In previous versions of windows you could have a file preview pane in file explorer so that you could see the content of a file (Word or Excel etc.) before you opened it.
Is there a way to set the preview pane in Windows 10 – I have not been able to find it. If it isn't there I may need to revert to Windows 8.1 as I use it all the time – because we give our files numeric names in my company so the name gives you no idea what the file is!
Best Answer
I'm pretty sure that the OP is asking about how to view the contents of text-based files, such as Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, text files, etc. The preview pane doesn't necessarily show all of these.
I for one would like to know how to enable this so I could quickly preview .js, .php, .pug, or any other "text-based" file.
I found an easy way to do this is to go into your registry editor (run: regedit), then go into HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SOFTWARE -> CLASSES and find the entry for the file extension you want to be able to preview. Right-click on the folder with the entryname and select New -> String Value from the context window. Make sure it has the following properties:
It's not the most automatice, or elegant solution, but it works.
Credits to @user255627 for that one https://superuser.com/a/647459/638281