How to Show File Explorer Preview Pane on Windows 10/11

It's easy to preview files without opening them in Windows thanks to the Preview Pane feature in File Explorer. You can see thumbnails of most images, videos, audio files, and some text-based documents. Here's how to turn on the Preview Pane.

Enable File Explorer Preview Pane on Windows 11

This part of the tutorial will show you how to show or hide Preview Pane in File Explorer in Windows 11. There are 2 ways you can choose from: Enable from File Explorer command bar or use the .reg file provided below.

Note:

• Showing or hiding the Preview Pane in File Explorer is a global setting that applies to all folders, not just the current folder.
• You can drag the left border of the Preview Pane left and right to increase or decrease its width in File Explorer.
• If you leave the Preview Pane visible, it will replace the currently displayed Details Pane.
• If you turn off thumbnail previews in File Explorer, image files won't show previews in the Preview Pane either.

Show Preview Pane in File Explorer from File Explorer command bar

1. Open File Explorer on Windows 11 ( Win + E ).

2. Click View on the command bar.

3. Click Show.

4. Select (show) Preview Pane to make it visible in File Explorer.

Show Preview Pane in File Explorer using REG file

To display the Preview Pane in File Explorer,

• Download this Show_Preview_pane_in_File_Explorer_for_current_user.reg file .

Contents of the REG file for reference:

Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Modules\GlobalSettings\DetailsContainer]
"DetailsContainer"=hex:02,00,00,00,01,00,00,00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Modules\GlobalSettings\Sizer]
"DetailsContainerSizer"=hex:15,01,00,00,01,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,c0,03,00,00

• Save the .reg file to the desktop.
• Double-click the downloaded .reg file to merge.
• When prompted, click Run > Yes (UAC) > Yes > OK to approve the merge.
• If File Explorer is currently open, close and reopen File Explorer to apply the change.
• Now you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you want.

Enable File Explorer Preview Pane on Windows 10

Note : You may have heard about a security vulnerability related to Preview Pane, but it was fixed on Windows 10 with the update released on April 14, 2020. If you have the latest updates, using this feature should be very safe.

First, open File Explorer . To do this quickly, press Win+ Eor click the folder icon in the taskbar, if File Explorer is pinned there. You'll also find File Explorer in the Start menu.

In the menu bar at the top of the File Explorer window, click View.

Find the Preview Pane in the upper left area of ​​the toolbar and click on it.

The Preview Pane is now enabled. Navigate to the folder in File Explorer that contains the documents you want to preview. Once you select a file, you'll see a preview thumbnail on the right side of the window.

File Explorer also has a related feature called Details Pane . To enable this feature, click View in the Explorer menu bar, then click Details Pane on the toolbar (it's right next to the Preview Pane option ).

When you highlight a file with the Details Pane turned on, you'll see a small thumbnail and some details about the file, such as its size or the date it was created, on the right side of the window.

Keyboard shortcuts to activate Preview and Details Pane

You can also quickly turn the Preview and Details Pane on or off using the following keyboard shortcuts:

• To open or close the Preview Pane, press Alt+ P.
• To open or close the Details Pane, press Alt+ Shift+ P.