PDF thumbnails... again

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sinilill
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Joined: 02 Dec 2013 18:37

Re: PDF thumbnails... again

Post by sinilill »

But but but if you install PDF-Xchange Viewer, then it will generate thumbnails and preview for XYplorer. You just have to make it as the default PDF program.
In Windows Explorer you always have the option to right click and "Open with Adobe Acrobat Pro". In XYplorer you can make a PFA to open PDF's directly with Adobe Acrobat Pro.

christopherwood
Posts: 30
Joined: 07 Jul 2015 01:36

Re: PDF thumbnails... again

Post by christopherwood »

sinilill wrote:But but but if you install PDF-Xchange Viewer, then it will generate thumbnails and preview for XYplorer. You just have to make it as the default PDF program.
In Windows Explorer you always have the option to right click and "Open with Adobe Acrobat Pro". In XYplorer you can make a PFA to open PDF's directly with Adobe Acrobat Pro.
After some mucking about—download & install, reboot, then had to update (why was the installer from their own website not the most current?), then had to reboot again, then had to delete Xy's thumbnail cache (manually through WE; Xy balked)—this method actually worked. PDFs are thumbnailing properly. So, for that, cheers. :beer:

However, I hate to install a separate "unnecessary" program across my modest herd of machines just for PDF thumbnails. I think I will dink around a bit more, try clearing Xy's thumbnail cache or whatever else I can think of. Acrobat might be "crapware" (I won't argue that claim too strenuously), but I rely on it in workflow.

So, lemme get this right: To thumbnail PDFs, Xyplorer is tapping an external program, specified by Windows' default file association? What if I had no PDF reader ... would Xy just show me a generic icon? (Is this true for most/all other file types?)

Nobody else has reported this black-thumb oddity? How could it be just me ... !? :shock:

admin
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Re: PDF thumbnails... again

Post by admin »

1. Yes, no PDF reader = no thumbnail (unless you find a shell extension for PDF thumbnails without a reader software -- totally possible).

2. No black ones here.

christopherwood
Posts: 30
Joined: 07 Jul 2015 01:36

Re: PDF thumbnails... again

Post by christopherwood »

Just for giggles, I uninstalled PDF-Xchange, rebooted. Windows then had no file association for PDF, so I associated PDF to Acrobat Pro. I also manually cleared what few thumbnails were in the cache.

Then I fired up Xyplorer, and the PDFs are thumbnailing properly. :appl:

What the heck ...

admin
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Re: PDF thumbnails... again

Post by admin »

Check out ShellExView (filter by thumbnail handlers, 32-bit) to find out what's really responsible for the miracle.

christopherwood
Posts: 30
Joined: 07 Jul 2015 01:36

PDF thumbnails black boxes

Post by christopherwood »

On another machine that was showing black boxes for PDF thumbsnails, I manually cleared the Xyplorer thumbnail cache, then started Xyplorer, and the problem was fixed, PDFs are thumbnailing perfectly. Maybe something in the upgrade from a previous version? I dunno, odd that I have multiple machines doing it but nobody else has heard of it. Anyway, there's the easy fix: clear the thumbnail cache ... assuming it works on the rest of my compies.
admin wrote:Check out ShellExView (filter by thumbnail handlers, 32-bit) to find out what's really responsible for the miracle.
Wow TMI.
Last edited by christopherwood on 10 Dec 2015 18:44, edited 1 time in total.

christopherwood
Posts: 30
Joined: 07 Jul 2015 01:36

Re: PDF thumbnails black boxes

Post by christopherwood »

christopherwood wrote:easy fix: clear the thumbnail cache ... assuming it works on the rest of my compies.
Spoke too soon :( ... It helped a lot, but is not a 100% solution.
Last edited by christopherwood on 10 Dec 2015 18:44, edited 1 time in total.

sinilill
Posts: 111
Joined: 02 Dec 2013 18:37

Re: PDF thumbnails... again

Post by sinilill »

Just install PDF-XChange Viewer or Sumatra PDF reader http://www.sumatrapdfreader.org/free-pdf-reader.html
Both are very capable PDF readers, Sumatra is even faster than XChange, but XChange has more features.
Sumatra is very good at handling large PDF files, search is multiple times faster than Adobe junk. PDF-XChange Viewer has great options for viewing multiple documents at once, side by side, in tabs, etc, helps to keep the taskbar clutter-free.

christopherwood
Posts: 30
Joined: 07 Jul 2015 01:36

Re: PDF thumbnails... again

Post by christopherwood »

Yes, using another reader seems to work, but it then imposes on me the need to choose Adobe Acrobat manually every time I want to open a PDF ... or change my standard workflow from Acrobat to another PDF handler, which then involves other people at my day jobs. So it's a solution, thanks, but I want a better one. I will keep trying.

christopherwood
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Joined: 07 Jul 2015 01:36

Re: PDF thumbnails... again

Post by christopherwood »

"Refresh selected thumbnails" fixes the black boxes. Why would a PDF not thumbnail properly the first time, but refresh without a problem?

christopherwood
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Joined: 07 Jul 2015 01:36

Re: PDF thumbnails... again

Post by christopherwood »

So I added a "user button" on my toolbar, and gave it command #501. Now with one click, I make the black boxes into proper thumbnails. So far, seems to work every time, at any thumbnail size, and it's very fast. This is a better solution (for me) than installing a separate default PDF program.

I might live with this solution, or I might keep slapping my brain against it for something better. Who knows.

Very odd bug, but at least I've found a relatively painless workaround.

I still can't believe this is happening on several of my machines, but nobody else in the world has reported it. Inconceivable! :veryconfused:

admin
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Re: PDF thumbnails... again

Post by admin »

Indeed very curious. I hope to understand this one day.

christopherwood
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Re: PDF thumbnails... again

Post by christopherwood »

Just noticed, in a folder with 13 PDFs, only two of them thumbnailed, and they were the smallest files (72kb, 260kb). The rest were black boxes (592kb thru 4,536kb).

I wonder if filesize is causing the thumbnail operation to time out per item, maybe?

"Refresh thumbnails" worked as usual.

admin
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Re: PDF thumbnails... again

Post by admin »

No, there is nothing like that, not in my code.

christopherwood
Posts: 30
Joined: 07 Jul 2015 01:36

Re: PDF thumbnails... again

Post by christopherwood »

Nah, the file-size idea was a red herring.

I just don't see any particular causation for the black boxes. It's really weird.

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