Acrobat X Pro: No Thumbnail Views in Window Explorer File Manager: Window 7 64 bit

Acrobat X is a 32Bit application and the 64Bit Explorer of Windows 7 will not generate the thumbnails for a 32Bit app.

Here's a work around for this.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/895561

Thanks Radzmar. I will give the work around a try. Good hunting, I was not able to find this in my searches.

I could not tell from reading it if I am subsequently restricted to using the 32 bit version of Windows Explorer or if there is a toggle between the 64 bit version, or what, if anything, I'm giving up (?)

Meanwhile, every other 32 bit app (which is every app I have) generates thumbnails in the 64 bit Windows Explorer file manager. Acrobat 9 generated thumbnail views. Most apps include a 64bit .dll to generate the thumbnails. I have a couple who have provided the .dll separately. It seems most likely a program as sophisticated as Acrobat X has a thumbnail generator for Win 64 bit operating systems included in its install routine like most every other 32 bit application.

Where I have encountered this problem with other programs (ArtRage for instance), the problem has only been in the registering of the .dll which had to be done manually - a simple process as long as the provider includes the instructions. I wonder if you or anyone is aware if this may be another avenue for solving this problem with AcrobatX which would seem the more desirable path???

Thanks again - and any additional thoughts much appreciated.

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Edit an hour later: Some further research on the problem, I found a post in a different forum, pasted below, that is proving true. The thumbnails CAN be generated in the following procedure, but only for files in the target folder that are already present. It suggest that the problem is with registering the 64 bit .dll thumbnail generator in Acrobat, not that it doesn't have one. (?). I'm still searching.

The thread for the link that has a long conversation for the following post is:
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistaappearance/thread/b93bd0ac-3947-499c-891f-33e83f5f7b3e

Snippit: ...Bryk Users MedalsUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers MedalsUsers Medals
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I've been digging for an answer to this same problem and I found a post on an adobe forum that worked for me. It's accredited to marin85 on forum.thinkpads.com who is, right now at least, my very favorite person. No guarantees this will work for everyone, but it doesn't hurt to try. Here's the information:

Go into Acrobat ... chose File Open, point it to any folder containing PDFs, choose Views/Large Icons. That generated the thumbnails for me in the Open window AND the thumbnails were also visible when I went to the same folder in Windows Explorer. So far they haven't vanished. (Knock on wood.)

The only slight bummer is that it didn't magically create thumbnails for all the pdf files on my system, just the ones in that folder. To see PDF thumbnails in other folders you have to repeat the process for the other folders. But...better than opening all the PDF files to try to figure which is which. That was driving me crazy! Good luck!* Proposed As Answer byvillandro Tuesday, November 10, 2009 11:54 PM

I have found the following fix (with a long review of this problem) at: http://www.pretentiousname.com/adobe_pdf_x64_fix

Before running it I would like to know if anyone knows if there is a risk, or, since this is a known problem with various "unofficial" fixes if Adobe has an "official" fix with the release of AcrobatX.

See my previous post also which illustrates it's a problem in the handler performance, not that the handler isn't there for generating pdf thumbnails in 64 bit Window.

Thanks,
Byron

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Edit: see my final post below as the "accepted answer". This problem is resolved in two seconds by simply running this little routine described above that changes a setting in the Windows registry.

Acrobat X does _not_ include a 64-bit shell handler for thumbnails in Windows Explorer, nor has any previous version. The various "fixes" either set Windows to use the 32-bit version of Explorer, or add a proxy so the 64-bit host can attempt to use the WOW64 engine to run a 32-bit thread. Both methods are in theory safe, but are entirely unsupported and come with no guarantees.

By using the File dialog within the Acrobat or Reader application, thumbnails are generated by the application thread rather than the shell handler - it's a consequence of the way the MFC works, but doesn't prove anything about the presence of a handler registration.

It was decided not to include 64-bit thumbnail support in this release. Previews will work fine in Windows Explorer for both x64 and i86, and PDF thumbnails are supported in applications such as Adobe Bridge, which is suggested as the most appropriate file browser utility for Creative Suite, Acrobat and media files.

Thanks UVSAR for the clarification. I wonder why Adobe elect to not include the 64 bit handler? It seems the only major sw provider leaving it out (?)

I've a pending "case" with Adobe tech support running on this now. They seem to have "accepted" the case. I'll post the result and then close the thread. Again, thanks for the feedback.

A final question - any drawbacks on setting 64-bit Windows to run the 32-bit version of Windows Explorer?

After hours of research and conflicting answers, including hours long sessions with Adobe technical support, I found a fix that worked in just a few seconds to change a couple of registry settings. The fix is at http://www.pretentiousname.com/adobe_pdf_x64_fix

It's a simple automated fix developed by an enterprising fellow frustrated by the same problem. The fix seems to work well, almost instantly. The Adobe technical staff seems to have never heard of it though apparently it's been around for over a year. I spent over three hours with Adobe technical people on the phone and they couldn't figure out how to solve the problem. Kudo's to the young man who has provided a fix that takes seconds.

Many thanks, Byron. This worked perfectly and finally fixed a problem that has plagued me for some time. I encourage everyone else who is having this problem to follow the link above.

Thanks again.

Thanks tbd85. I've had hours of discussion and communication about this with Adobe. I certainly appreciate and use Adobe products. On the whole I think they're great. Why, then, Adobe allows this simple but bothersome problem to persist when there is an endless number of reports about it on the internet, and when they are aware of this instant fix, remains a mystery.

Best,
Byron