Enable SVG Thumbnails in Explorer in Windows 11/10

Although Windows 11 and Windows 10 show the default SVG opening app, you can show the SVG thumbnails in File Explorer using this tutorial. It is possible to enable SVG thumbnails in File Explorer in Windows 11/10 with the help of Microsoft PowerToys.

Scalable Vector Graphics or SVG is pretty popular among graphics designers, who often design icons. If you download an SVG icon from any source or create an icon in SVG format, it displays the default SVG opener’s icon as the thumbnail. It may create issues when you have a lot of icons in one folder with generic names and want to find one of them quickly. You need to open all of them one after one to find the designed file.

If you want to get rid of this problem, you can enable the thumbnail or thumbnail preview in File Explorer so that you can find the find whenever needed. If you do so, you do not need to open all the files to find the specific one. The good news is that you can enable the thumbnail preview for SVG files using Microsoft PowerToys. If you already have it on your computer, you no longer need to download it. However, if you do not have the app installed, go ahead and first install PowerToys on your PC.

What is an SVG File?

An SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) file contains shapes, colors, and text described using XML-based text. It is easy to edit SVG files with vector-editing software because they are highly scalable, can be resized without losing quality, and can be easily resized without losing quality. As a result, they are handy for creating dynamic, responsive images and logos for web design. Web-based applications, animations, and interactive graphics can also be created with them.

Enable SVG Thumbnails in Explorer in Windows 11/10

To enable SVG thumbnails in Explorer in Windows 11/10, follow these steps:

1. Open SVG Preview PowerToys on your computer with administrator privilege.
2. Switch to the File Explorer add-ons tab on the left side.
3. Toggle the Enable SVG (.svg) preview button to turn it ON.
4. Toggle the Enable SVG (.svg) thumbnails button to turn it ON.

Let’s check out these steps in detail.

To start, open the Microsoft PowerToys app on your computer with administrator permission. After that, switch to the File Explorer add-ons tab visible on the left side.

Here you can find two options – Enable SVG (.svg) preview and Enable SVG (.svg) thumbnails. If you want to turn on the thumbnail in the preview pane, toggle the Enable SVG (.svg) preview button to turn it on.

On the other hand, if you want to enable the SVG thumbnail preview in the File Explorer, toggle the Enable SVG (.svg) thumbnails button to turn it on.

Now, you can open the SVG icon folder to find the change.

How to edit SVG files in Windows?

Editing SVG files in Windows can be easily accomplished using an SVG editor such as Justinmind, Sketsa SVG Editor, Inkpad, iDesign, Adobe Illustrator Draw, and more. While Windows allows you to view SVG files, there is no default editor. You will need to depend on third-party software such as these to edit the file.

That’s all! I hope this guide helped.