Tips of Using Windows 7 – Image Preview Pane and Folder Options

Here I provide 2 small Windows 7 tips that bothered me days and decided to solve it. well, actually they are just setting problems.

First, in Windows 7, now the default option for Windows Explorer is to not show the folder list when you open or get into a folder, which is different with that in Vista. I’ve used to have the folder list in left pane so that I can clearly know where I am, therefore I decided to put it back. it’s on the Tools –> Folder Options menu.

Just check that “Show all folders” and “Automatically expand to current folder” and you got the using experience like when you were in Vista.

Second, which bothered me the most, is that I don’t have Image Preview in Windows Explorer. all I got are thumbnails.

After a search, found the problem via this forum post. Yes, I had tweaked settings in my windows explorer, and I DID CHECKED that “Always show icons, never thumbnails”!!

  

Make sure you UNCHECK this option if you want preview of your image files!

That’s it, wish it help. :)

Technorati Tags: microsoft,windows,tips,explorer

Comments

• Anonymous
  October 20, 2009
  This has been driving me mad ever since my install- videos would show but not images.  Your site was the first result on search and a great guide on how to sort it out, so thanks, my image previews are back in glorious technicolour :)

• Anonymous
  October 26, 2009
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  November 07, 2009
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  December 02, 2009
  Har... I was looking up VSTO and certificates and your blog is copied verbetum to other blogs. On the other blog it link led back to here (main page) and not the original article you wrote. I hate that Win 7 does the not showing tree on left. Thanks. Now to find your certificate and VSTO article. :-)

• Anonymous
  December 20, 2009
  man, why does MS do stuff like this to me??  Thanks for letting me know how to change those preview settings.  SO annoying.

• Anonymous
  December 22, 2009
  Well I do all that (I'm talking about the second problem) but when I choose an image for a folder preview it doesn't respond. I choose the image but the folder still showing the video file with an image of the programm that it opens, the srt file with an image of the programme that it opens and the image that I want. So it still shows what is inside the folder.

• Anonymous
  December 22, 2009
  I've had a mental blackout concerning this little problem I had with Windwos7 Windows Explorer. Thanks for providing this on then net!

• Anonymous
  December 31, 2009
  Thanks for the tip on getting the previewer in win file explorer to display the actual file (in jpg). I Appreciate the tip. Doug L.

• Anonymous
  January 08, 2010
  Appreciate your tips!!! it helps...thanks a lot~

• Anonymous
  January 17, 2010
  Wonderful. Thanks. For unexplained reasons, my folder properties had changed automatically.

• Anonymous
  January 31, 2010
  Thank you, thank you, thank you....I saw that option and thought it might be why I couldn't see my images in the preview pane....but then decided the fix couldn't be THAT simple and moved on to checking all my other settings....THANK YOU AGAIN!!!  Now if only I can figure out why my memory card readers aren't being recognized....???

• Anonymous
  January 31, 2010
  Thank you, thank you, thank you....I saw that option and thought it might be why I couldn't see my images in the preview pane....but then decided the fix couldn't be THAT simple and moved on to checking all my other settings....THANK YOU AGAIN!!!  Now if only I can figure out why my memory card readers aren't being recognized....???

• Anonymous
  February 02, 2010
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  February 10, 2010
  Hi you've provided a good information and it was very helpful for me. I thank you for your help. Keep it up and keep going.

• Anonymous
  February 12, 2010
  Thanks for the picture preview fix.  I can't believe it was that simple yet so annoying.

• Anonymous
  March 06, 2010
  THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! I can usually fix these things on my own but this one wow drove me up a wall geez

• Anonymous
  March 15, 2010
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  March 30, 2010
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  April 09, 2010
  Thank you so much! You saved my day!!!

• Anonymous
  April 14, 2010
  Thank you very much, you have help us solve a very annoying problem.

• Anonymous
  May 26, 2010
  Hi 5 for this!!!

• Anonymous
  June 09, 2010
  Thanks again for the quick easy fix!!

• Anonymous
  June 23, 2010
  This is exactly what I've been looking for-thanks for making my day!!!

• Anonymous
  July 23, 2010
  Thanks for providing the help, this problem was bothering me since so many days.

• Anonymous
  August 21, 2010
  Thanks man, It helped :))

• Anonymous
  September 09, 2010
  I can't even BEGIN to tell you how much this frustrated me! No filmstrip and no thumbnails? I was going mad! Thank you so much for finding the solution. I didn't even think about searching there... Forever grateful; seriously. Thanks, XO

• Anonymous
  September 09, 2010
  I can't even BEGIN to tell you how much this frustrated me! No filmstrip and no thumbnails? I was going mad! Thank you so much for finding the solution. I didn't even think about searching there... Forever grateful; seriously. Thanks, XO

• Anonymous
  September 29, 2010
  OMG... I LOVE YOU!!  LOL Thanx

• Anonymous
  October 09, 2010
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 13, 2010
  omg! i've been looking for this fix for ages!! thanks :)

• Anonymous
  October 15, 2010
  Thanks a lot for this tip :)

• Anonymous
  November 05, 2010
  Great Info. Small things but very irritating. Your article explained it perfectly. Appreciate it

• Anonymous
  November 23, 2010
  Good info thank you

• Anonymous
  December 03, 2010
  Thanks for this! I couldn't find anywhere on how to change my view options from the thumbnails back to the images themselves. ♥ this has definitely helped! Thanks again!

• Anonymous
  December 06, 2010
  Thanks for that the preview had disapeared for me 2

• Anonymous
  December 17, 2010
  Thanks for posting this - it's a simple fix after all but most web searches  were ongoing complaints without a solution - thanks for sharing and helping us configure this properly

• Anonymous
  December 23, 2010
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  January 03, 2011
  Thank you very much. I searched Google but bing brought me this helpful article. Great help.

• Anonymous
  January 03, 2011
  Thanks so much!! This has been driving me mad for days now! It makes planning activites so mush easier!

• Anonymous
  January 03, 2011
  Thanks so much!! This has been driving me mad for days now! It makes planning activites so mush easier!

• Anonymous
  January 03, 2011
  thankz a lot, ur d man!

• Anonymous
  January 08, 2011
  I salute you to the truth. The other answers on the net are bunch of  liars.

• Anonymous
  January 23, 2011
  Wow. Right on. Appreciate the help.

• Anonymous
  January 29, 2011
  Great tips.. you saved me....... Thanks a lot.

• Anonymous
  January 30, 2011
  The picture preview fix was embarrassingly simple.  I fiddled around for hours!!  Thanks.

• Anonymous
  February 14, 2011
  Thank you so much for this post. The problem was incredibly annoying and yet it was sooo simple to fix!   :)

• Anonymous
  March 21, 2011
  Thanks a lot . I was really getting mad about this.

• Anonymous
  March 31, 2011
  Wonderful to find the fix. I was going beserk. thanks thanks Fred

• Anonymous
  April 07, 2011
  Thanks, and I don't know why Miscrosoft changed this default settings at all...

• Anonymous
  April 10, 2011
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  April 11, 2011
  thanks so much .. so helpful... yes i agree with everyone so simple yet so annoying

• Anonymous
  April 20, 2011
  Wow! I' ve been through registry repairs, fault finders, everything short of re-installing Windows 7. Here I landed on these tips and wala, problem solved with my icons not previewing. Thx Rex!

• Anonymous
  April 21, 2011
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  April 25, 2011
  Thank you ! Awesome  tips , surprise to know Microsoft can't give this simple tips :)

• Anonymous
  April 28, 2011
  thanks a lot for the information

• Anonymous
  April 29, 2011
  Life saver.  my wife has been nagging to fix this all day.  simple enough to have missed and windows help was not very helpful.  

• Anonymous
  May 23, 2011
  Thanks a lot.

• Anonymous
  May 29, 2011
  Thank you...the not being able to preview photos has been bugging me for ages.

• Anonymous
  June 08, 2011
  I LOVE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW!!  That was driving me off the friggin wall not being able to see the image preview on the thumbnails.  Whats funny is at one point when I was exploring the folder options to change that, I actually unchecked that, then checked it again thinking "Nah, that can't be it"  rofl....

• Anonymous
  June 12, 2011
  thank for share this information....

• Anonymous
  June 21, 2011
  thanx!!

• Anonymous
  June 26, 2011
  You're the man !

• Anonymous
  July 05, 2011
  thanks for the tip on the pic preview.

• Anonymous
  July 09, 2011
  Thank you so much! It was so annoying but not anymore. :D

• Anonymous
  July 12, 2011
  Thanks a lot. It helped me lot for preview.

• Anonymous
  July 16, 2011
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 05, 2011
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 08, 2011
  Big thx man it was ahell of an issue, regardless of how simple it may appear.

• Anonymous
  August 14, 2011
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 15, 2011
  THANK YOU!!!

• Anonymous
  August 20, 2011
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  August 28, 2011
  thanks, that was exactly what i nedded..

• Anonymous
  September 14, 2011
  thanks.. I have been looking for this since yesterday....

• Anonymous
  September 15, 2011
  thanks a lot man!

• Anonymous
  September 21, 2011
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 12, 2011
  thank  u very very very very much .......................................................................................................................... thank u ...............

• Anonymous
  October 18, 2011
  thankkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 ypouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu i love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

• Anonymous
  December 14, 2011
  Cheers!

• Anonymous
  December 16, 2011
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  January 07, 2012
  Thank you so much it was just ticking me off! :)

• Anonymous
  January 10, 2012
  Thanks very much. It is workable for my problems.

• Anonymous
  February 07, 2012
  Thank you so much !!!

• Anonymous
  February 23, 2012
  Thank you!

• Anonymous
  February 24, 2012
  Thanks! It is wonderful to see the preview! Thanks!

• Anonymous
  March 15, 2012
  Thank you a million times !!!!!

• Anonymous
  April 09, 2012
  Thanks... Helped a lot.

• Anonymous
  May 25, 2012
  Ah ha,, that's it!   Been several weeks and I know it was something I did but hey,  now I can preview files and photos again..  Thanks!

• Anonymous
  June 04, 2012
  Thanks a lot... image preview hv been big prob to my husband & i..  solved edy.. thanx..!!

• Anonymous
  June 06, 2012
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  June 09, 2012
  Thanks a ton buddy !!! last time to conter this i had to install stuff disable areo theme etc etc !!! But this is as simple as it can get thanks again !!!!

• Anonymous
  June 14, 2012
  yes, thanks. How brilliant of the designers to think that we'd love to look at a bunch of generic icons rather than a thumbnail of the image. And they wonder why Apply continues to beat them.

• Anonymous
  June 28, 2012
  very usefull tip !! :)

• Anonymous
  July 21, 2012
  Just another big thank you :)

• Anonymous
  July 27, 2012
  Thank you.....I have been annoyed by this FOREVER! No more...glad I stumbled on your post....XOXOXOXO  :)

• Anonymous
  August 04, 2012
  thanx fo help

• Anonymous
  August 10, 2012
  Really helpful! Thank you.

• Anonymous
  August 13, 2012
  Thank you!

• Anonymous
  August 25, 2012
  Thank you so much .. i was searching for days for the image preview problem and went through multiple posts but could get a proper solution .... it was such simple.. thanx a lot !! :)

• Anonymous
  September 06, 2012
  THANKU SO MUCH I LOVE U!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Anonymous
  September 17, 2012
  Thank you!

• Anonymous
  September 25, 2012
  THANK YOU, this has been driving me berserk since I got my computer serviced!!! Nobody could figure this out, you are a life saver!!!!!

• Anonymous
  October 01, 2012
  THANKS BRO

• Anonymous
  October 17, 2012
  Thanks a lot, tooo much

• Anonymous
  November 01, 2012
  hey thanks alot i been trng to see thumbs inmy folder for over a month now lol stupid for them to make default icons only but anyways thanks again this page helped out alot

• Anonymous
  November 03, 2012
  sir but i m not getting the folder option

• Anonymous
  November 03, 2012
  Saved me hours.  It's so simple but was so hard to find.  Many, many thanks.

• Anonymous
  November 04, 2012
  OMG... !!!I LOVE YOU lot thnx...........

• Anonymous
  November 16, 2012
  Thaaaaannnnnkkkk youuuuu!!!!

• Anonymous
  November 24, 2012
  thanks! you are a lifesaver! please continue posting more news and tips here!

• Anonymous
  December 10, 2012
  Thank you so much for shraing these details!.. I was longing to do this since a long time!

• Anonymous
  January 06, 2013
  thank you so much! it worked:)

• Anonymous
  January 11, 2013
  Hay, it worked, thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Anonymous
  January 16, 2013
  I have tried this several times and is not working

• Anonymous
  January 25, 2013
  thx,it worked

• Anonymous
  February 01, 2013
  One of the best things about the internet...vast communication! Thank you:)

• Anonymous
  February 06, 2013
  thank you very ver much

• Anonymous
  February 10, 2013
  It was very helpful! Thank you!

• Anonymous
  March 03, 2013
  Thank you SO much! :)

• Anonymous
  March 04, 2013
  thanxxx u help me so much

• Anonymous
  March 14, 2013
  Thank you very much.

• Anonymous
  March 30, 2013
  Thanks Rex. Much appreciate your sharing your experience.

• Anonymous
  April 01, 2013
  this did not work on my Windows 7 system.

• Anonymous
  April 15, 2013
  thx a lot.. it really help

• Anonymous
  April 20, 2013
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  April 28, 2013
  Thanks that has been driving me mad for weeks, you've made my day :)

• Anonymous
  May 21, 2013
  This has been driving me mad ever since my install- videos would show but not images.  Your site was the first result on search and a great guide on how to sort it out, so thanks, my image previews are back in glorious technicolou

• Anonymous
  June 04, 2013
  Thx!

• Anonymous
  June 04, 2013
  It works greatly...thanks

• Anonymous
  June 10, 2013
  Its working great, thank you very much

• Anonymous
  June 12, 2013
  thanks. very big help.... almost threw my laptop out the window.. had this problem for months.

• Anonymous
  June 20, 2013
  Awesome! This helps me a lot. Thanks ma!. :)

• Anonymous
  June 24, 2013
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  June 26, 2013
  What a great find on discovering your site. Like many others all of a sudden I couldn't get my images showing and despite all the help menus I found salvation and the end of my frustration with your decisive help. Many thanks.

• Anonymous
  July 13, 2013
  Thanks! You made my life easier!

• Anonymous
  July 24, 2013
  Thanks a bunch! You made my day... ;)

• Anonymous
  July 27, 2013
  Cheers for this info, just got a Win7 PC and was wondering why the heck Preview pane didn't show a preview!

• Anonymous
  July 29, 2013
  thanks thanks thanks

• Anonymous
  July 30, 2013
  So mine isn't checked and it still is NOT showing a preview. It used to but has randomly stopped. I have tried restarting.... The preview pane is there but no image appears for ANY file that i've tried.

• Anonymous
  August 08, 2013
  good sharing, BUT problem of this way is that you will see some other file types in desktop with their preview image instead of default icon. this way of win7 causes me uncomfortable as i can't find file with default icon fast. so i am seeking if we have the winXP way of showing preview and file icon in Win7 desktop.

• Anonymous
  August 11, 2013
  Thanks and saved my day...

• Anonymous
  August 20, 2013
  thanks to save time & effort

• Anonymous
  September 12, 2013
  Thank you . Solved my Problem

• Anonymous
  September 23, 2013
  thanX brother.......

• Anonymous
  October 16, 2013
  thaaankkxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx maaaaaan sssssssssooooooooooooo much.............

• Anonymous
  October 20, 2013
  Thank you so much bro.

• Anonymous
  October 30, 2013
  Great tips, I solved problem.

• Anonymous
  November 07, 2013
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  November 26, 2013
  thanks dear

• Anonymous
  December 01, 2013
  Thank you, Terima kasih

• Anonymous
  December 14, 2013
  Thank you very much! Respect!

• Anonymous
  December 14, 2013
  thank u

• Anonymous
  December 14, 2013
  thank u

• Anonymous
  January 04, 2014
  Thanks bro..

• Anonymous
  January 11, 2014
  Ah at last! Thanks a bunch!

• Anonymous
  January 20, 2014
  Salaam Your website is very informative . please help me How to add background image in windows explorer file browser panel (left side Panel when open my computer). Please suggest me about that. i want to add background with my own image . please help me raza_pardesi_babu@yahoo.com

• Anonymous
  January 25, 2014
  thank you very muchhhhhhhhhhhhh

• Anonymous
  February 16, 2014
  Thanks so much!!

• Anonymous
  February 24, 2014
  Thank so much... I was struggling with the Preview function for a very long time... Finally, your steps helped.. Thank you again

• Anonymous
  February 26, 2014
  This is so awesome!!! Thank you so much!

• Anonymous
  March 06, 2014
  thanks this helped me a lot

• Anonymous
  March 24, 2014
  It was really helpful

• Anonymous
  March 24, 2014
  thanks a bunch! this has driven me bananas for months!

• Anonymous
  March 27, 2014
  That was very helpful (helping me see how to preview my JPG files in Windows 7). Thank you so much!

• Anonymous
  April 08, 2014
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  April 14, 2014
  Thanks a lot...

• Anonymous
  April 18, 2014
  Tnx bro

• Anonymous
  April 23, 2014
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  May 10, 2014
  Thanks. Solved my problem!

• Anonymous
  May 20, 2014
  OH i love you! thanks finally it works

• Anonymous
  June 04, 2014
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  June 22, 2014
  Did exactly what you describe but still the same problem, no preview, any other suggestions please?

• Anonymous
  June 24, 2014
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  June 25, 2014
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  July 02, 2014
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  July 05, 2014
  thanks

• Anonymous
  August 12, 2014
  Small Changes but .. didn't know that..... now i knew through Your site. Thanks Alot!....

• Anonymous
  August 16, 2014
  Thanks, was getting sick of not seeing the photos

• Anonymous
  August 17, 2014
  that just saved me from throwing this machine out of the window

• Anonymous
  September 01, 2014
  Thanx

• Anonymous
  September 11, 2014
  Thanks for the tip. I admire you. thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaank yooooooooooooooooou

• Anonymous
  November 01, 2014
  Ihis is old, but my computer Win7 is doing the same thing.. nothing works! thumbnails show..most don't. Sometimes Preview good for one pic, then nothing. Tried everything...Why some thumbs open and others don't? Used to work perfect! No tweaks...just default settings. All thumbs showed up instantly...preview showed them instantly. Any ideas???

• Anonymous
  December 12, 2014
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  January 06, 2015
  checked settings and applied but still have icons not thumbnails? What can I do?

• Anonymous
  January 12, 2015
  IT`S WORKING 100% THANK YOU.....

• Anonymous
  January 18, 2015
  Thankss

• Anonymous
  February 08, 2015
  thank you a million it worked for me ...

• Anonymous
  February 10, 2015
  it was really annoying me and never took the time to resolve it. thanks to your advise it was a very time saving fix thanks

• Anonymous
  February 16, 2015
  thank  yo so much was going mad.. couldnt see the pic in the preview pane.. so easy whe you know how

• Anonymous
  February 18, 2015
  I occasionally would look for a solution to this over the years.  Thank you for posting this - it really helped.

• Anonymous
  March 09, 2015
  Thanks.. you really solved my problem.

• Anonymous
  April 28, 2015
  thx man

• Anonymous
  May 02, 2015
  Thank you! I was going mad and desperately googled all kinds of previewers  - then I found your post! Thank you again.

• Anonymous
  May 24, 2015
  Brilliant.................so simple..............thanks a lot..............

• Anonymous
  June 03, 2015
  Thanks, old tip I've forgot - must be the age.

• Anonymous
  June 26, 2015
  Thank you! :)

• Anonymous
  July 17, 2015
  nije to nego vec kako preview windows 7

• Anonymous
  August 05, 2015
  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Ridiculously simple and been such a pain!

• Anonymous
  September 18, 2015
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 24, 2015
  thank you so much... I'm so glad it back as normal..

• Anonymous
  October 29, 2015
  THANKS ALOT

• Anonymous
  November 20, 2015
  Thank you so much! After searching for answers, yours is the best that really works! Bravo!