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# 2025-06-26 05:09:29Z

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_**Agent (2025-06-26 05:14:17Z)**_

Yes, you can use the thumbnails (thumbs) you've generated for your `.blend` files, even if Blender itself doesn't generate or update them as you want. Here’s how it works and what you can do:

### Why Blender Thumbnails Sometimes Don’t Work
- Blender only generates thumbnails for `.blend` files under certain conditions (like saving with a camera view, or with the right settings).
- Sometimes, Windows Explorer or other file managers don’t update or show these thumbnails correctly.

### Using Your Own Thumbnails
If you have your own PNG or JPG images that you want to use as thumbnails for your `.blend` files, you can manually set them in Windows. However, Windows does not natively support custom thumbnails for arbitrary file types like `.blend`. But you have a few options:

#### 1. Thumbnail Overlay Tools
There are third-party tools (like **SageThumbs**, **Icaros**, or **CustomExplorerThumbnail**) that let you assign custom thumbnails to files, including `.blend` files.

#### 2. Folder Thumbnails
If you want to visually organize your folders, you can set a folder’s thumbnail to one of your images:
- Right-click the folder → Properties → Customize → Choose File (under Folder pictures).

#### 3. Preview Images in File Explorer
If you want to see a preview of your `.blend` file, you can:
- Keep a PNG/JPG with the same name as the `.blend` file in the same folder for easy reference.
- Use a file manager that supports side-by-side preview (like **Directory Opus** or **XYplorer**).

#### 4. Custom Scripts (Advanced)
You can write a script to generate a Windows shortcut (`.lnk`) for each `.blend` file, and set the shortcut’s icon to your custom image. This is a workaround, but not a true thumbnail.

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**Summary:**  
You can’t natively set custom thumbnails for `.blend` files in Windows Explorer, but you can use third-party tools or keep your generated thumbs alongside your `.blend` files for easy reference. If you want a script to automate any of these processes, let me know!
