Personalization Change Hover Time to Show Taskbar Thumbnail Live Preview in Windows 11

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taskbar_settings_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to change the hover delay time to show a taskbar thumbnail live preview for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

The setting in this tutorial no longer works starting with at least Windows 11 version 24H2.



The taskbar is a horizontal bar at the bottom of your desktop in Windows 11 that shows the Start menu, Search, Task View, Widgets, Chat, File Explorer, Microsoft Edge, and Microsoft Store icons aligned to the center by default. The taskbar corner includes the notification area icons, Quick Settings (Win+A), and Notification Center (Win+N) with the clock and calendar.

When you hover the pointer over an icon on the taskbar with an open window, you will see the thumbnail preview(s) of the open window(s).

When you hover the pointer on the taskbar thumbnail preview, you will see a live preview (peek) of only that open window on your desktop.

If you like, you can change the hover delay time to how many milliseconds you want.

A shorter delay time will have a taskbar thumbnail live preview show faster when hovering on a taskbar thumbnail preview.

A longer delay time will cause a taskbar thumbnail live preview take longer before showing when hovering on a taskbar thumbnail preview. If you set a long enough delay, it will effectively disable showing a taskbar thumbnail live preview when hovering on a taskbar thumbnail preview.


If you disable Peek, it will also disable taskbar thumbnail live previews.



EXAMPLE: Taskbar thumbnail live preview

Taskbar_thumbnail_live_preview.jpg




Here's How:

1 Open Registry Editor (regedit.exe).

2 Navigate to the key below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced​

ThumbnailLivePreviewHoverTime-1.png

3 Do step 4 (change) or step 5 (default) below for what you would like to do.

4 Change Hover Delay Time to Show Taskbar Thumbnail Live Preview

A) In the right pane of the Advanced key, double click/tap on the ThumbnailLivePreviewHoverTime DWORD to modify it. (see screenshot below step 2)​

If you don't have a ThumbnailLivePreviewHoverTime DWORD, then right click or press and hold on an empty area in the right pane of the Advanced key, click/tap on New and DWORD (32-bit) Value, type ThumbnailLivePreviewHoverTime, and press Enter.


B) Select (dot) Decimal, type a number for how many milliseconds (1000 milliseconds = 1 second) you want for the hover delay time, click/tap on OK, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)​

If you use a very long delay time (ex: 10000 milliseconds), it will effectively disable showing the taskbar thumbnail live preview when hovering on a taskbar thumbnail preview without having to disable Peek.


ThumbnailLivePreviewHoverTime-2.png

5 Restore Default Hover Delay Time to Show Taskbar Thumbnail Live Preview

A) In the right pane of the Advanced key, right click or press and hold on the ThumbnailLivePreviewHoverTime DWORD, and click/tap on Delete. (see screenshot below step 2)​

B) Click/tap on Yes to confirm, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)​

ThumbnailLivePreviewHoverTime-3.png

6 Close Registry Editor.

7 Either restart the explorer process, sign out and sign in, or restart the computer to apply.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 
Last edited:
Click to expand...
Does not work. No effect on hover. Is this how they work at Microsoft? People just walk up and stick their hands in your face while you're trying to do something? I'm sure no one working there puts up with this popup crap.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win 11
user 07252022 said:
Does not work. No effect on hover. Is this how they work at Microsoft? People just walk up and stick their hands in your face while you're trying to do something? I'm sure no one working there puts up with this popup crap.
Click to expand...
Hello, :-)

Just to note, you do need to restart the explorer process or restart the computer to apply.

In addition, this only affects the hover time on the taskbar thumbnail preview to see the thumbnail live preview on desktop.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
Hello there,

I just stumbled upon your forum and this article actually so I thought maybe you can help me.

After a very recent Windows update, I dont have the thumbnail preview on Explorer opened windows anymore in the taskbar !

Well exactly, I still have it when mouse hovering BUT not anymore (and that was the worst case scenario that could occured) when I press and hold the shorcut "Windows+1" (Explorer being the first app in line in my taskbar)

I use this feature all the time in my daily worflow, really all the time !
So I am in complete trouble the feature is not effective anymore
Can you help me ?

And yes the hover time delay option has disappeared in the Registry Editor in my actual version of Windows 11 Pro which is 24H2

Thank you for your help
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro - Version 24H2 - Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-13700K (3.4 GHz)
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG B760 Tomahawk WIFI DDR4
    Memory
    DDR4 Corsair Vengeance LPX Noir - 32 Go (2 x 16 Go) 3600 MHz - CAS 18
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 EAGLE OC Rev 2.0 (12 Go) (LHR)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Iiyama G-Master GB3467WQSU-B5 Red Eagle
    Hard Drives
    Samsung Série 980 PRO 1 To
    Crucial P3 Plus 4 To
    PSU
    Fox Spirit GT-750P - 750W
    Case
    Antec P20C
    Cooling
    DeepCool AK620 Zero Dark
    Keyboard
    Logitech MX Keys PLUS
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S
    Internet Speed
    1 Go bps (Asustor AS-T10G2)
    Browser
    Chrome - Version 136.0.7103.114 (Official build) (64 bits)
stef369 said:
Hello there,

I just stumbled upon your forum and this article actually so I thought maybe you can help me.

After a very recent Windows update, I dont have the thumbnail preview on Explorer opened windows anymore in the taskbar !

Well exactly, I still have it when mouse hovering BUT not anymore (and that was the worst case scenario that could occured) when I press and hold the shorcut "Windows+1" (Explorer being the first app in line in my taskbar)

I use this feature all the time in my daily worflow, really all the time !
So I am in complete trouble the feature is not effective anymore
Can you help me ?

And yes the hover time delay option has disappeared in the Registry Editor in my actual version of Windows 11 Pro which is 24H2

Thank you for your help
Click to expand...

Hello, and welcome to the forum. :alien:

Usually only when you have more than one window open for an app (ex: File Explorer) does press and hold :win: + # show its taskbar thumbnail preview.

If you only have one window open for the app, it'll toggle minimize/restore of the app's window when you press :win: + #.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
Thank you for your answer and welcome ;)

Looks like you dont get it Brink
it's not working anymore with the shortcut :win: + 1 !!!
ONLY with mouse hovering
(see screenshot, displaying preview of the 4th opened window with mouse hovering on the Explorer icon in the taskbar)

Looks like the feature was deactivated right after last windows update, recently

Cycling thru each one of the File Explorer opened windows using shortcut :win: + 1 to display each thumbnail preview one after the other was super handy
it's not anymore and hovering with the mouse instead to do it is very tedious :/
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro - Version 24H2 - Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-13700K (3.4 GHz)
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG B760 Tomahawk WIFI DDR4
    Memory
    DDR4 Corsair Vengeance LPX Noir - 32 Go (2 x 16 Go) 3600 MHz - CAS 18
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 EAGLE OC Rev 2.0 (12 Go) (LHR)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Iiyama G-Master GB3467WQSU-B5 Red Eagle
    Hard Drives
    Samsung Série 980 PRO 1 To
    Crucial P3 Plus 4 To
    PSU
    Fox Spirit GT-750P - 750W
    Case
    Antec P20C
    Cooling
    DeepCool AK620 Zero Dark
    Keyboard
    Logitech MX Keys PLUS
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S
    Internet Speed
    1 Go bps (Asustor AS-T10G2)
    Browser
    Chrome - Version 136.0.7103.114 (Official build) (64 bits)
stef369 said:
Thank you for your answer and welcome ;)

Looks like you dont get it Brink
it's not working anymore with the shortcut :win: + 1 !!!
ONLY with mouse hovering
(see screenshot, displaying preview of the 4th opened window with mouse hovering on the Explorer icon in the taskbar)

Looks like the feature was deactivated right after last windows update, recently

Cycling thru each one of the File Explorer opened windows using shortcut :win: + 1 to display each thumbnail preview one after the other was super handy
it's not anymore and hovering with the mouse instead to do it is very tedious :/
Click to expand...

Could be a bug in your build since it still works for me.

Would using :win: + Tab for now work for you until this gets fixed?

www.elevenforum.com

Switch Between Open Windows in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you different ways to switch between open windows for your account in Windows 11. When you have multiple windows open in Windows 11, you can easily and quickly switch between them. Starting with Windows 11 build 23560 (Dev), build 22635.2771 (Beta), build 22631.2787...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
Thanks a lot for your quick answers Brink, or maybe Shawn ^^
I really appreciate

Yes I do think same as you
Certainly a bug in the last build as I was using the feature a million times a day for a long time and it was working perfectly till the very recent Windows update

Thanks for the "Switch Between Open Windows in Windows 11" advices
I already knew them but thanks for pointing them out, it helps
None of them is as smooth and efficient as my shortcut :win: + 1
But I will go with ALT + Tab in the meantime the issue is solved

Thank you very much for your help and time

---
Just in case
I realized I did not provide my system specs so far
I was sure I did it in a first place
Here they are :

Windows 11 Professional Edition
Version 24H2
Installed on 11/17/2024
Operating system build 26100.4202
Experience Pack of Windows features 1000.26100.107.0
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro - Version 24H2 - Build 26100.4202
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-13700K (3.4 GHz)
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG B760 Tomahawk WIFI DDR4
    Memory
    DDR4 Corsair Vengeance LPX Noir - 32 Go (2 x 16 Go) 3600 MHz - CAS 18
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060 EAGLE OC Rev 2.0 (12 Go) (LHR)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Iiyama G-Master GB3467WQSU-B5 Red Eagle
    Hard Drives
    Samsung Série 980 PRO 1 To
    Crucial P3 Plus 4 To
    PSU
    Fox Spirit GT-750P - 750W
    Case
    Antec P20C
    Cooling
    DeepCool AK620 Zero Dark
    Keyboard
    Logitech MX Keys PLUS
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S
    Internet Speed
    1 Go bps (Asustor AS-T10G2)
    Browser
    Chrome - Version 136.0.7103.114 (Official build) (64 bits)
Had some problems with those thumbnails and with delaying by setting hoovering time myself.

Because I was using the Windhawk app already (with that you can manage all kinds of things in modern Windows 11) I installed the Windhawk 'mod' Disable Taskbar Thumbnails. And with that mod the taskbar thumbnails have gone forever...

So that might be a possibility, but you should realize that the app Windhawk consumes a lot of space on the system partition. It does not consume very much processor or memory capacity, only disk space (in my system abiut 790 MByte). But I have plenty...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.3915
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Build by vendor to my specs
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    MSI PRO B550M-P Gen3
    Memory
    Kingston FURY Beast 2x16GB DIMM DDR4 2666 CL16
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GT 730 2GB LP V1
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster Audigy FX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S24E450F 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1. SSD Crucial P5 Plus 500GB PCIe M.2
    2. SSD-SATA Crucial MX500-2TB
    PSU
    Corsair CV650W
    Case
    Cooler Master Silencio S400
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper H412R with Be Quiet Pure Wings 2 PWM BL038 fan
    Keyboard
    Cherry Stream (wired, scissor keys)
    Mouse
    Asus WT465 (wireless)
    Internet Speed
    70 Mbps down / 80 Mbps up
    Browser
    Firefox 130.0
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Router: FRITZBox 7490
    Oracle VirtualBox 7 for testing software on Win 10 or 11
stef369 said:
Thanks a lot for your quick answers Brink, or maybe Shawn ^^
I really appreciate

Yes I do think same as you
Certainly a bug in the last build as I was using the feature a million times a day for a long time and it was working perfectly till the very recent Windows update

Thanks for the "Switch Between Open Windows in Windows 11" advices
I already knew them but thanks for pointing them out, it helps
None of them is as smooth and efficient as my shortcut :win: + 1
But I will go with ALT + Tab in the meantime the issue is solved

Thank you very much for your help and time
Click to expand...

You're most welcome. Hope it gets sorted in the next update. :shawn:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
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