Home >Computer Tutorials >Computer Knowledge >when is thumbs.db created
Thumbs.db files are created by Windows operating systems to store thumbnail previews of images and other files within a folder. This caching mechanism speeds up the display of thumbnails in Windows Explorer and other applications that utilize thumbnail previews. The creation process is automatic and typically happens when you first open a folder containing images or other supported file types. Windows generates the thumbs.db file in the same folder where the images reside. It's not a real-time process; the thumbnails aren't generated instantly upon the addition of a new file. Instead, Windows generates them on demand, usually when you open the folder or browse its contents. The exact timing depends on various factors such as system resources, the number of files in the folder, and the file types present. Sometimes, even if you've viewed the thumbnails before, Windows might regenerate the thumbs.db file to refresh the previews or accommodate changes in file contents.
Yes, you can generally delete thumbs.db files safely. They are cache files, meaning that they are not essential for the functionality of your system or the files they are associated with. Deleting them will not harm your images or other files. However, it will mean that the next time you open the folder, Windows will need to regenerate the thumbnails, which may result in a slight delay as it processes the files again. While deleting them is harmless, it's not usually necessary unless you're trying to save disk space. The size of thumbs.db files is usually relatively small, and the space they consume is often negligible. It's generally recommended to only delete thumbs.db files if you are short on disk space and need to reclaim some storage.
The thumbs.db file contains thumbnail previews of images and other supported file types within the folder where it's located. These previews are stored in a proprietary format by Windows. The file doesn't contain the original images themselves, just smaller, compressed versions suitable for quick display in the file explorer. Beyond the thumbnail images, the file also contains metadata, including information about the associated files, such as their location, file names, and potentially some other attributes. However, this metadata is primarily used for efficient thumbnail management and is not intended for direct user access or modification. Attempting to open the thumbs.db file directly will likely result in unreadable data, as it is a binary file structured for internal Windows use.
There's no single built-in setting in Windows to completely prevent the creation of thumbs.db files. The thumbnail generation is a core feature of the operating system. However, there are a few workarounds you can try, although none are perfect solutions:
In most cases, the small size and harmless nature of thumbs.db files mean that attempting to prevent their creation is unnecessary. The minor convenience of having quick thumbnail previews usually outweighs the negligible disk space usage.
The above is the detailed content of when is thumbs.db created. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!