Have you ever been renaming a file in Windows Explorer, hit the spacebar… and suddenly a big blank preview window pops up with only the text “Error: No files selected or this folder is not supported for preview”?
It’s frustrating. It breaks your flow. It drives me nuts. And it feels like Windows is just… doing something random.
The good news: it’s not Windows and it’s easy to fix.
It’s PowerToys!
What’s Actually Causing This?
If you have Microsoft PowerToys installed, there’s a feature called Peek.
Peek is designed to let you quickly preview files by pressing the spacebar. It’s similar to the Quick Look feature on macOS.
Sounds useful in theory.
In practice? It hijacks your spacebar – especially when you’re:
- Renaming files
- Navigating quickly in Explorer
- Working with lists of files
So every time you press space, instead of inserting a space… you get a popup.
How to Stop It (2 Easy Fixes)
Option 1: Disable Peek Completely
If you never use it, just turn it off:
- Open PowerToys
- Click Peek in the sidebar
- Toggle Enable Peek to Off
Done. No more popup. Quick and easy, and probably your best option if you don’t use the feature.
Option 2: Change the Shortcut
Peek can actually be useful – just not on the spacebar. Here’s how to keep it without the annoyance:
- Open PowerToys
- Go to Peek
- Change the activation shortcut from: Space to something like: Ctrl + Space or Alt + Space
Now you get the feature only when you actually want it.
A Better Alternative (Built Into Windows)
If your goal is just to preview files, Windows already has this:
- Press Alt + P in File Explorer
- This opens the Preview Pane
It’s stable, predictable, and doesn’t mess with your typing.
Final Thoughts
This is one of those “great idea, questionable default” features. But if you don’t know what it is, and it’s opening up at unpredictable times, it can be super annoying.
PowerToys is incredibly useful overall, but binding a global action to the spacebar is… aggressive.
If your spacebar is triggering weird popups in Explorer, now you know:
- Nothing is broken
- Your keyboard isn’t haunted
- It’s just Peek doing its thing
And thankfully, it’s a 10-second fix.
A seasoned Senior Solutions Architect with 20 years of experience in technology design and implementation. Renowned for innovative solutions and strategic insights, he excels in driving complex projects to success. Outside work, he is a passionate fisherman and fish keeper, specializing in planted tanks.