en-US office user

Enable Live Preview

Verified with Microsoft 365/Office 5568.1000 — updated on September 4, 2026

Microsoft 365/Office 5568.1000

Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7

Path in the GPO console

User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Word 2016\Word Options\General

Description

This policy setting configures the "Enable Live Preview" checkbox found under File tab | Options | General. Live Preview shows how a command would be applied without actually applying it to the document. If you enable this policy setting, the option is checked, and Live Preview will be shown when using Galleries that support previews If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, the option is unchecked, and Live Preview will be hidden when using Galleries that support previews.

Registry

HKCU software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options

Value name: livepreview

Enabled: livepreview = 1

Disabled: livepreview = 0

Export Builder

BETA

Configure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.

These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO.

.reg file

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Enable Live Preview
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options]
"livepreview"=dword:00000001
More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)

PowerShell

# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Enable Live Preview
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
# Warning: In SYSTEM context (the Intune default), HKCU targets the SYSTEM profile. Run this script using the logged-on credentials.

$path = 'HKCU:\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\word\options'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'livepreview' -Value 1 -Type DWord

Building a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.

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