Vista - Thumbnail Previews on Taskbar

Information

This shows a thumbnail view of currently open windows on the taskbar when you move your mouse pointer over the tab of a open window on the taskbar. This will show you how to turn the Taskbar open window thumbnail previews on or off in Vista. This is not available in the Vista Home Basic version even though the option is there to select.

NOTE

This can be helpful for a quick view of the current open windows without actually having to go to a window.

WARNING

You must have the Windows Aero color scheme turned on for the Glass Transparency, Taskbar Thumbnail Previews, and Flip 3D features. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS FOR: WINDOWS AERO For more on this, see: Windows Help and Support: Troubleshoot problems with Windows Aero NOTE: The Windows Aero color scheme is not available for the Vista Home Basic edition. 1 GHz 32 bit or 64 bit CPU processor. The computer needs at least 1 GB of RAM. A graphics card with support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB of memory. The graphics card must support Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware. The graphics card driver must support Windows Vista Display Driver Model (WDDM) The computer display color depth must be set to 32 bits per pixel.

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NOTE

The Windows Aero color scheme is not available for the Vista Home Basic edition.

1. To Have Thumbnail Previews on the Taskbar -

A) Turn on the Windows Aero color scheme.

1. Right click on a empty area of the taskbar.

2. Click on Properties.

3. To Turn Off Thumbnail Previews -

A) Uncheck Show window previews (thumbnails).
(See screenshot below)
NOTE: If this is grayed out, then see: How to Enable or Disable the Taskbar Thumbnail Previews in Vista

B) Go to step 5.

4. To Turn On Thumbnail Previews -

A) Check Show window previews (thumbnails).
NOTE: If this is grayed out, then see: How to Enable or Disable the Taskbar Thumbnail Previews in Vista

5. Click on Apply and on OK.