How to View Files in Windows without Opening Them?

Quickly preview Windows files without opening them! This article introduces three ways to preview files in Windows 10 and 11 systems, and you can view the contents without opening the files.

How to view Windows files without opening?

Windows computers usually have a large number of files, such as Word documents, Excel tables, PowerPoint presentations, PDF files, photos, pictures, videos, music files, audio files, etc. Facing many files, how to find a specific file without opening it to view it? This article will introduce several methods.

Method 1: Enable the preview pane function

Windows Explorer comes with a "Preview Pane" feature that allows you to preview files without opening them. However, this function is not enabled by default and needs to be enabled manually.

Step 1: Press Windows E key to open Explorer.

Step 2: Switch to the View tab of the top menu. Then in the Panes section, select the Preview pane .

Once enabled, select the file to preview its contents.

Image preview example:

Video preview example:

Word document preview example:

PDF file preview example:

Excel file preview example:

Method 2: Use PowerToys Peek function

PowerToys is a tool provided by Microsoft. Its Peek feature allows you to preview pictures, web pages, text files, videos, Word documents, PDF files, and more in Explorer. PowerToys is not a pre-installed software for Windows and needs to be downloaded and installed from the Microsoft Store.

After installing PowerToys, use the shortcut key Ctrl Space in Explorer to open Peek preview.

Method 3: Use third-party software

If the preview pane and PowerToys feature that comes with Explorer are not enough to meet your needs, you can try using third-party software. Here are some recommendations:

Free Tools:

• QuickLook
• Cool File Viewer
• File Viewer Plus
• Free File Viewer

Paid Tools:

• WinQuickLook

These tools are all found and installed in the Microsoft Store.

Recover lost files

If a specific file is not found, it may be lost unexpectedly. You can view the Recycle Bin and if the file is in the Recycle Bin, you can restore to the original location by just right-clicking and selecting Restore .

If the file cannot be found in the recycling bin, you need to use a third-party data recovery software to recover. MiniTool Power Data Recovery is such a data recovery tool. You can first download and install MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free and then use it to scan the drive for missing files. The free version can recover 1GB of files. If you need to recover more files, you need to use the full version.

Summarize

This article introduces several ways to view Windows files without opening them. Additionally, for lost or deleted files, you can try to recover using MiniTool Power Data Recovery. If you have any questions, please contact us.

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