FIX: OneDrive in Explorer not previewing thumbnails

Where are my thumbnails in OneDrive?

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In this tutorial I explain how to get the thumbnails back when you open OneDrive in the Windows Explorer. At the bottom of the tutorial I explain how this can happen.


Let’s fix those sh*tty thumbnails in OneDrive.

On your taskbar there are a few icons to the right. You will also see a (OneDrive) cloud over there. This can be Blue or White Cloud icon. You may have to open the arrow in step 1 before you see a the OneDrive icon.

I click on OneDrive Personal in the screenshot below, next to the icon you see OneDrive for Business. The steps further in the tutorial are exactly the same.

Right click on one of the 2 icons and choose Settings.

OneDrive in Explorer not previewing thumbnails
OneDrive in Explorer not previewing thumbnails

Click on Settings.

On the settings tab you see Files On-Demand at the bottom.
Remove the checkbox next to Save space and download files as you use them.

OneDrive in Explorer not previewing thumbnails
OneDrive in Explorer not previewing thumbnails

Why do I need to tick off Files On-Demand in OneDrive?

After an update from OneDrive, Files on demand is enabled by default.

In short, this means that your files are only downloaded from OneDrive when you use them, so that this does not take up space on your PC.

The disadvantage of this is that everything goes over the network and can also cause a thumbnail to be loaded incorrectly.

For more about Files On-Demand you can read this post from Microsoft.

Published by

Bas Wijdenes

My name is Bas Wijdenes and I work as a PowerShell DevOps Engineer. In my spare time I write about interesting stuff that I encounter during my work.

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