Does anyone get image thumbnail icons on .pspimage files?

[ADonahoo]

I read what Ken wrote, and I also read what Levi wrote, that it should be in every version of PSP, and I immediately looked to see if it was there in all the root folders. I have installed: X7, X8, X9 and 2018. they were installed in sequence initially and that file is only in my X7 installation folder. I only know that when I took X7 off the thumbnails were gone and they were visible again when I installed it again. My profile has that because I started with Jasc PSP 7 back in the day, not that I still use it. I can't explain that and was only saying that's what I have on my laptop, which is where I had the issue. On my desktop computer, I have those same versions installed and the file is in every root folder.

[LeviFiction]

ADonahoo - have you installed any of these with only 32-bit? Or do you always install 64-bit? I don't think that has anything to do with it, I'm just curious.

[hartpaul]

Just did a check for PSPPThumbShell in my various versions of PSP and was able to construct this table.
I can see all pspfile thumbs in Windows 7, 8.1, 10 Version 1607 , had some trouble with version 1703 but now have all after installing PSP 2018, 10 version 1709.

There were two versions
PSPPThumbShellExt.dll
and
PSPPThumbShellExt64.dll

My PSP X3 and PSP X7 32 bit versions contained both versions of the file.
Earlier versions up to X6 had a small file size.

I am wondering if you only install the 32 bit versions of PSP X6, X8, X9, 2018 do you get a copy of PSPPThumbShellExt64.dll in any folder .
For PSP X7 if you installed 32 bit version you got both copies anyway.

EDIT Now have Win 10 1803 and all pspthumbs are showing in explorer up to PSP 2019

[bruce1951]

Sorry! I have just looked and found the PSPPThumbShell in both my x7 and x8 folders. I had to reinstall x7 to get the thumbnails to work!!! So having it in the x8 folder wasn't the cause or the solution.

The plot thickens.

bruce

[LeviFiction]

My original post included finding out if the dll was properly registered as a windows extension. The existence only matters if it was registered properly and not disabled. Now, if it existed, was properly registered, and was enabled, then I could agree the plot thickened.

Did you download the shell extension viewer I pointed to to see which of you PSPPthumbShellExt dlls was the one registered?

[mounsey]

Wow! - Thanks for all the input here, all (as a reminder I was the originator/author of this thread!).

At the present time I only have PSP 2018 (64 bit) on my Windows 10.x system here. It sounds like trying to get X7 back on (too) may well go a long way to help solve this (or at least get the pspimage thumbs back! Ideally I'd also (really) like to know HOW and WHY this has happened - but if don't get that, but the thumbnails back in place I'll settle for that, for now!

I wonder if anyone over @ Corel reads these threads? ("Hello, Mr./Mrs. Corel!" if you're reading ). It would be interesting/useful to get an official comment on this clearly Known and common Issue too.

John

[Ken Berry]

It sounds like trying to get X7 back on (too) may well go a long way to help solve this (or at least get the pspimage thumbs back!

I'm afraid I can't agree. As I said above, on my current computer, which is brand new, I have never installed any version of PSP apart from the current version of PSP 2018, under Win 10 fully up to date. I don't have any problem seeing pspimage thumbnails. In fact, if you look back through this long thread and similar threads on this Board (and there are a few) I have never had any problem seeing pspimage thumbnails, regardless of the version.

Now some of my other computers have a variety of versions of PSP installed, including X7, and one or the other or a combination of those may have played a role in being able to see pspimage thumbs on those computers. But this computer has only PSP 2018, has the requisite file with no fiddling on my part, and shows the thumbs with no problem. So I can't believe there is any magic in having X7 or any other version installed.

The magic seems to lie in the fact that some people don't have the relevant PSPThumbShellExt64.dll or PSPThumbShellExt.dll installed or as Levi Fiction has suggested, registered... and I am not sure any of us here can explain how or why that might have happened.

[mounsey]

It sounds like trying to get X7 back on (too) may well go a long way to help solve this (or at least get the pspimage thumbs back!

I'm afraid I can't agree. As I said above, on my current computer, which is brand new, I have never installed any version of PSP apart from the current version of PSP 2018, under Win 10 fully up to date. I don't have any problem seeing pspimage thumbnails. In fact, if you look back through this long thread and similar threads on this Board (and there are a few) I have never had any problem seeing pspimage thumbnails, regardless of the version.

Now some of my other computers have a variety of versions of PSP installed, including X7, and one or the other or a combination of those may have played a role in being able to see pspimage thumbs on those computers. But this computer has only PSP 2018, has the requisite file with no fiddling on my part, and shows the thumbs with no problem. So I can't believe there is any magic in having X7 or any other version installed.

The magic seems to lie in the fact that some people don't have the relevant PSPThumbShellExt64.dll or PSPThumbShellExt.dll installed or as Levi Fiction has suggested, registered... and I am not sure any of us here can explain how or why that might have happened.

Fair enough. I think with my own set of circumstances though I think it is something to do with the fact that I *have* had previous versions installed - but in the interests of HDD space and other resources I opted to remove them (those installations). I can't know for sure but I feel that that (somehow!) is the key to how at one point I did (briefly..) have pspimage thumbnails on an otherwise fine Windows 10.x installation - only to then lose them.

If I were a betting man I would guess this coincided with the point in time when I uninstalled one of those previous versions..

I am not surprised to hear that a Windows 10.x system with no prior PSP versions doesn't have this issue, not surprised at all. The inference has never been that PSP 2018 and Windows 10.x are not capable of displaying pspimage thumbnails. I just think the solution lies (for whose who do have this issue) within what prior and other installations of PSP they have had (in the past) - and/or any uninstallations / re-installations of PSP2018 which may have not completed fully (though seeming fine at the time).

Anyway, life goes on

[bruce1951]

Ken if you read my earlier post I pointed that my x8 version had the appropriate file, (PSPThumbnaialShell....), in the folder. Yet my thumbnails never worked. Once I reinstalled x7 they reappeared. So having the appropriate PSPThumbnailShell... file was no guarantee.

I should also point out that with x8 installed they did work. However that stopped at some point. I did uninstall a number of other versions when I got frustrated with 'other' PSP issues. I don't recall the exact time the thumbnail vanished. But it could well have been when I uninstalled x7.

Maybe some versions of PSPThumbnail are broken or can be corrupted. I don't have the answer. All I know is that once I reinstalled x7 they reappeared. And for clarity I also had the trial versions of x9 and 2018 installed. All on a computer running Windows 8.1.

bruce

[ADonahoo]

ADonahoo - have you installed any of these with only 32-bit? Or do you always install 64-bit? I don't think that has anything to do with it, I'm just curious.

I have both 32-bit and 64-bit versions installed.

And to mounsey: after 26 years of living with a PC, I no longer care about the HOW and WHY. I do whatever works to fix it or get around it.

[LeviFiction]

So, furthering my theory about needing the extension to be registered I just realized my work computer was not showing PSP thumbnails.

On my work computer I only have 2018 installed, but I used to have X7 and X8 installed. When looking in my 2018 installation folder the Thumbnail shell extension file was there. So I opened up the shell extension viewer and lo and behold the thumbnail viewer was not a registered plugin.

You can see the list of non-microsoft extensions in this screenshot of the extension viewer

So, I took my own advice and I registered the extension through my command prompt

regsrv2 C:\Program Files\Corel\Corel PaintShop Pro 2018 (64-bit)\PSPPThumbShellExt64

now it shows up in the extension viewer

I then went to my pictures folder and hit the refresh button, and the thumbnail showed up.

To demonstrate I also recorded a video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/136vCVy ... UVaGV/view

[mounsey]

One word:

AMAZING!

It worked - for me at least. Precisely as you encountered. I.e. the .dll file WAS present, but NOT registered.

The moment I registered it... bingo! - thumbnails! (actually I had to close and re-open PSP 2018... but hey, I can deal with that!!

One question from me (excuse my ignorance - I've never "Registered" a DLL file in this manner before now - new territory. Does this change remain in place? I.e. even if I shut-down and/or reboot?

Or will I most likely have to do it again? I'm guessing not.. but thought I'd ask. Thanks SO much for the video - that was perfect!

John

So, furthering my theory about needing the extension to be registered I just realized my work computer was not showing PSP thumbnails.

On my work computer I only have 2018 installed, but I used to have X7 and X8 installed. When looking in my 2018 installation folder the Thumbnail shell extension file was there. So I opened up the shell extension viewer and lo and behold the thumbnail viewer was not a registered plugin.

You can see the list of non-microsoft extensions in this screenshot of the extension viewer

shellview2.JPG

So, I took my own advice and I registered the extension through my command prompt

regsrv2 C:\Program Files\Corel\Corel PaintShop Pro 2018 (64-bit)\PSPPThumbShellExt64

now it shows up in the extension viewer

shellview3.JPG

I then went to my pictures folder and hit the refresh button, and the thumbnail showed up.

To demonstrate I also recorded a video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/136vCVy ... UVaGV/view

[JoeB]

It will stay registered. I don't know what will happen if you uninstall your PSP and then reinstall it.

[hartpaul]

So it would appear that in some cases perhaps all cases of pspfile thumbnails not showing it is a failure to register problem.

[bruce1951]

OK let us assume LeviFiction has found the problem.

1/ We need to know why the file is not registering.
2/ If it has registered and has stopped work, (as seems to have happened to me with x8), what is causing it to stop working.
3/ We need a quick simple fix for the non computer literate folks.

I would hope Corel could have a look at the issue and see if they could either build a check process into PSP or offer a patch which would allow users to resort the file.

bruce