File Icons Previews Thumbnails not showing on Mac [Fixed]

Sadique Hassan•Updated Jan 10, 2024

In this guide, we will show you various methods to fix the issue of file icons thumbnails/previews not showing on Mac. In some instances, the Finder might end up displaying a generic icon for a file type, instead of showing the actual content. As a result of this, you will not be able to identify that image until and unless you manually open it.

However, manually doing so for a plethora of files would end up taking ages. Therefore, this is one of those issues that need immediate attention. So on that note, let’s make you aware of various methods to fix this issue of file icons/thumbnails/previews not showing on your Mac.

Table of Contents

Fix File Icons Previews Thumbnails not showing on Mac

It is recommended that you try out each of the below-mentioned workarounds and then see which one spells out success. So with that in mind, let’s get started.

FIX 1: Toggle Icon Preview

Your first course of action should be to disable and then re-enable the Icon preview feature. This will refresh its underlying settings and could well rectify the issue that we are currently dealing with. So let’s give it a try using the below-listed steps and then check out the results.

Open Finder > Go to View > Show View Options.
Now uncheck Show Icon Preview.
Then wait for a few seconds and re-check Show Icon Preview.
Check if it fixes file icon thumbnails/previews not showing on your Mac.

FIX 2: Rebuild Icon Cache

Open Launchpad, go to Others, and launch Terminal.

Then execute the below command in the Terminal:

sudo rm -rfv /Library/Caches/com.apple.iconservices.store

After that, type in the following command:

sudo find /private/var/folders/ \( -name com.apple.dock.iconcache -or -name com.apple.iconservices \) -exec rm -rfv {} \; ; sleep 3;sudo touch /Applications/* ; killall Dock; killall Finder

Once done, boot your Safe Mode using the below-listed steps:

For Mac M1/M2 chipset: 
Power off your Mac. 
Then press and hold the power button until “Loading startup options” appear. 
Now select your disk, press and hold the Shift key, and click Continue in Safe Mode.

For Mac with Intel chipset: 
Restart your Mac. 
Then press and hold the Shift key until the login window appears. 
Now log into your Mac and it will boot to Safe Mode.

Be in Safe Mode for a couple of minutes and then restart your Mac to normal mode.
The OS will rebuild all the icons and file cache. Check if it rectifies the issue or not.

FIX 3: Force Quit ThumbnailsAgent

Launch Activity Monitor and go to View > All Processes.
Now type in the below process in the search and hit Enter.
```
com.apple.quicklook.ThumbnailsAgent
```
Then select it and click Force Quit. Now click on the Apple logo.
Then select Force Quit, choose Finder, and hit Relaunch.
Check if it fixes file icon thumbnails/previews not showing on Mac.

FIX 4: Delete System Cache

To begin with, go to Launchpad > Others > Open Terminal.

Then type in the below four commands [one after another]:

qlmanage -r cache
qlmanage -r
killall com.apple.quicklook.ThumbnailsAgent
killall Dock

Check if it fixes file icon thumbnails/previews not showing on Mac.

FIX 5: Recreate Finder Plist File

Open Finder and select Go > Go To Folder.
Then head over to the below location:
```
~/Library/Preferences
```
Now take a backup of the below file and then delete it:
```
com.apple.finder.plist
```
Finally, restart your Mac and then check out the results.

That’s it. These were the various methods to fix the issue of file icon thumbnails/previews not showing on Mac. If you have any queries concerning the aforementioned steps, do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution at the earliest.

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