How to Customize Preview Details in Details Pane of File Explorer in Windows


The details pane shows you see the most common properties associated with the selected file. File properties provide more detailed info about a file, such as the author, the date you last changed the file, and any descriptive tags you might have added to the file.

If you like, you can customize what preview details you want to show for specific file types in the details pane of File Explorer (Windows 8/8.1/10) or Windows Explorer (Vista/Windows 7).

This tutorial will show you how to customize preview details of specific file types in the details pane of File Explorer for all users in Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.

You must be signed in as an administrator to customize preview details in the details pane.

EXAMPLE: Before and After custom preview details of ".exe" files in File Explorer details pane




Here's How:

1 Press the Win + R keys to open Run, type regedit into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.

2 Navigate to the key below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.file extension

Substitute file extension in the key path above with the actual file extension (ex: ".exe") you want to customize preview details for.

For example: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.exe

3 Do step 4 (customize) or step 5 (undo) below for what you would like to do.

4 To Customize Preview Details for this File Extension

A) Right click on an empty space in the right pane of the key (ex: "exe"), click/tap on New, click/tap on String Value, type PreviewDetails, and press Enter. (see screenshots below)

If you already have a PreviewDetails string value (REG_SZ) in the right pane of the key (ex: "exe"), then skip this step and go to step 4B below instead.

B) Double click/tap on the PreviewDetails string value in the right pane to modify it. (see second screenshot above)

C) Type the data value below for the preview details you want with each separated by a semicolon ; in the order you want them to show, click/tap on OK, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)

prop:detail 1;detail 2; etc....

Substitute detail # in the value above with the actual preview details you want.

The link below at Microsoft will give you a full list of System preview details that you can use. You can click on a detail (ex: "System.ItemNameDisplay") link at the link below to see more information about what it is for.

Windows Properties | Microsoft Docs

For example:

prop:System.ItemNameDisplay;System.ItemTypeText;System.FileVersion;System.ItemFolderPathDisplay;System.Size;System.DateCreated;System.DateModified;System.FileAttributesSystem.FileOwner;System.FileAttributes;System.OfflineAvailability

5 To Undo Customized Preview Details for this File Extension

A) In the right pane of the key (ex: "exe"), right click or press and hold on the PreviewDetails string value (REG_SZ), and click/tap on Delete. (see screenshot below)

B) Click/tap on Yes to confirm, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)

6 If you have File Explorer open, then refresh (F5) the window to see your changes.

7 When finished, you can close Registry Editor if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink

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