Enable or Disable Taskbar Thumbnail Previews in Windows 7

One of the better improvements to the Windows 7 taskbar is the thumbnail preview – at least that’s my opinion. I also like the group function and that I can close a running application directly from the thumbnail view. However, should you for any reason want to disable the Thumbnails, here is how to do so.

Using Local Group Policy Editor

1. Click Start-Button, and type gpedit.msc
2. In the left pane, navigate to User Configuration, Administrative Templates, and Start Menu and Taskbar
   
3. In the Right Pane, Click the Setting Tab to Sort the list alphabetically
4. Double-Click on: Turn off taskbar thumbnails
5. Change Configuration to Enabled (Or Disabled to restore them)
6. Click OK

Using RegEdit

1. Open Regedit
2. Locate HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
   NOTE: The Subkey Explorer Might Not Be Present. If that be the case you need to add it (Right-Click on Policies and click New -> Key and name it: Explorer)
3. In The Right Pane, add a new DWORD (32-bit) Value, name it: TaskbarNoThumbnail
4. Modify the Value (Double-Click) to 1 (one)
5. Close RegEdit and Reboot.