Here is how to show or hide the file icon overlay on thumbnails in Windows 11 or Windows 10 computers. You can enable or disable file icons on thumbnails in Windows 11/10 using File Explorer Options and Registry Editor.
Windows 11/10 displays a file icon on the thumbnail. This is to indicate which application is set to open the file. Although it doesn’t show the icon on all files, you can find it on PDF and other formats. If you want to hide the icon, here is how you can do that.
Show or hide file icon on thumbnails in Windows using File Explorer Options
To show or hide file icon on thumbnails in Windows 11/10 using File Explorer Options, follow these steps:
- Search for file explorer options in the Taskbar search box.
- Click on the individual search result.
- Switch to the View tab.
- Find the Display file icon on thumbnails option.
- Tick the checkbox to enable the file icon.
- Remove the tick from the checkbox to disable the file icon.
- Click the OK button.
First, you need to open the File Explorer options. For that, search for file explorer options (earlier called Folder Options) in the Taskbar search box and click on the individual search result.
Once it is opened on your screen, go to the View tab and find the Display file icon on thumbnails option. Tick this checkbox to enable the file icon on the thumbnails and remove the tick from the checkbox to disable the file icon on the thumbnails.
Finally, click the OK button to save the change.
Enable or disable file icon on thumbnails in Windows using Registry Editor
To enable or disable file icons on thumbnails in Windows 11/10 using Registry Editor, follow these steps:
- Press Win+R to open the Run prompt.
- Type regedit and hit the Enter button.
- Click on the Yes button.
- Navigate to Advanced in HKCU.
- Double-click on the ShowTypeOverlay REG_DWORD value.
- Set the Value data as 1 to show the file icon.
- Set the Value data to 0 to hide the file icon.
- Click the OK button.
- Restart your computer.
Let’s delve into these steps in detail.
It is highly recommended to backup your registry files and create a System Restore point to be in safe side.
To get started, you need to open the Registry Editor. To do that, press Win+R to open the Run prompt, type regedit, hit the Enter button, and click the Yes button on the UAC prompt.
Once it is opened, navigate to this path:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
Double-click on the ShowTypeOverlay REG_DWORD value. Next, set the Value data to 1 to show the file icon and 0 to hide it on thumbnails.
Finally, click the OK button to save the change and restart your computer to apply the same.
That’s all!
Read: Enable or disable Taskbar Thumbnail Preview in Windows
How do I display the file icon on thumbnails in Windows 11?
To display file icons on thumbnails in Windows 11, open the File Explorer Options first. Then, switch to the View tab and find the Display file icon on thumbnails option. next, tick the corresponding checkbox and click the OK button.
How do I hide a specific icon on my desktop in Windows 11?
To hide a specific icon on your desktop in Windows 11, right-click on the file and select Properties. Then, tick the Hidden checkbox and click the OK button. To show the hidden icon, open the File Explorer Options and select the Show hidden files, folders, and drives option.
