How to Disable File Thumbnails in Windows 10 – Guide

Windows 10 File Explorer can display thumbnail images of various sizes for files, folders, documents, photos, and videos to give you a quick look at their content without having to open them. Although it is a valuable feature which provides a visual queue to discover files faster without having to look up their names, rendering and caching all views can use significant system resources, especially on sites with lots of photos.

If your device is taking a long time to load the views, there are at least three ways to disable thumbnails and show file icons instead of using File Explorer, Settings, or Group Policy in Windows 10. We’ll show you how to hide (and enable) file thumbnails in File Explorer in this Windows 10 article. If your device is taking a long time to load the views, there are at least three ways to disable thumbnails and show file icons instead of using File Explorer, Settings, or Group Policy in Windows 10. We’ll show you how to hide (and enable) file thumbnails in File Explorer by following these steps:

  1. Open File Explorer on your computer.
  2. Click on the View tab on the ribbon.
  3. Under “File Types,” click on “Thumbnails.”
  4. In the “Thumbnail Options” window that opens, uncheck the box next to “Show Thumbnails.”
  5. Click OK to close the window. ..

How to enable or disable thumbnails using File Explorer

Disable file thumbnails

  1. Open the Settings app and navigate to the Photos section.
  2. Scroll down and select the Thumbnails option.
  3. Disable thumbnail previews by clicking on the gray checkmark next to each thumbnail and then clicking on the OK button.

In the View tab, you can see all of the content that has been shared on your account. This includes posts, comments, and photos.

The options button allows you to change the text of your article.

On the View tab, in the Show group, click Advanced View. In the Advanced View window, under the Columns heading, click on the Sort By drop-down list and select Ascending. Under the Filters heading, click on the Add Filter button. In the Add Filter dialog box, type in Name and press Enter. The Name column should now show all of your columns in alphabetical order. Click on the Sort By drop-down list and select Descending to reverse the order of your columns. ..

This setting will make the icons in the main window always show, even if they are not thumbnail-able.

Apply button is located on the top right corner of the screen. ..

You can click the OK button to accept the changes. ..

Enable file thumbnails

  1. Open the “File Explorer” app on your computer.
  2. Click on the “View” tab at the top of the window.
  3. Under “File Types,” click on “Thumbnails.”
  4. Select the files you want to have thumbnails for, and then click on the “Create Thumbnail” button.
  5. You’ll now be able to see a preview of each thumbnail in your file explorer window, as well as a larger version of each thumbnail that you can use if you need to view it in full size. ..

In the View tab, you can see all of the content that has been shared on your account. This includes posts, comments, and photos.

The options button allows you to change the text of your article.

On the View tab, in the Show group, click Advanced View. In the Advanced View window, under the Columns heading, click on the Sort By drop-down list and select Ascending. Under the Filters heading, click on the Add Filter button. In the Add Filter dialog box, type in Name and press Enter. The Name column should now show all of your columns in alphabetical order. Click on the Sort By drop-down list and select Descending to reverse the order of your columns. ..

This will make the app show only icons, not thumbnails, when you open it. ..

Apply button

I clicked the OK button.

How to enable or disable thumbnails using Settings

Disable file thumbnails

  1. Open the visual effects settings by clicking on the gear icon in the upper-right corner of your screen.
  2. Under “File thumbnail settings,” uncheck the box next to “Enable file thumbnails.”
  3. Click on OK to save your changes. ..

In the “Advanced System Settings” window, click on the Performance tab. Under the “Performance” heading, click on the Settings button. In the “Settings” window, under the “Advanced” heading, click on the Memory section. Under the “Memory” heading, you will see a list of memory settings. Click on the Change button next to one of these settings to change it. The following are three examples of how to change a memory setting:

  1. To increase memory usage by 20%, select from the drop-down menu in the “Initial Size (MB)” field that says Use system default. 2) To decrease memory usage by 10%, select from the drop-down menu in the “Initial Size (MB)” field that says Use minimum size. 3) To disable automatic memory management and allow Windows to use all available memory, select from the drop-down menu in the “Initial Size (MB)” field that says Do not use automatic sizing. ..

Click on the “Edit” button. Click on the “Text” tab. Click on the “Format” button. Click on the “New Line” button. Enter a new sentence into the text field and click on the “OK” button.

In the Settings section, click the Performance tab. Under “Performance,” click the Settings button button. In the Settings section, under “Performance,” click the General tab. Under “General,” make sure that your browser is set to use the best performance settings for your computer. ..

In the Visual Effects tab, you can find tools that help you create realistic and lifelike effects on your images. These tools include filters, effects, and software.

Some people find it easier to read articles without thumbnails of images displayed beside each paragraph. Uncheck this option if you find this type of presentation distracting. ..

Apply button is located on the top right corner of the screen. ..

I clicked the OK button.

After completing the steps, File Explorer will no longer show thumbnail images for files.

Enable file thumbnails

  1. Open the graphics options in the Control Panel.
  2. In the Graphics section, select the “Thumbnails” tab.
  3. Change the “Thumbnail size” to a smaller size if you want to use fewer thumbnails on a page.
  4. Change the “Thumbnail quality” to a higher quality if you want to use better thumbnails on a page.

In the “Advanced System Settings” section, you can change how your computer behaves in different situations.

Click on the “Edit” button. Click on the “Text” tab. Click on the “Format” button. Click on the “New Line” button. Enter a new sentence into the text field and click on the “OK” button.

In the “Settings” section, click the button that says “Performances.”

In the Visual Effects tab, you can find tools that help you create realistic and lifelike effects on your images. These tools include filters, effects, and software.

The Show thumbnails option can be changed to check the show thumbnails instead of icons. This will make it easier to find the show you are looking for on the website.

Apply button is located on the top right corner of the screen. ..

I clicked the OK button.

How to enable or disable thumbnails using Group Policy

Disable file thumbnails

  1. Open the Group Policy Editor.
  2. In the left pane, click on the Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Thumbnail Settings folder.
  3. On the right pane, click on the following policy:
  4. In the left pane, click on the General tab.
  5. On the General tab, click on the Disable thumbnail settings button.
  6. Click on OK to close Group Policy Editor and return to your computer.

In the Local Group Policy Editor, open the Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Gpedit.msc file. There you will find a list of all the local group policy objects that are related to Microsoft Edge. Click on the “Gpedit” object to open its properties. In the “General” section, you will find a list of properties that affect Edge. The “Allow sites to use Gpedit for site settings” property is set to True by default, and this setting affects all Edge users in a domain. The “Allow sites to use Gpedit for site settings and security settings” property is set to False by default, and this setting affects only Edge users in a specific site’s domain. The “Enable Gpedit for sites that require authentication” property is set to True by default, and this setting affects all Edge users in a domain who have been authenticated with their Microsoft account.

Enable folder sharing in File Explorer. ..

To disable thumbnail display and icons only on the right side of the screen, follow these steps:

  1. Double-click the Disable thumbnail display and display icons only policy icon on the right side of the screen.
  2. In the policy window that opens, select the Enabled check box to turn off thumbnail display and icons only. ..

The enabled option changes the behavior of the selected item.

After completing the steps, users will no longer see file thumbnail previews while the policy remains enabled.

Enable file thumbnails

  1. Open Group Policy Management Console.
  2. In the console tree, under the Local Computer node, right-click Group Policy Objects (GPOs) and select Edit.
  3. In the Edit GPO dialog box, on the Settings tab, under File System Settings, click Preview Files With This GPO.
  4. Select the files you want to preview and then click OK. ..

In the Local Group Policy Editor, open the Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Gpedit.msc file. There you will find a list of all the local group policy objects that are related to Microsoft Edge. Click on the “Gpedit” object to open its properties. In the “General” section, you will find a list of properties that affect Edge. The “Allow sites to use Gpedit for site settings” property is set to True by default, and this setting affects all Edge users in a domain. The “Allow sites to use Gpedit for site settings and security settings” property is set to False by default, and this setting affects only Edge users in a specific site’s domain. The “Enable Gpedit for sites that require authentication” property is set to True by default, and this setting affects all Edge users in a domain who have been authenticated with their Microsoft account.

In the File Explorer Administrative Templates pane, open the following:

  1. Windows Components
  2. Folder Options
  3. View tab
  4. Hide files and folders from view

Disable thumbnail display and display icons only on the right side of the screen.

Not configured

Final note

Disable file thumbnails in Windows 10: This guide will show you how to disable file thumbnails in Windows 10. This can be useful if you want to save space on your hard drive or if you have a disability that makes it difficult to see small images. ..