When you double-click an image or a PDF in a Finder folder on Mac, it should automatically open in the built-in Apple Preview app, as that’s the default macOS app to view photos and PDFs. However, if you can’t open these files on Mac, here are all the solutions to fix it.
Use the ‘Open With’ option
If a double-click on a photo or PDF document fails to open the file in Preview, it means another app is set as the default for opening images and PDFs on your Mac. We talk more about this in the next section, but for now, you can right-click the image or PDF and choose Open With > Preview, and the file should open right in.
Set Preview as the default app to open images and PDFs
macOS lets you set the default app to open specific file types. For example, I have configured all video files (MP4, MKV, etc.) to open in VLC Media Player rather than the default QuickTime Player.
It’s possible you changed the default app for opening images and PDFs on your Mac in the past. It’s also likely that you unknowingly changed this setting by simply clicking Allow or OK on an app pop-up when it asked you to be your Mac’s default photo or PDF viewer app.
You can quickly revert this change by setting Apple’s Preview as the default app to open images and PDFs on your Mac. After this, whenever you double-click on a photo or PDF, it will automatically open in the familiar Preview app.
Make sure the entire file is downloaded
It can also happen that the image or PDF is not fully downloaded from the browser or the app. A partial file can also be created if you were transferring it to your Mac from an Android phone or via AirDrop from your iPhone or iPad, and the transfer failed for some reason.
Incomplete files can’t be opened in any standard app.
To fix this, just re-download the partial image/PDF or transfer it again.
Re-download the full image or PDF and retry opening it
Some Word files I download from the Slack app on my Apple silicon Mac mini or MacBook Pro don’t open on the first attempt. But after deleting the file and re-downloading, it opens perfectly in the Pages app. I can attribute this error to a problem in the Slack app. So, if you face a similar issue, update the app in question, and it should hopefully fix the issue.
Though I have faced this problem with Word (.docx) files, it can also happen with files of other formats. So, if you’re unable to open a fully downloaded image or PDF in Mac’s Preview, delete it, re-download it, and hopefully, Preview can open it now.
Check the file extension
In some cases, even after the file has been downloaded or transferred completely, the extension at the end of its name may be incorrect or have some extra text. Simply select the file, hit the enter/return key to rename it, and add the correct extension name.
- Image: Most popular image formats are PNG, JPEG, JPG, GIF, TIFF, and WebP.
- PDF: All PDFs have the .pdf extension at the end of their file name.
Force Quit Preview and reopen it
We can’t rule out the possibility of minor random glitches in the Preview app causing it to fail to open an image or PDF. To address this, click the Apple icon > Force Quit > select Preview > Force Quit.
Now, double-click the previously un-openable image or PDF, and it should instantly become viewable in Preview.
Restart your Mac
This is an important solution that you should not overlook. If you have been running your Mac continuously for days, it’s likely that some things may not work as intended. To address this, shut down your Mac for a few minutes, then power it on again, or click the Apple icon and select Restart.
Update your Mac
The Preview app should work reliably in any version of macOS. But for the sake of smoothness, go to System Settings > General > Software Update and install the latest version of macOS available for your computer. If you’re on macOS Monterey or earlier, go to System Preferences > Software Update.
Convert the image before opening it
Apple’s Preview app can open various image formats. Though I couldn’t find an exhaustive list of file formats it supports, I’m confident it can handle all popular formats, such as PNG, JPEG/JPG, JPEG 2000, GIF, TIFF, PSD, etc.
If your image is in another format, consider converting it to PNG or JPEG, and then you can open the converted file in Mac’s Preview.
- Convert HEIC to JPG on iPhone and Mac
- Convert WebP images to JPG or PNG and vice versa on Mac
- Convert various image file types to JPG or PNG on iPhone or iPad
Important: Did you export a project from an app and not an image? Preview can’t open that. Open the related app, save your project as an image or PDF, and then view it in Preview.
Remove the PDF password and then open it
The Preview app can easily open PDFs that are protected with a passcode and can even help you remove the passcode. But if you can’t open a password-protected PDF in Preview, use another method to remove the password, then try opening it again. It should work.
Try any other app to open images and PDFs
Finally, if none of the above solutions help, you can explore other apps to open the said image or PDF. Hopefully, one such app is compatible with the image type or PDF and can open it.
Tips:
- Open a new tab in Google Chrome or Firefox on your Mac, drag the image or PDF onto the browser, and it should open.
- For viewing PDFs, you can download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
