diff --git a/ckan/lib/helpers.py b/ckan/lib/helpers.py
index f6a899e1de3..871c6d7af36 100644
--- a/ckan/lib/helpers.py
+++ b/ckan/lib/helpers.py
@@ -1319,13 +1319,12 @@ def resource_preview(resource, pkg_id):
 
     format_lower = resource['format'].lower()
     directly = False
-
-    url = url_for(controller='package', action='resource_datapreview',
-            resource_id=resource['id'], id=pkg_id, qualified=True)
+    url = ''
+    no_preview = False
 
     if resource.get('datastore_active') or format_lower in ['csv', 'xls', 'tsv']:
-        #default
-        pass
+        url = url_for(controller='package', action='resource_datapreview',
+            resource_id=resource['id'], id=pkg_id, qualified=True)
     elif format_lower == 'pdf':
         url = url_for(controller='package', action='resource_pdfpreview',
             resource_id=resource['id'], id=pkg_id, qualified=True)
@@ -1335,9 +1334,16 @@ def resource_preview(resource, pkg_id):
         directly = True
         url = resource['url']
     else:
-        log.warn('not handler for {}'.format(resource['format']))
-
-    return snippet("package/snippets/data_preview.html", embed=directly, resource_url=url)
+        log.info('no handler for {}'.format(resource['format']))
+        no_preview = True
+
+    return snippet(
+        "package/snippets/data_preview.html",
+        embed=directly,
+        resource_url=url,
+        no_preview=no_preview,
+        resource_type=resource['format']
+        )
 
 
 # these are the functions that will end up in `h` template helpers
diff --git a/ckan/public/base/datapreview/datapreview.js b/ckan/public/base/datapreview/datapreview.js
index 4c08007c309..3b3f2fe0bd2 100644
--- a/ckan/public/base/datapreview/datapreview.js
+++ b/ckan/public/base/datapreview/datapreview.js
@@ -211,13 +211,10 @@ CKAN.DataPreview = function ($, my) {
 
     }
 
-    // 4 situations
+    // 3 situations
     // a) something was posted to the datastore - need to check for this
     // b) csv or xls (but not datastore)
     // c) can be treated as plain text
-    // d) none of the above but worth iframing (assumption is
-    // that if we got here (i.e. preview shown) worth doing
-    // something ...)
     resourceData.formatNormalized = my.normalizeFormat(resourceData.format);
 
     resourceData.url  = my.normalizeUrl(resourceData.url);
@@ -293,35 +290,6 @@ CKAN.DataPreview = function ($, my) {
         my.showPlainTextData(data);
       });
     }
-    else if (resourceData.formatNormalized in {'html':'', 'htm':''}
-        ||  resourceData.url.substring(0,23)=='http://docs.google.com/') {
-      // we displays a fullscreen dialog with the url in an iframe.
-      my.$dialog.empty();
-      var el = $('<iframe></iframe>');
-      el.attr('src', resourceData.url);
-      el.attr('width', '100%');
-      el.attr('height', '100%');
-      my.$dialog.append(el);
-    }
-    // images
-    else if (resourceData.formatNormalized in {'png':'', 'jpg':'', 'gif':''}
-        ||  resourceData.resource_type=='image') {
-      // we displays a fullscreen dialog with the url in an iframe.
-      my.$dialog.empty();
-      var el = $('<img />');
-      el.attr('src', resourceData.url);
-      el.css('max-width', '100%');
-      el.css('border', 'solid 4px black');
-      my.$dialog.append(el);
-    }
-    else {
-      // Cannot reliably preview this item - with no mimetype/format information,
-      // can't guarantee it's not a remote binary file such as an executable.
-      my.showError({
-        title: CKAN.Strings.previewNotAvailableForDataType + resourceData.formatNormalized,
-        message: ''
-      });
-    }
   };
 
   // Public: Requests the formatted resource data from the webstore and
@@ -404,7 +372,7 @@ CKAN.DataPreview = function ($, my) {
     } else {
       return url;
     }
-  }
+  };
 
   // Public: Escapes HTML entities to prevent broken layout and XSS attacks
   // when inserting user generated or external content.
diff --git a/ckan/public/base/datapreview/pdfpreview.js b/ckan/public/base/datapreview/pdfpreview.js
index c65a65318c5..2488be32977 100644
--- a/ckan/public/base/datapreview/pdfpreview.js
+++ b/ckan/public/base/datapreview/pdfpreview.js
@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ CKAN.PdfPreview = function ($, pdf, my) {
   my.loadPreview = function(resourceData) {
     var params = {
       file: resourceData['url']
-    }
+    };
 
     pdf(params);
-  }
+  };
 
   // Export the CKANEXT object onto the window.
   $.extend(true, window, {CKANEXT: {}});
diff --git a/ckan/templates/package/snippets/data_preview.html b/ckan/templates/package/snippets/data_preview.html
index ba64d9813a0..f78ed335892 100644
--- a/ckan/templates/package/snippets/data_preview.html
+++ b/ckan/templates/package/snippets/data_preview.html
@@ -1,10 +1,18 @@
 <div class="module-content">
-  {% if embed %}
-    {# images can be embedded directly #}
-    <img class="ckanext-datapreview-direct-embed" src="{{ resource_url }}"></img>
-  {% else %}
-    <iframe src="{{ resource_url }}" class="ckanext-datapreview-iframe" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" width="100%" data-module="data-viewer">
-      <p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p>
-    </iframe>
-  {% endif %}
+	{% if no_preview %}
+	<div class="alert alert-block">
+		<button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="alert">×</button>
+		<h4>{{_('Preview not available')}} </h4>
+			{{_('No handler defined for data type:')}} <code>{{ resource_type }}</code>
+	</div>
+	{% else %}
+	  {% if embed %}
+	    {# images can be embedded directly #}
+	    <img class="ckanext-datapreview-direct-embed" src="{{ resource_url }}"></img>
+	  {% else %}
+	    <iframe src="{{ resource_url }}" class="ckanext-datapreview-iframe" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" width="100%" data-module="data-viewer">
+	      <p>{{_('Your browser does not support iframes.')}}</p>
+	    </iframe>
+	  {% endif %}
+	{% endif %}
 </div>