Ever since I got my mac...see sig. preview wont open and it is very aggrevating. Ive been opening pictures and pdf documents with graphic converter. I click a photo or pdf document and preview pops up on the dock, but then dissapears. Could somebody please help me figure out how to fix this so I can use preview. Thanks so much in advance.
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Preview Wont Open!!!
- Thread starter MattyMac
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Sounds like either a conflict or a permissions issue. Try fixing permissions and running maintenance scripts. Those generally fix weirdness like that.
MattyMac said:
Well, some peeps will lambast me for this, but I'd go to versiontracker.com and DL Cocktail and run the cron scripts, perm fix from there. I also use Tiger Cache Cleaner, but the purists will either want you to use cocktail or run it from the terminal, or not do it at all.
I do so much heavy lifting with my macs that Tiger Cache Cleaner is a must for me. Give it a shot and run the standard stuff, then restart. It fixes 95% of the normal operating weirdness I encounter with extended use.
Have you also tried changing what app opens pics? maybe Gaphic Converter hijacked the process?
I do so much heavy lifting with my macs that Tiger Cache Cleaner is a must for me. Give it a shot and run the standard stuff, then restart. It fixes 95% of the normal operating weirdness I encounter with extended use.
Have you also tried changing what app opens pics? maybe Gaphic Converter hijacked the process?
MattyMac said:
I'd say run the scripts then. If that doesn't work, clean out your cache. If that doesn't work, you've got a conflict somewhere in there that might require a reinstall of the combo updater. If that doesn't work, you can do an archive and install. If that doesn't work, a clean install :-D
I say all that because I had a printing issue (print utility would crash on print cmd or PDF from print) that eventually required me to do a clean install to fix. I never found out what the conflict was, but it was worth it for me to actually be able to print from my iMac.
I say all that because I had a printing issue (print utility would crash on print cmd or PDF from print) that eventually required me to do a clean install to fix. I never found out what the conflict was, but it was worth it for me to actually be able to print from my iMac.
MattyMac said:
I'd find a file named com.apple.Preview.plist and drag it to the Desktop. You may have a corrupt preference file. 
The system apps that Some_Big_Spoon are great but they can be a bit too powerful for the average user. Sometimes I find it's best to let OSX handle the cache files and various maintenance tasks itself.
The system apps that Some_Big_Spoon are great but they can be a bit too powerful for the average user. Sometimes I find it's best to let OSX handle the cache files and various maintenance tasks itself.
mad jew said:I'd find a file named com.apple.Preview.plist and drag it to the Desktop. You may have a corrupt preference file.
The system apps that Some_Big_Spoon are great but they can be a bit too powerful for the average user. Sometimes I find it's best to let OSX handle the cache files and various maintenance tasks itself.
so once I drag that file to the desktop...what do I do next?
Do it while Preview is closed. The next time you open Preview, it'll have to create a new default version which will be corrupt free. This means that if your problem was a corrupt preference file (and it's showing all the right signs) then the corruption will be gone.
Of course, you'll lose all your customised preferences for Preview in the meantime. Thankfully there aren't that many. You can then delete the file on your Desktop if this works. If not, you can put the file back where you found it, replacing the new one, and retain all your old preferences.
Of course, you'll lose all your customised preferences for Preview in the meantime. Thankfully there aren't that many. You can then delete the file on your Desktop if this works. If not, you can put the file back where you found it, replacing the new one, and retain all your old preferences.
mad jew said:Do it while Preview is closed. The next time you open Preview, it'll have to create a new default version which will be corrupt free. This means that if your problem was a corrupt preference file (and it's showing all the right signs) then the corruption will be gone.
Of course, you'll lose all your customised preferences for Preview in the meantime. Thankfully there aren't that many. You can then delete the file on your Desktop if this works. If not, you can put the file back where you found it, replacing the new one, and retain all your old preferences.
unfortunately preview has never openened at all...
Good point. I should have picked up on that earlier. Irrespective, did trashing the PLIST file help? If not, create a new account in System Preferences and see if it'll let you open Preview from there.
Sounds like the executable has messed up permissions, meaning you're not allowed, for some reason, to execute the application.
My friend made a little app to fix it:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/21794
I can't remember if it still works in Tiger or not, and I don't have a broken app to fix. Come to think of it, it didn't work last time I tried it, so you should probably do this instead: (this is what the app does automatically)
1)Right Click (or control click), the Preview application in your applications folder.
2)Go to "Show Package Contents"
3)In the folder that opens, open the folder "Contents", and in that folder "MacOS" In that folder there should be a black rectangular icon entitled "Preview. Leave it alone.
4)In the "Utilities" folder in your Applications folder, open the app called "Terminal".
5)In the terminal window that comes up, type, without the quotes, "sudo chmod +x " (with the space on the end)
6)Drag the black "Preview" icon from the "MacOS" folder into the terminal window and drop it there. It should add a line of text to the end of what you just typed looking something like this: "/Applications/Preview.app/Contents/MacOS/Preview "
7)Press enter, put in your admin password, make sure it doesn't give you any errors, and then try to open the Preview application in your Applications folder.
If that doesn't work, why not give that app I mentioned earlier a shot...might as well.
My friend made a little app to fix it:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/21794
I can't remember if it still works in Tiger or not, and I don't have a broken app to fix. Come to think of it, it didn't work last time I tried it, so you should probably do this instead: (this is what the app does automatically)
1)Right Click (or control click), the Preview application in your applications folder.
2)Go to "Show Package Contents"
3)In the folder that opens, open the folder "Contents", and in that folder "MacOS" In that folder there should be a black rectangular icon entitled "Preview. Leave it alone.
4)In the "Utilities" folder in your Applications folder, open the app called "Terminal".
5)In the terminal window that comes up, type, without the quotes, "sudo chmod +x " (with the space on the end)
6)Drag the black "Preview" icon from the "MacOS" folder into the terminal window and drop it there. It should add a line of text to the end of what you just typed looking something like this: "/Applications/Preview.app/Contents/MacOS/Preview "
7)Press enter, put in your admin password, make sure it doesn't give you any errors, and then try to open the Preview application in your Applications folder.
If that doesn't work, why not give that app I mentioned earlier a shot...might as well.