Blank desktop folders but with icon images inside.

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There was a time, in fact this was the situation on Monday of this week, that I had loads of folders on my desktop and they were all blank.
As in nobody could see what was in them, comes under privacy.
However inside of each of these folders were all large icons showing a preview of that image.
Loved this set up, what I don’t want is preview images on my desktop as now is the case.

Fatal update this week Windows 11 Version 22H2 (OS Build 22621.1105).
Now it seems it is either or, why, and has anybody found a way to have the old combination, blank desktop folders, with image icons inside?

Also why does a white line come and go now at the top of my screen please?

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I don’t think you can disable folder previews for just the desktop, but if you want to disable them everywhere (as before the latest stable build) then see:

Disable Folder Thumbnail Previews without Disabling File Thumbnail Previews in Windows 11

For the white line at the top of your screen, please describe where and when (or attach a screenshot).

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1778 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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Another option is a freeware program called ‘Folder Painter’. Its primary purpose is to allow you to choose from various colors for your folders, but it also has the effect of removing any previews from the folder cover(s).

It uses the folder icon design from Windows 10 and earlier where the folders are vertical rather than horizontal, so you’ll end  up with a combination of orientations unless you change all of the desktop folders.

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b wrote:

For the white line at the top of your screen, please describe where and when (or attach a screenshot).

See attached.

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The white line looks like the lowest portion of a window from a running program.  Try to see if the line’s farthest right when clicked is able to resize the window larger.  Once the hidden window is selected, press alt + space to get its menu and pick various options to try to make its tile bar visible such as “move”

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This situation of Microsoft changing something without the recourse of reverting back, I feel is misplaced and unguided.
Having blank folders is clean, preview panes add clutter.
The preview panes in themselves were not effective, only half a pane of the desktop folder, no way could you make them out.
In fact just this fact of them being half paned, tells you that the developer was having misgivings already.

But it is the potential lengths that one has to go to to revert back to plain blank folders, extraordinary – my experience:

1.  To remove thumbnails on outside of folders in Windows 11 see here:
https://www.elevenforum.com/t/enable-or-disable…

2. In trying to enact a solution I was met by a half page warning sign, make sure you open it in full – Windows protected your PC

3. Click Run anyway, it did not run, but for me just clicking Run away resolved all my woes – unreal.

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Up2you2 wrote:

But it is the potential lengths that one has to go to to revert back to plain blank folders, extraordinary – my experience:

1. To remove thumbnails on outside of folders in Windows 11 see here:
https://www.elevenforum.com/t/enable-or-disable…

Didn’t that disable thumbnails for files as well as folders?

Up2you2 wrote:

2. In trying to enact a solution I was met by a half page warning sign, make sure you open it in full – Windows protected your PC

3. Click Run anyway, it did not run, but for me just clicking Run away resolved all my woes – unreal.

When running what exactly?

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1778 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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Perhaps the OP meant this other page from elevenforum:

https://www.elevenforum.com/t/disable-folder-thumbnail-previews-without-disabling-file-thumbnail-previews-in-windows-11.9415/

I wasn’t really happy with my ‘Folder Painter’ option that I mentioned above, so I tried the method in the link above and it worked. Folder previews are gone but file thumbnails remain inside the folders.

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