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Recently, Preview gives black screen for scanned files, but thumbnail is o.k and scanned file opens fine with acrobat. This is relatively new problem. Earlier, Preview working fine for all files and still opens other PDF files without problems.
Tried previous suggestion of deleting /com.apple.Preview.plist file to no avail.
Any other suggestions ?
MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.13
If rebooting your Mac doesn’t fix things, see if the problem still happens in Safe mode (hold the shift key down at startup). It can take much longer to safe boot (10 min) so be patient.
How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support
Safe mode disables loading third-party drivers, forces the OS to do disk repair, clear certain caches and logs and other miscellaneous housekeeping. It's non-destructive to user data so is safe to do. Very often certain weird software behavior is corrected by simply logging in this way as a troubleshooting method. When you're in safe boot, the machine will not be at its best performance, especially with graphics, but that's expected.
Does the problem persist while in Safe mode?
Exit safe mode by restarting your Mac normally and re-evaluate the issue again.
If the problem is still unresolved, please return here and post a reply and we’ll see what else we can come up with for help.
If rebooting your Mac doesn’t fix things, see if the problem still happens in Safe mode (hold the shift key down at startup). It can take much longer to safe boot (10 min) so be patient.
How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support
Safe mode disables loading third-party drivers, forces the OS to do disk repair, clear certain caches and logs and other miscellaneous housekeeping. It's non-destructive to user data so is safe to do. Very often certain weird software behavior is corrected by simply logging in this way as a troubleshooting method. When you're in safe boot, the machine will not be at its best performance, especially with graphics, but that's expected.
Does the problem persist while in Safe mode?
Exit safe mode by restarting your Mac normally and re-evaluate the issue again.
If the problem is still unresolved, please return here and post a reply and we’ll see what else we can come up with for help.
Good to know that it worked in safe mode.
Give this a shot –
Try resetting the NVRAM. The NVRAM is a special memory section on your Mac that stores data that persists even when the Mac is shut off, such as volume settings and screen resolution - it's the information the computer uses to maintain settings after a reboot. Best to hold the keys at startup until the Mac has chimed 3-4 times, then release.
Reset the NVRAM
How to Reset NVRAM / PRAM on your Mac - Apple Support
If that doesn't work, see if the problem exists only in your computer user account or across all users. To test this you can easily create a new user by navigating to System Preferences > Users & Groups.
Uninstalling Preview is not an option since it's an integral part of macOS. However, it is possible to reinstall your current version of macOS and all of it's components without wiping out any of your user data.
Reinstalling macOS does not have to erase your user data. The only time that should happen is if you choose to delete, erase, format or partition your startup drive. You won't do that at this time.
If you select Reinstall macOS High Sierra from the macOS Utilities window after rebooting in Recovery mode, the OS should be reinstalled on top of the current installation, thereby refreshing any missing or damaged files within the current macOS version. That is assuming that the drive device and volumes are healthy.
As always, it is recommended to back up your Mac before attempting this... just in case.
Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support
To non-destructively reinstall macOS as a troubleshooting measure - without deleting user files, documents, pics and vids, etc. – boot your Mac in Recovery mode by restarting and when you hear the startup chime press the Command-R (⌘R) keys until you see the Apple logo and progress bar.
Follow the onscreen instructions to “Reinstall macOS…”.
How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support
NOTE– You should not have to delete, erase, format, partition or otherwise alter your startup disk for this. If that becomes an option, quit the process and restart your Mac normally. Then come back here for additional advice.
Thank you very much for your suggestions. The problem disappeared when in safe mode.
The scanned documents opened normally, along with all the other PDFs.
However, returning to "normal" mode, the problem returned. Again, only with the scanned PDFs, never those from any other source.
I'm open to trying any other maneuvers to solve this.
I do appreciate your suggestions.
I reset the PRAM ( I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro, running MacOs 10.13.6, which, I'm told, is the last version that will work on this hardware).
Problem persists, Preview opens PDFs from other sources without problem, but scanned files show up with blackened main screen, while thumbnails are normal.
My MBP is configured for multi-users, but switching to another account did NOT solve the problem.
Do you think un-installing Preview, then re-installing would help?
Maybe I should do some double-shooting on the printer side, altho there hasn't been any change that I've made there at all.
Preview not opening scanned files.
