Digitized images are easy to obtain from digital cameras, from online sources and can even be received over the Internet from friends and relatives. The ease of taking and distributing photos may cause you to accumulate a large collection of images on your computer.

In Windows 7, the browser window offers a large preview pane next to icon-size photo images. This preview side bar can be used to expand the size of one of the small photo images, but it can slow down your computer and can make it difficult to browse through a large number of images quickly. Removing the preview side bar can allow you to see more of the smaller images at the same time. You can opt to show or hide the preview side bar in Windows 7. This guide presents a step-by-step overview on how you can quickly show or hide the preview bar based on your productivity and image review needs.

Open an explorer window by right clicking on the start menu icon and selecting "Open Windows Explorer" from the pop-up menu. In the left-hand column, select "Pictures" under the "Libraries" menu. Your "Pictures library" will appear. If you have organized your pictures into folders, open a folder of pictures to review.

Hold down the "Alt" key and press "P" on your keyboard. The preview pane in your "Pictures library" will be hidden after you press "P".

Press and hold the "Alt" key and press "P" for the preview pane to reappear in your "Pictures library". You can toggle the preview pane on and off as frequently as you need to sort and review the pictures stored on your computer.

Check out the how tos below to learn other tips for the Windows 7 Operating System:

1. How to Burn Disk Images in Windows 7
2. How to Change the Taskbar Clock Setting in Windows 7
3. How to Change What the Power Button Does in Windows 7
4. How to Combine Apps and Make the Taskbar Smaller in Windows 7
5. How to Create a Full Search in Windows 7
6. How to Create a Virtual Hard Disk in Windows 7
7. How to Display Empty Drives in Windows 7
8. How to Dock Window from Left to Right to Center in Windows 7
9. How to Encrypt a USB Drive in Windows 7
10. How to Magnify the Screen in Windows 7
11. How to Make Your Background a Slideshow in Windows 7
12. How to Minimize Hide Expand Browse Windows in Windows 7
13. How to Quickly Arrange Icons in Windows 7
14. How to Quickly Create a New Instance of a Program in Windows 7
15. How to Quickly Lock the Screen in Windows 7
16. How to Remove or Add Run Command in Start Menu in Windows 7
17. How to Run an Application as Administrator in Windows 7
18. How to Run An Application As Another User in Windows 7
19. How to Show or Hide the Preview Side Bar in Windows 7
20. How TO Stretch a Window Vertically in Windows 7
21. How To Turn On and Off Security Settings in Windows 7
22. How to Use the App Locker in Windows 7