Outlook: Fix “This file cannot be previewed”

When trying to preview attachments in Microsoft Outlook, you may receive a message that says “This file cannot be previewed because there is no previewer installed for it.” Here’s how you can fix this in most cases.

Fix 1 – Ensure Application is Installed

Ensure that the application used to open the file is installed. Excel for spreadsheets, Word for documents, and Adobe Reader for PDF files.

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Fix 2 – Check Attachment Handling Settings

1. In Outlook, go to “File” > “Options” > “Trust Center” > “Trust Center Settings…” > “Attachment Handling“.
2. Ensure that “Turn off Attachment Preview” is NOT checked.
3. Select the “Attachment and Document Previewers…” button.
4. Make sure that the previewer you wish to use is checked, then select “OK” three times.

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Fix 3 – Windows Registry Settings

There is commonly a problem where Windows is not configured to let Outlook preview Microsoft Office files such as Word, Excel, Visio, and PowerPoint files. Follow these steps to fix it.

1. Download PreviewFix.zip.
2. Open the file and double-click “PreviewFix.reg“.
3. When prompted, select “Yes” to import the file into the registry.

Try to preview an Office file from Outlook now.

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Fix 4 – Enable Windows Firewall

This is a strange one. But some user have reported that enabling the Windows Firewall fixes their issue. Follow these steps to ensure it’s on.

1. Select the “Start” button, then select “Settings“.
2. Navigate to “Update & Security” > “Windows Security” > “Firewall & network protection“.
3. Choose a network profile, and then under “Windows Defender Firewall“, turn the setting to “On“.

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Fix 5 – PDF Registry Fix

This fix is for users of 64 bit versions of Windows experiencing problems with previewing PDF files in Outlook.

1. Select the “Start” button, then type “regedit“.
2. Select and open the Registry Editor.
3. Navigate to the following location:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Wow6432Node \ Classes \ CLSID \ {DC6EFB56-9CFA-464D-8880-44885D7DC193}
4. Open “AppID“.
5. Change the “Value Data” to the following, then select “OK“:
   {534A1E02-D58F-44f0-B58B-36CBED287C7C}

Do you have any tricks for fixing the “This file cannot be previewed because there is no previewer installed for it.” message? Share them in the comments section.