{"id":9730,"date":"2019-06-10T12:14:57","date_gmt":"2019-06-10T12:14:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=9730"},"modified":"2022-10-03T22:30:14","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T17:00:14","slug":"disable-folder-thumbnails-without-disabling-thumbnail-preview-for-files","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/disable-folder-thumbnails-without-disabling-thumbnail-preview-for-files\/","title":{"rendered":"Disable Folder Thumbnails without Disabling Thumbnail Preview for Files"},"content":{"rendered":"

When a folder contains one or more images in it, the contents of the folder are shown as the thumbnail image for that folder.<\/p>\n

\"disable<\/p>\n

Windows allows you to enable or disable thumbnail previews<\/a> in File Explorer using the Always show icons, never thumbnails<\/strong> setting in the Folder Options dialog. When you turn off thumbnail previews, icons are shown instead of thumbnails — for both files and folders. The Folder Options dialog doesn’t have an option to disable thumbnail preview selectively for folders or for files only.<\/p>\n

If you need to disable folder content thumbnail previews, and still have the thumbnail previews<\/a> enabled for files — e.g., PDF, image files, etc., this article has the solution.<\/p>\n

Disable Folder Thumbnails without Disabling Thumbnail Preview for Files<\/h2>\n

To turn off folder content thumbnail preview without enabling the Always show icons<\/strong>… setting in Folder Options, the trick is to set a global folder logo (thumbnail) in the folder view template registry key.<\/p>\n

The important thing here is that the global folder thumbnail template registry entry must point to a non-existent image file, for this to work. And then, you’ll need to reset the thumbnails cache<\/a> so that the thumbnails for existing folders are refreshed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Follow these steps to disable folder content thumbnail previews:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Copy the following lines to Notepad and save it as a .reg file<\/a> — e.g., disable_folder_thumbs.reg<\/code>\n
    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00\r\n\r\n;Disable folder thumbnails without disabling thumbnail view for files\r\n;Created by Ramesh Srinivasan on 10-June-2019 for Winhelponline.com\r\n;Note: This fix does NOT reset your saved folder view settings.\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Classes\\Local Settings\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Shell\\Bags\\AllFolders\\Shell]\r\n\"Logo\"=\"d:\\\\somefile.jpg\"\r\n\r\n<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
  2. Double-click disable_folder_thumbs.reg<\/code> to apply the settings to the registry.<\/li>\n
  3. Click Yes<\/strong> when prompted to apply the .reg file. This is how the setting will now look like in the Registry Editor:\"\"<\/li>\n
  4. The next step is to clear the thumbnail cache so that thumbnail previews for the existing folders are refreshed. Follow one of the methods described in the article How to Clear and Rebuild the Thumbnail Cache in Windows<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    That’s it! You’ve now disabled folder thumbnails without disabling the thumbnail previews<\/a> for files.<\/p>\n
    \"disable<\/p>\n
    Related article:<\/strong> How to Reset Folder Views in Windows 10 and Earlier<\/a><\/div>\n
    Editor’s note:<\/strong> Despite the presence of the global folder thumbnail template in the registry, you can still override and customize the folder icon or thumbnail via folder properties, on a per-folder basis.<\/p>\n
    Undo information<\/h3>\n
    To reverse the above changes (to enable folder thumbnails back), use this .reg file:<\/p>\n
    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00\r\n\r\n;UNDO REG file\r\n\r\n[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Classes\\Local Settings\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Shell\\Bags\\AllFolders\\Shell]\r\n\"Logo\"=-\r\n\r\n<\/pre>\n
    Save the above .reg file as enable_folder_thumbs.reg<\/code>and run it.<\/p>\n
    (The registry method discussed in this article works on all versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11 22H2.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
    When a folder contains one or more images in it, the contents of the folder are shown as the thumbnail image for that folder. Windows allows you to enable or disable thumbnail previews in File Explorer using the Always show icons, never thumbnails setting in the Folder Options dialog. When you turn off thumbnail previews, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[441],"class_list":["post-9730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows","tag-registry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":182,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/fix-thumbnail-preview-for-pictures-w7-vista\/","url_meta":{"origin":9730,"position":0},"title":"Fix: Thumbnails Not Showing up in File Explorer","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 14, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Are your image files showing up with a generic mountain and lake scene instead of the miniature or thumbnail display in File Explorer? And video files may show up with a generic icon\/thumbnail. This article tells you how to enable thumbnails in File Explorer on Windows 10\/11 and earlier. RELATED:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"thumbnails blank -- fix the IconServiceLib registry setting","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/iconservicelib-registry-thumbnail-fix.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/iconservicelib-registry-thumbnail-fix.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/iconservicelib-registry-thumbnail-fix.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/iconservicelib-registry-thumbnail-fix.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":309,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/enable-or-disable-thumbnail-preview-for-pdf-files\/","url_meta":{"origin":9730,"position":1},"title":"[Fix] PDF Thumbnail and Preview Not Showing Up in File Explorer","author":"Ramesh","date":"May 29, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"In your Windows computer, File Explorer may not display PDF thumbnails, and instead, show only the default icon assigned for PDF files. This might happen even if you have the option Always show icons, never thumbnails unchecked in the View tab of the Folder Options dialog. Also, in Microsoft Outlook\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft Edge"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft Edge","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/edge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Edge PDF Preview Handler - Microsoft PDF Previewer","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/edge-preview-handler.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/edge-preview-handler.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/edge-preview-handler.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/edge-preview-handler.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3401,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/fix-preview-not-available-thumbnail-media-files\/","url_meta":{"origin":9730,"position":2},"title":"Fix: No Video Thumbnails and No Preview Available for Video Files","author":"Ramesh","date":"July 4, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When you open a folder containing video files, no thumbnails may be displayed for your videos. Also, when you click a video file in File Explorer, the Preview pane may neither show the image preview nor the mini-player control for the chosen file. In some cases, No preview available message\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"reset video thumbnails and preview registry keys","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/codec-tweak-reset-thumbnail-previews-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/codec-tweak-reset-thumbnail-previews-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/codec-tweak-reset-thumbnail-previews-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1015,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/clear-thumbnail-cache-windows\/","url_meta":{"origin":9730,"position":3},"title":"How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows 10 or 11","author":"Ramesh","date":"August 11, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows keeps a copy of all of your picture, video, and document thumbnails in a cache database so they can be displayed quickly when you open a folder. Sometimes due to thumbnail cache corruption, thumbnail previews may not work for some files, for a particular icon size or for all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/corrupt-thumbnail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/corrupt-thumbnail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/corrupt-thumbnail.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/08\/corrupt-thumbnail.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5865,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/thumbnail-cache-automatically-deleted-windows-maintenance\/","url_meta":{"origin":9730,"position":4},"title":"[Fix] Thumbnail Cache Auto Deletion Problem in Windows 10","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"When you browse a folder containing media files, Windows generates thumbnail images of your image and video files if the folder view is set to thumbnail view (medium, large or extra large icons.)\u00a0The generated thumbnail is cached and written to database so that the system need not regenerate the miniature\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"thumbnail cache folder","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/thumbnail-cache-location.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/thumbnail-cache-location.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/thumbnail-cache-location.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":954,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/disable-taskbar-thumbnail-preview-windows-7\/","url_meta":{"origin":9730,"position":5},"title":"How To Disable Taskbar Thumbnail Preview in Windows 10 & Earlier","author":"Ramesh","date":"October 31, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows does not have a GUI option to disable the taskbar thumbnail preview feature. I've experimented with the registry setting TaskbarNoThumbnail and its equivalent GPO Turn off taskbar thumbnails. That setting seems to apply only to Windows Vista and has no effect in Windows 7 and higher. You can, however,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"disable taskbar thumbnail hover preview in windows - extendeduihovertime","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/taskbar-thumbnail-preview-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/taskbar-thumbnail-preview-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/10\/taskbar-thumbnail-preview-3.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9730\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}