Forum Discussion
Opening PDF attachments in Outlook to default PDF viewer
For me now it works. The only difference is that I need to do right click and press open instead of a double click on the .pdf file, then the pdf file will open in my selected pdf viewer.
The steps I followed:
Open Outlook and go to the "File" tab at the top left corner of the window.
In the File menu, click on "Options."
In the Outlook Options window, select the "Trust Center" tab.
Click on the "Trust Center Settings..." button.
In the Trust Center window, select the "Attachment Handling" option on the left side.
Under the "Attachment and Document Previewers" section, locate the entry for PDF files (extension .pdf) and make sure it is set to "Adobe Acrobat Document" or your preferred PDF viewer.
If the correct program is already selected, you can try toggling the setting off and back on by unchecking and rechecking the checkbox.
Click "OK" to save the changes and close the Trust Center window.
Click "OK" again to close the Outlook Options window.
Then:
Clear Outlook temporary files: Clearing temporary files associated with Outlook might help resolve any cached data causing the issue.
Close Outlook.
Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
Type %localappdata%\Microsoft\Outlook and press Enter.
Delete all the files and folders within the Outlook folder.
Restart Outlook and check if the issue persists.
And then, I can just open in my default pdf viewer by right clicking and pressing open:
This may be the case for the "Old" Outlook. This cannot be how you can do it in the "New" Outlook as there is no longer a "File" Tab.
Additionally, when you are using the "New" Outlook your options with right clicking are:
So apparently the "New" Outlook is a big piece of Trash. It's like using Google mail. Good Job MS. If I want to play on the web I'll get on the Web. If I paying for software I want to use software. Please let me know why I'm wrong.
- I have the same problem... and the fact that the "save as" option is not available anymore is very annoying. So when I want to download a PDF, it automatically downloads it into the Download Folder and opens the PDF... it's very unproductive.
- As of June 2024 Microsoft has a roadmap claim that states "In the new Outlook for Windows, users can now open attachments of all types in their respective desktop app by double clicking them." with rollout "starting August 2024". See https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?featureid=401123
No specifics on how it works or how to configure it, and it is "In Development" while also claiming to begin rolling out this month.
Keep providing feedback through the app's Help > Feedback (or Suggest a Feature), or (if you have it) your Microsoft CSM to get this critical feature delivered.At which point did Microsoft lose the User Centric Design memo and decide to change absolutely everything in their most used application? Or is there some focus group somewhere that just laps this new stuff up that has no representation of people that use these apps day in day out?
