

 

Contact Information

  • 39301 Badger Street, Suite 500
    Palm Desert, CA 9221
  • (760) 333-8523
  • info@icn.tech