PDF tab missing in Windows Explorer

Question

We have a number of Windows 7 and Vista machines running Acrobat 9 Standard or Professional.  When viewing the file properties of any PDF in Windows Explorer on any of these machines except one, there's a "PDF" tab that displays metadata information on the file.  On one Win7 Ultimate PC running Acrobat 9.4 Professional, that tab doesn't display.  The metadata can be seein in Acrobat File -> Properties, and can be searched in Windows Explorer, but cannot be accessed using that tab.  As far as I know, there's no customization in either Acrobat or Windows that would cause this tab not to display - I've compared every setting I can think of between machines that show the PDF tab and the one that doesn't.  Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Answer 1

According to the following article, this is an Adobe problem related to their shell extension called pdfshell.dll.  That extension is only a 32 bit extension, and 64 bit Windows will not run 32 bit extensions.
Check out the Ccmment from Tad Marshall here:  http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproui/thread/33971c82-78ee-445b-acb5- 5a64db5b6bb0/
"As part of the Adobe Reader download, Adobe provides a shell extension called pdfshell.dll.  On 32-bit Windows XP, you'll find it in the C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX folder.  On 64-bit Windows 7, you'll find it in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX folder.  But, on either system, it's a 32-bit shell extension.  On 64-bit Windows 7, Windows Explorer will only run as a 64-bit program.  According to numerous web forum posters, this was a change between the last "beta" and the "RC" version of 64-bit Windows 7.  There is a 32-bit version of Windows Explorer in the C:\Windows\SysWOW64 folder, but if you try to run it you get another instance of 64-bit Explorer.  The (first) problem is that 64-bit Windows Explorer won't load a 32-bit shell extension.
You can see the 32-bit pdfshell.dll "working" on 64-bit Windows 7 in the File Open dialog of any 32-bit application (such as Adobe Reader).  To see this, first open an Explorer window and navigate to a folder that has some PDF files like your IBM manual.  Right click on the file and choose Properties.  Look at the tabs in the dialog and note that there is no PDF tab.  Now, OK out of the Properties dialog and double-click on the same file to open it in Adobe Reader.  Now press Ctrl-O or choose File Open to get the File Open dialog.  Navigate to the same folder, right click on the same file and choose Properties.  Look at the tabs and see that you now have the PDF tab that was missing in Explorer.  In that tab, you can see the Title that pdfshell.dll has pulled from the file.  This works because 32-bit Adobe Reader has loaded a 32-bit common file dialog which *will* load a 32-bit shell extension."