diff --git a/extensions/mssql/src/objectExplorerNodeProvider/hdfsCommands.ts b/extensions/mssql/src/objectExplorerNodeProvider/hdfsCommands.ts
index e1db838b1a..2631060317 100644
--- a/extensions/mssql/src/objectExplorerNodeProvider/hdfsCommands.ts
+++ b/extensions/mssql/src/objectExplorerNodeProvider/hdfsCommands.ts
@@ -305,11 +305,20 @@ export class PreviewFileCommand extends ProgressCommand {
 				await this.executeWithProgress(
 					async (cancelToken: vscode.CancellationTokenSource) => {
 						let contents = await fileNode.getFileContentsAsString(PreviewFileCommand.DefaultMaxSize);
-						let doc = await this.openTextDocument(fspath.basename(fileNode.hdfsPath));
-						let editor = await this.apiWrapper.showTextDocument(doc, vscode.ViewColumn.Active, false);
-						await editor.edit(edit => {
-							edit.insert(new vscode.Position(0, 0), contents);
-						});
+						let fileName: string = fspath.basename(fileNode.hdfsPath);
+						if (fspath.extname(fileName) !== '.ipynb') {
+							let doc = await this.openTextDocument(fileName);
+							let editor = await this.apiWrapper.showTextDocument(doc, vscode.ViewColumn.Active, false);
+							await editor.edit(edit => {
+								edit.insert(new vscode.Position(0, 0), contents);
+							});
+						} else {
+							let connectionProfile: azdata.IConnectionProfile = undefined;
+							if (context.type === constants.ObjectExplorerService) {
+								connectionProfile = context.explorerContext.connectionProfile;
+							}
+							await this.showNotebookDocument(fileName, connectionProfile, contents);
+						}
 					},
 					localize('previewing', 'Generating preview'),
 					false);
@@ -322,6 +331,18 @@ export class PreviewFileCommand extends ProgressCommand {
 		}
 	}
 
+	private async showNotebookDocument(fileName: string, connectionProfile?: azdata.IConnectionProfile,
+		initialContent?: string
+	): Promise<azdata.nb.NotebookEditor> {
+		let docUri: vscode.Uri = getSaveableUri(this.apiWrapper, fileName, true)
+			.with({ scheme: constants.UNTITLED_SCHEMA });
+		return await azdata.nb.showNotebookDocument(docUri, {
+			connectionProfile: connectionProfile,
+			preview: false,
+			initialContent: initialContent
+		});
+	}
+
 	private async openTextDocument(fileName: string): Promise<vscode.TextDocument> {
 		let docUri: vscode.Uri = getSaveableUri(this.apiWrapper, fileName, true);
 		if (docUri) {
diff --git a/src/sql/azdata.proposed.d.ts b/src/sql/azdata.proposed.d.ts
index ef1c18b2ad..cbc583d338 100644
--- a/src/sql/azdata.proposed.d.ts
+++ b/src/sql/azdata.proposed.d.ts
@@ -4155,6 +4155,11 @@ declare module 'azdata' {
 			 * Default kernel for notebook
 			 */
 			defaultKernel?: nb.IKernelSpec;
+
+			/**
+			 * Optional content used to give an initial notebook state
+			 */
+			initialContent?: nb.INotebookContents | string;
 		}
 
 		/**
diff --git a/src/sql/workbench/api/node/extHostNotebookDocumentsAndEditors.ts b/src/sql/workbench/api/node/extHostNotebookDocumentsAndEditors.ts
index 3214f4dbc5..412695156b 100644
--- a/src/sql/workbench/api/node/extHostNotebookDocumentsAndEditors.ts
+++ b/src/sql/workbench/api/node/extHostNotebookDocumentsAndEditors.ts
@@ -169,6 +169,13 @@ export class ExtHostNotebookDocumentsAndEditors implements ExtHostNotebookDocume
 			options.providerId = showOptions.providerId;
 			options.connectionProfile = showOptions.connectionProfile;
 			options.defaultKernel = showOptions.defaultKernel;
+			if (showOptions.initialContent) {
+				if (typeof (showOptions.initialContent) !== 'string') {
+					options.initialContent = JSON.stringify(showOptions.initialContent);
+				} else {
+					options.initialContent = showOptions.initialContent;
+				}
+			}
 		}
 		let id = await this._proxy.$tryShowNotebookDocument(uri, options);
 		let editor = this.getEditor(id);
diff --git a/src/sql/workbench/api/node/mainThreadNotebookDocumentsAndEditors.ts b/src/sql/workbench/api/node/mainThreadNotebookDocumentsAndEditors.ts
index f546b86155..fb6522e5e6 100644
--- a/src/sql/workbench/api/node/mainThreadNotebookDocumentsAndEditors.ts
+++ b/src/sql/workbench/api/node/mainThreadNotebookDocumentsAndEditors.ts
@@ -404,7 +404,7 @@ export class MainThreadNotebookDocumentsAndEditors extends Disposable implements
 		};
 		let isUntitled: boolean = uri.scheme === Schemas.untitled;
 
-		const fileInput = isUntitled ? this._untitledEditorService.createOrGet(uri, notebookModeId) :
+		const fileInput = isUntitled ? this._untitledEditorService.createOrGet(uri, notebookModeId, options.initialContent) :
 			this._editorService.createInput({ resource: uri, language: notebookModeId });
 		let input = this._instantiationService.createInstance(NotebookInput, path.basename(uri.fsPath), uri, fileInput);
 		input.isTrusted = isUntitled;
diff --git a/src/sql/workbench/api/node/sqlExtHost.protocol.ts b/src/sql/workbench/api/node/sqlExtHost.protocol.ts
index 13ded69af6..58dedf080f 100644
--- a/src/sql/workbench/api/node/sqlExtHost.protocol.ts
+++ b/src/sql/workbench/api/node/sqlExtHost.protocol.ts
@@ -854,6 +854,7 @@ export interface INotebookShowOptions {
 	providerId?: string;
 	connectionProfile?: azdata.IConnectionProfile;
 	defaultKernel?: azdata.nb.IKernelSpec;
+	initialContent?: string;
 }
 
 export interface ExtHostNotebookDocumentsAndEditorsShape {