Personalization Change Number of Taskbar Thumbnails to Show before Stacked as List in Windows 11


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takbar_settings_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to change the taskbar thumbnail threshold limit for number of thumbnail previews to show before stacked as list for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

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 have one or more windows open for an app, you can hover over or click/tap on the app's icon on the taskbar to see thumbnail previews of the open windows.

The taskbar will only show thumbnail previews of so many open windows for an app before the threshold is reached and will then afterwards automatically show a stacked list of the open windows.

The taskbar thumbnail threshold limit will vary depending on what you have set for your screen resolution and DPI scaling level.

Here are some default taskbar thumbnail threshold limits based on screen resolution with default DPI:
  • 800x600 = 8 open windows
  • 1024x768 = 10 open windows
  • 1920x1080 = 16 open windows

EXAMPLE: Taskbar showing thumbnail previews or stacked list of open windows for app

Taskbar_thumbnail_previews.jpg
Taskbar_list.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\Taskband

NumThumbnails-1.png

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

4 Change Taskbar Thumbnail Threshold

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

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


B) Select (dot) Decimal, type a number you want for the taskbar thumbnail threshold, click/tap on OK, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)​

If you type 0 (zero) it will be the same as 1 to show in list mode after you open two instances.


NumThumbnails-2.png

5 Restore Default Taskbar Thumbnail Threshold

A) In the right pane of the Taskband key, right click or press and hold on the NumThumbnails 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)​

NumThumbnails-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


 

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Last edited:
Hi.
When i hover the mouse over my browsers thumbnails (Edge & Vivaldi) i see only one preview , while they have open many tabs.
At Outlook , explorer and other apps i see all previews. I have NumThumbnails value with 16 data , and 1920x1080 res.
Is that normal ? If not , how i can fix it ?
Thanks. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 17 cd2205nw
    CPU
    Intel 113700H
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX 3050 ti
    Screen Resolution
    1980x1020
    Hard Drives
    Micron 512GB
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    100Mbs
    Browser
    Vivaldi , Edge
    Antivirus
    Norton Plus
Hi.
When i hover the mouse over my browsers thumbnails (Edge & Vivaldi) i see only one preview , while they have open many tabs.
At Outlook , explorer and other apps i see all previews. I have NumThumbnails value with 16 data , and 1920x1080 res.
Is that normal ? If not , how i can fix it ?
Thanks. :)

Hello mate, :-)

That's normal for a browser. You'll only see a thumbnail preview of the currently open tab in each separate browser window.
 

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
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
Hello mate, :)

That's normal for a browser. You'll only see a thumbnail preview of the currently open tab in each separate browser window.
Thanks ! :) (y)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 17 cd2205nw
    CPU
    Intel 113700H
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX 3050 ti
    Screen Resolution
    1980x1020
    Hard Drives
    Micron 512GB
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    100Mbs
    Browser
    Vivaldi , Edge
    Antivirus
    Norton Plus

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