This is a small request, mostly for convenience. In my workflow, I often use and open multiple documents at once. However, the file format .kra does not support previews from the file manager, so I usually have to spend a while looking for the document I want by name. I noticed, though, that on the startup screen, the Recent Files thumbnails have previews, which are very helpful. Is there a way for the interface to support previews for opening a file from Krita?
Sorry if that doesn’t make sense, I’m not technologically oriented, but I’m willing to elaborate.
Kra files support file previews already, the file browser has to support them, too. In Windows for example, you have to install Krita’s Windows Shell Extension, the installer asks you if you want to install it or not. Then when the browser is not in icon mode (like when in list view, which only shows icons), previews are showing. On the Linux distro I use it simply works out of the box, at least I don’t remember installing anything.
Another way, at least if you don’t use Android, would be the plugins Imagine Board and BuliCommander, both can be found via our Resources category in the sub category for plugins.
These plugins allow previewing *.KRA-Pictures directly in Krita, as well as opening them and other things, depending on the chosen plugin. And they are not limited to *.KRA.
Michelist
Thank you very much! This helps immensely.
I moved the topic to General Questions since this feature already exists and is partly outside the scope of the Krita application.
I’ve done some looking around at other people having this same problem, and I am still at a loss. I have shell integration, I’ve turned on native file dialogs, set all my Krita files to stay on my local disk, and still I have no thumbnails. As a matter of fact, during this process, the icons with the Krita logo on my files has degraded in quality, somehow. I’m using Windows 11, Krita 5.2.6, and the default Windows File Explorer. At this point, I’m pretty sure the issue is Onedrive or the file manager somehow.
Do y’all have any other ideas, or recommendations for ways to separate from Onedrive, find a better file manager, or good plugins that would allow my files to have thumbnails?
Thanks for the help so far.
I can’t tell you the exact reason behind that, but if a fresh update to 5.2.6 and the additionally installed shell extension don’t lead to Windows showing the thumbnails, you can only try to clean the Windows registry and the Windows file system from all tracks of Krita after uninstalling it. After that, you can install it again, if that won’t do the trick, a reinstallation of Windows will do, at least that has worked always, in all cases known to me, so far.
As said, I can not tell it for sure, but I think the reason is always a corrupted Windows installation. The reasons for that can be many. This can occur through installations gone wrong, a power outage (for whatever reason) maybe while a (silent background) update or installation was in progress, an aged Windows installation (that may have seen too many installations uninstallations from any kind of software), (too many) erroneous actions by an unsavvy computer user.
It occurred to me, too, and I could fix it with uninstallation and cleaning Windows completely. But I know how to clean Windows from the remnants of a software, do you too?
I know it’s a convenient thing to open the images from the file manager, but I find Imagine Board in particular a good solution to open the images from Krita instead. But I wonder, have you even tried the plugin? Because the plugin shows the thumbnails in Krita, and it is a much more convenient solution than completely removing program remnants from Windows, and for users who are not confident with computers, reinstalling Windows is often an unwelcome option.
Unfortunately, you need to open at least one picture first so Krita will show its docker, but you could pick the first picture to open from Krita’s display of recent files.
Michelist
I fixed that issue after a request I made for dockers to be allowed to open files on start up. Made it optional though. Go to settings > system > check imagine board. That will allow imagine board to boot as soon as things start.
No! Don’t ever touch the registry unless you really 100% know what you’re doing. This is bad advice.
It’s simply more likely that Windows doesn’t have created new thumbnails because it only does this ever so often and buffers them in a database.
Try resetting the thumbnail cache.
https://www.elevenforum.com/t/clear-and-reset-thumbnail-cache-in-windows-11.2051/
This should get windows to recreate it’s thumbnail database.
Also, there’s a Windows setting, individual to each folder, if it should show previews or not. In the folders properties, select customize and “optimize for pictures”.
Yes, your “No!” is absolutely right! That was the reason why I added this:
Who doesn’t know what and how to do it will most likely kill its Windows installation completely!
Michelist
I’m not the most computer oriented, so I’m not sure about a full Windows reinstallation. I haven’t tried the plugins yet, for the same reason. However, with all that I’ve been told, the plugins seem like the easiest fix. I’ll try it and report whether it works or not. Thanks for all the help.
I have already done this, the issue seems to be that File Explorer just doesn’t want to show thumbnails for kra files.
A Krita plug-in wont get you thumbnails, when the issue is Windows’ file browser. Krita’s plug ins only affect what’s inside Krita and only when it’s running.
Did you also set the folder to be optimized for pictures?
Another thing: You wrote you open multiple files through the file manager. Do you do this from Windows’ filer browser or Krita’s file browser? When you select File → Open from Krita’s menu, the Browser that opens depends on the setting in Krita’s configuration “use native file dialog”. I think Krita’s file browser only shows the previews in a sidebar, when the file is selected.
Completely reinstalling your system because of the thumbnails, sound like overkill and there is no guarantee that it will work afterwards.
I use the window that opens from Krita, and the folders are all set to be optimized for pictures.
After some finagling, I managed to find a solution. For whatever reason, the folder that I had been keeping my Krita documents in was preventing the thumbnails from showing, and when I moved all of them to another location, the thumbnails showed up fine.
Thanks for all the help from everyone.