Symptoms

When trying to preview a PDF attachment in an email in MS Outlook, the message appears:

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

Cause

One of the causes of the issue may be Microsoft PowerToys that is installed on a PC, which has overridden the PDF Preview setting.

Resolution

If Microsoft PowerToys is installed on the PC, please try to follow the steps below:

1. Make sure that FineReader PDF 15 is set as a default PDF viewer: Setting FineReader PDF 15 as a default PDF viewer.
2. In the Windows Start menu, search for PowerToys app and open it.
3. Select File Explorer Add-ons and disable Enable PDF (.pdf) preview.

Additional information

The issue is also described in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article: Outlook PDF preview error: This file cannot be previewed because there is no previewer installed for it.