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Forum Discussion
PDF preview using Windows EXplorer
This is for my work account. We use smart sync at work.
Using Windows Explorer if I open a folder I have never been to and there are PDFs present. I will then click on said PDF. A preview pops up...
It looks like this thread began back in Sept 2020 with no resolution. I have many computers using dropbox at work. Only one new computer has this issue exactly as described earlier in this thread. Once a file has previewed one time it can't be previewed a second time. I can look at files stored in OneDrive and .pdf files preview just fine. This issue makes my workflow tedious, I need a fix for this. Did anyone come up with a solution?
Unfortunately no.
I have a terrible workaround. It works, but your not going to like it Nthreads .
If it's a folder i rarely access, I exit the folder. Select it and click online only, then go back in and have my 1 time previews.
If it's a folder with fles i absolutly need on my system at all times, or access regularly. So first set the folder to online only so it removes all files, then set it to local. If it downloads the file before you preview it, the preview will work repeatedily.
It only breaks when you preview a file that does not exist on your PC, and then you preview it. It will be forever broken until you make it online only or save it.
@marcasi, thank you for the update. Hopefully, they will fix it soon!
I've experienced this same problem and it is very annoying: I use the preview a lot to quickly find documents I need (naming conventions are not a thing where I currently work).
The workaround suggested by MarcASI works: first set the folder to Online only to remove all local copies of the files. Then change SmartSync to Local to download all documents. Preview now works as intended, not just the first time or only on files that I have saved myself. Marc, you were a lifesaver, thank you!
Taking troubleshooting one step further: my current thoughts. When you request a preview of an online document, the file gets downloaded to a (temporary?) location. The preview shows fine. Then when you click away from that file, something happens that makes the Explorer preview not able to find the file a second time. I'm thinking that maybe the file is removed from the temporary download location once you click away and the preview process is stopped for that particular file. Then when you open it a second time, the preview process cannot find the file in that temporary location. Preview: "That's odd, I was sure it was here the last time I looked!"
Or maybe when the preview process is called again for a file that has a Smart Sync marker "Local", it starts looking in the normal local location where it can't find the file until it has been 'properly' downloaded or saved by the user. Preview: "That's odd, it says it's a local file but there's nothing there to show!"
I also have this issue. Please fix this ASAP. It is enough of a problem that I will switch to Microsoft OneDrive soon, assuming this problem does not happen with its service.
Agree with the last post. Fix the issue, or we are gone, too...
Agree with last post. It doesn't work today again !
