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Forum Discussion
Disable folder image preview
Is there a way to prevent a specific folder tile from showing a preview of the images inside it? I have NSFW images inside some subfolders and don't want them visible from the parent folder.
Add the ability to disable the image preview on folder tiles in grid view on desktop. Ideally it could be toggled on/off for individual folders.
- simonDBX
Dropbox Product Manager
Hi gem0303, thank you for sharing this feedback! I'm the Product Manager on the team responsible for this feature and we really value this feedback.
To help inform our thinking around this, would you prefer to be able to turn off the collage of previews on folders in grid view for just one folder, or all of the folders in view?
simonDBXMy personal preference would be toggling the collage on/off for individual folders because I have NSFW folders mixed in with regular photo folders. I probably wouldn't use the feature if it could only be toggled on/off for every folder in view.
While I have your attention, I have an additional request for the thumbnail collage feature. Would it be possible to superimpose the collage on top of the default folder icon, like the mockup below?
I often have folders and pictures mixed together, and when I'm visually scanning to find the start of my photos, they all blur together. Having the folder icon visible would make the file type much more clear. I know it's possible to sort the files by "type" which groups all the photos together, but then for some reason it jumbles up the order of individual photos when I need them to be sorted alphabetically.
- simonDBX
gem0303 Got it, thank you! I'll take this back to the team and see what we can do to give you more control over what's shown on your folders.
Regarding better visually differentiating between files and folders - appreciate your feedback here as well! We've gotten similar feedback from other users and are currently working on a solution to make it easier to differentiate at a glance. Stay tuned!
Honestly, it's not good UX. Can't really tell folders from files. You need a better visual differentiation between those 2. Even OneDrive does it better (that's the only thing they do better! 😆)
- Nancy
Dropbox Staff
Hey gem0303, thanks for posting on our forum.
If you’re referring to the Dropbox website, and you’re seeing your content in grid/large grid view, I’m afraid it’s not possible to hide those thumbnails.
You can change the view though to list/large list instead, and there should be no thumbnails.
Hope this helps!
Nancy Thanks for the info. Bummer it's not possible without changing away from grid view (which I really like).
For anyone reading who'd like this feature added to the site, please upvote my idea.
Maybe this folder image preview could be a user selection along with the Grid, Large Grid, List, Large List.
Folder images previewing in Grid modes is so distracting.
I cant determine at a glance previewed single images from folders. And if a folder only has one image, it looks just like a .jpg or other filetype preview. This has slowed down my work flow considerably.
The very least you could do is outline the folder icons, or make the background color look like a folder shape or a different color... or all of the above.
Please!
and thank you.I agree with this idea - having the option to view as "collage stack" is distracting, but some people may want it. I liked the mockup of the folder image behind the collage. looks differentiated nicely, rather than just plain white background with no folder icon.
- simonDBX
Circling back to this thread. While this wasn't the primary ask of this thread, I did see it mentioned in other comments. In an effort to make it easier to visually differentiate between folders and files in grid view, we've recently introduced folder icons on the tiles that reflect the status of the folder (individual, shared, etc). Please let me know what you think.
We are also still considering ways to give you more control over whether the collage of thumbnails is shown and where.It's not as clear as having the collage superimposed over the folder because your eye still has to look in two places to confirm it's a folder (the photos and then down to the icon). But it is a definite improvement compared to not having that icon at all. Thanks for the update!
