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Participant
May 6, 2026
Question

How do I get the Elements 2023 photo downloader to display a thumbnail of the picture

  • May 6, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 30 views

How do I get the Elements 2023 photo downloader to display a thumbnail of the picture on the card and not the generic blue thing thatAdobe uses?

    2 replies

    Greg_S.
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    May 6, 2026

    I have been complaining about this for a number of years.  My main issue was the fact that the APD stopped displaying thumbnails of videos several versions ago. 

    Currently, it will not display raw files.  However, it will generally display jpegs.  Even with jpegs, it may take several minutes for the thumbnails to draw on the screen.  It will also take time for the file details to display.

    I have never seen the solution posted by Phinny.  At this point, the software code for the APD probably hasn’t changed in 20 years, so it doesn’t seem to be a likely solution.  But I may give it a try next time I do an import.

    Participant
    May 6, 2026

    Thanks Greg_S
    I have been less than happy with Adobe for a few years now and have been playing with other editing software (Affinity) perhaps it is about time I looked for something wlse that will handle photo downloading and catalouging that will handle Raw files. 
    I have been using PSE for two decades now and am very familiar with it and upuntil now happy with it. So perhaps it is time to move on.

    Phinny
    Legend
    May 6, 2026

    The truth is I didn’t know so I looked this up on Copilot.  It looks pretty simple and just as easy to undo.  Anyways this is the fix it said should work for nearly everyone (assuming Windows).

    Steps (Windows 10/11):

    1. Right‑click the desktop → Display settings

    2. Under Scale & layout, change Scale from 250%225% or 200%

    3. Reopen Elements Organizer → Import → From Camera or Card Reader

    4. The Advanced Dialog button should now appear

    5. Click Advanced Dialog → thumbnails return

    Users confirmed that thumbnails reappear as long as scaling stays ≤225%.

    Participant
    May 6, 2026

    Thanks, tried that it didn’t work. :(