Windows 11: Thumbnail previews do not show on folders

Anonymous
2021-11-28T18:05:14+00:00

My folders are appearing as blank folder icons, where in Win 10 they showed thumbnail previews of the contents.

I've searched online for answers, and most appear to apply to earlier versions, and tell me to uncheck the 'icon only, no thumbnail' choice in View|Options, but that is already unchecked, so that is not the answer.

Does anyone have an actual working answer? Thanks if you do!

.....ph

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Sumit 44,316 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2022-02-17T07:04:33+00:00

The Windows 11 2022 update brings Thumbnail previews to folders.

Windows 11 2022 update now available - Microsoft Community

Was this answer helpful?

20+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

149 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2022-02-28T16:49:34+00:00

    This answer has already been suggested and does not work.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Sumit 44,316 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2022-02-28T14:44:00+00:00

    Absolutely agree. Nor should one have to hunt through a bunch of settings to turn it back on. In my mind a good user interface is intuitive with a minimum number of actions to accomplish what needs to be done.

    You have been just confused by a bunch of irrelevant posts. There is no need to Reset folder or change Settings. It is enabled by default as soon as you log in.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Sumit 44,316 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2022-02-28T05:08:45+00:00

    CarolHorton's fix worked for me. I also updated to build 22533.

    Thumbnail previews are added in Windows Insider Preview 22557+. They are not available in 22533 unless you did a typo.

    Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557 | Windows Insider Blog

    [File Explorer]

    • File Explorer will now show previews of items within folders.

    https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/44/2022/02/file-explorer-folder-previews.png

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2022-02-28T03:01:11+00:00

    CarolHorton's fix worked for me. I also updated to build 22533.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments