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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Preview application no longer works

vexmagazine - Jan 5, 2007 - 4:32 pm

For some reason the "Preview" application no longer loads on my Mac. Can it simply be re-installed or is there a way to go into system preferences to wake it back up?

Cheryl - Jan 6, 2007 - 7:28 am

Mark,

Try this and let me know if Preview opens or not.

Go to Home>Library>Preferences
Go to the view menu and select by list. This will put all the files in Alpha order making it easier to find things.
Locate and trash the com.apple.Preview.plist file.
Empty the trash.

Now go to Applications and start up Preview. Does it open? If not, what exactly happens?

Cheryl

vexmagazine - Jan 6, 2007 - 12:32 pm

Cheryl,

Yes ... it opens properly now. Thanks very much for your help. I wouldn't mind, however, understanding why this problem might have occurred in the first place. Would you be able to explain it to me, please?

Thanks, once gain, for helping me out.


Mark.

Cheryl - Jan 6, 2007 - 1:04 pm

Mark,

It could be the preference file got corrupt, which sometimes happens. We really do not know how or why a file gets corrupt, but it can render the program unusable.

I will close this ticket since your problem has been solved. If you ever have another problem, just open a new ticket.

Cheryl

vexmagazine - May 29, 2007 - 9:19 pm

Hi.

You helped me once before when my Preview application stopped working. You had me go into Home/Library/Preferences and delete the com.apple.Preview.plist file. But recently the application just stopped working once again ... I tried the previous solution process, but the file is obviously no longer there.

Basically, image & pdf files that are set up to open in Preview as a default are no longer opening. And when I simply open Preview ... and then use the "Open" commend to try to open them, the application freezes & I have to do a "Force Quit" to close it off.

Any other ideas as to what might be wrong?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Mark.

Cheryl - May 29, 2007 - 11:45 pm

Mark,

Did you install anything lately? If you installed Adobe's Acrobat Reader, this could be causing the problem.
Have you tried restarting the computer?

Cheryl

vexmagazine - May 30, 2007 - 9:27 am

Nothing installed lately except for the system updates that come automatically. And yes, I've restarted the computer a couple of times. Unfortunately, still nothing.

I have Preview docked. When I click on the icon the application seems (at first) to open. But when I go to File / Open or Open Recent it freezes up & I have to do a Force Quit. Any image or PDF file that is set to have Preview as the default also freezes the application when I dbl-click on it.

It's actually the very same problem (at least it appears that way) that I had last time. The only problem is, I no longer have that "com.apple" file to trash & reboot it anymore.

Is there anything else you can think of that I might be able to try?

Thanks.

Mark.

Cheryl - May 30, 2007 - 11:52 pm

Mark,

First, take the Preview icon from the dock and put it in the trash.

Now go to the Go Menu>Applications.
when that opens find Preview and click twice on that.
A new icon will appear in the dock.
Now go to one of your pdf files and click twice on that. It should open without a problem.

Let me know how you do.

Cheryl

vexmagazine - May 31, 2007 - 12:14 am

Cheryl,

I did precisely as instructed, but still no dice.

(???)


Mark.

Cheryl - Jun 1, 2007 - 7:00 am

Mark,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

Go to the Utilities folder (In Applications) and start up Disk Utility.
When that opens click on the second icon in the side bar at the left, then click on Repair Permissions.

Do not worry about what is displayed in the activity box. Once done, quit Disk Utility and give Preview a try.

Let me know how you do.

Cheryl

vexmagazine - Jun 1, 2007 - 9:22 am

Still nothing, I'm afraid. It's very strange. All I was doing was clicking through some photos I have that are defaulted to open with Preview. Then, all of a sudden, right in the middle of it, Preview just stopped working.

Is it something that can just be re-installed?

Mark.

Cheryl - Jun 2, 2007 - 7:19 am

Mark,

It is odd that just Preview is not working. There is one more preference file that could be causing the problem.

Go to home>library>Preferences and trash the com.apple.Preview.bookmarks.plist file

Empty the trash and now give it a try.

Yes, there is a way to install just Preview. First you need to download the utility called Pacifist from here:

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/6812

Let me know when you get that. You also need your 10.4 install disk. In the meantime, I will work out the instructions so you can find and reinstall Preview.

(I am assuming that you are running Tiger 10.4.x)

Cheryl

vexmagazine - Jun 3, 2007 - 9:57 am

I went to the Preferences folder under Library ... I have a file there called "com.apple.Preview.plist" ... but no file called "com.apple.Preview.BOOKMARKS.plist"

I didn't want to do anything else until I got confirmation from you regarding this being the correct or incorrect file.

Thanks.

Mark.

Cheryl - Jun 3, 2007 - 6:19 pm

Mark,

Go ahead and trash that file. Now give Preview a try.

Cheryl

vexmagazine - Jun 4, 2007 - 12:01 am

SUCCESS!!!

It's working now. Thanks for everything, Cheryl.

Mark.

Cheryl - Jun 4, 2007 - 12:11 am

Mark,

It could be that the preference file gets corrupt periodically. No one really knows why.
If you set your preference folder to open in list (just go to the View menu and select by list), you will then be able to scroll down the alpha list to find that preference file for Preview and trash it.

I will close this ticket, since your problem is solved. Do not hesitate to come back if you have further problems.

Cheryl