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Preview Pane Not Showing Previews

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Christina Yuen

This article describes how to bring previews back when they are missing from the preview pane.

Sometimes the preview in the preview pane will either be blank or display the SOLIDWORKS icon thumbnails rather than a preview of the file. It is likely that the "sldthumbnailprovider.dll" and/or the "sldwinshellextu.dll" are missing from the SolidWorks installation or are damaged. Please go through these options and methods to resolve this issue.

Check SolidWorks System Options for Thumbnail Graphics

This is located under Tools > Options > System Options > General. Turn on “Show thumbnail graphics in Windows Explorer” if is it not turned on already.

Register the sldthumnailprovider.dll

  1. Click Windows Start
  2. Search for cmd In "Search program and files"
  3. Right-click on cmd.exe and select Run as administrator
  4. In the command prompt type: regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\Common Files\SOLIDWORKS Shared\sldthumbnailprovider.dll"

    Note: This is the default file path, please follow the file path on your system to make sure it contains sldthumbnailprovider.dll

    Windows_Command_Prompt_Run_as_Administrator.png

  5. Press Enter to register the DLL file A message prompt should return stating it has succeeded.

    Windows_Command_Prompt_Register_DLL_Successful.png

Check to see if the issue has been resolved. The files may need to be opened, rebuilt, and saved to generate a preview image. If it is not resolved, proceed to register the sldwinshellextu.dll

Register the sldwinshellextu.dll

  1. Click Windows Start
  2. Search for cmd In "Search program and files"
  3. Right-click on cmd.exe and select Run as administrator
  4. In the command prompt type regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\Common Files\SolidWorks Shared\sldwinshellextu.dll"

    Note: This is the default file path, please follow the file path on your system to make sure it contains sldwinshellextu.dll and make changes as needed.

  5. Press Enter to register the DLL file. A message prompt should return stating it has succeeded.

    Windows_Command_Prompt_Register_Winshell_Successful.png

Check to see if the issue has been resolved. The files may need to be opened, rebuilt, and saved to generate a preview image.

If you are unable to register the DLL file, or the previews do not return, run a repair of SOLIDWORKS.

 

For more information, please refer to S-048676 in the SolidWorks Knowledge Base.

For further assistance, please contact our Hawk Ridge Systems support at 877-266-4469 (US) or 866-587-6803 (Canada) and support@hawkridgesys.com

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  • Avatar
    Esther Park

    If the above instructions do not work, then a windows explorer option may be preventing the previews from showing. Article S-067608 in the SolidWorks Knowledge Base discusses this behavior and resolution.

    This behavior may be controlled by the Windows Explorer settings:

    In Windows Explorer select
    Organize >> Folder and Search Options >> View

    Uncheck the 'Always show Icons, never thumbnails'
    Check the 'Show Preview Handlers in Preview pane'

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  • Avatar
    Patrick James

    That Solution doesn't show up anymore, try this one:
    S-051822

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