When you enable "Thumbnail View" for a folder containing pictures, Windows XP creates thumbnails for them so you can see the contents of image files without having to open them in an image editor or viewer. While this is extremely convenient, the default thumbnails may look less than desirable. If you like, you can use Tweak UI for Windows XP to increase the quality and size of the thumbnails to better preview your images.

First download and run Tweak UI for Windows XP using the tips mentioned in MalekTips. Click on the "Explorer" link then select "Thumbnails". Underneath "Image quality", move the slider all the way to the right or "High". Then, underneath "Thumbnail", raise or lower the thumbnail size (in pixels) as desired. Note that larger thumbnails may take up more hard drive space, use up more memory, and may take longer to generate and refresh. However, they may look much better than smaller thumbnails.

When you are done, press "OK" to close Tweak UI. Note that you will have to refresh previously generated thumbnails to take advantage of the new settings.

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Return to the Windows XP and Tweak UI page.