TGA thumbnails in Windows Explorer
Targa images (.tga, also .icb, .tpic, .vda and .vst) show as real thumbnails in File Explorer with SageThumbs 2K, so texture and render folders stop looking like rows of identical icons.
What you see
- TGA files are fully decoded, not shown from a stored preview.
- Very large TGA scans are read a row at a time, so a file over 256 MB still shows its picture without being loaded into memory.
- In Quick preview, transparent areas sit on a checkerboard instead of vanishing into the background.
Limits
- In OneDrive and other synced folders, files stored on the PC get thumbnails as anywhere else. Online-only files are left to the cloud app, since nothing is downloaded just to draw a thumbnail.
More you can do
- TGA is one of the Convert dialog's built-in outputs, and right-click Convert into turns a TGA into PNG, JPG, WebP and more.
Extensions this covers
.tga .icb .tpic .vda .vst
See every format SageThumbs 2K supports or browse all format guides.
Get SageThumbs 2K
Install it with winget:
winget install LunarWerxs.SageThumbs2KOr download the installer from GitHub and run it.
Windows 11 and 10, 64-bit, on x64 and Arm. The same page has a portable zip that needs no installing.
Free for personal use
Home, hobby and other non-commercial use is free: every format and every tool. A company, a shop or anyone doing paid work needs a business licence for each PC.
A business licence is US$49 per PC once, with 12 months of updates, or US$2.99 per PC a month. See business licence pricing
Thumbnails not showing?
- Windows caches thumbnails, and a file it failed on once stays failed. In SageThumbs, Settings ▸ Advanced ▸ Rebuild thumbnail cache clears the cache and restarts Explorer.
- Make sure File Explorer's "Always show icons, never thumbnails" option is off, and that the format is ticked in SageThumbs Settings ▸ File types.
- Run
st2k doctorin a terminal. It only reads, checks the whole chain, and prints a fix under anything that is wrong.