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Adjust taskbar preview size

Posted August 2007 by Steve Sinchak

Taskbar thumbnail preview in Windows Vista is a great new feature that allows you to quickly see a window without having to fully open it from the taskbar. Instead, you can just hover  your mouse over the taskbar item and a small preview window will be displayed.

I have been asked many times  if it is possible customize the size of the preview thumbnails. Many have expressed the desire to have larger previews so they can better see the window. Finally, I have found a way.

Using a free utility written by Andreas Verhoeven called Thumbnail Sizer, it is very easy to customize the preview size.

Let’s get started:

  1. Visit Ave’s Vista Apps and download a free copy of Thumbnail Sizer.
  2. Once you have the software extracted, run AveThumbnailSizer.exe to get started.
  3. Move the sliders to adjust the preview window size.

The changes are instant. Move your mouse over a minimized window to see the results of your change. 4. Check the box if you want to turn on fade-in animation and adjust the slider.

5. Once you are happy with your changes, click the Start AveVistaThumbnailSizer with Windows if you want the utility to automatically start every time you turn on your computer. 6. Close the Thumbnail Sizer when you are finished.

Now your taskbar previews can be so large that you can easily read text on them!

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