Creating a thumbnail for maps, globes, and scenes

Map, globe, and scene documents can have a thumbnail illustrating the document's layout. Thumbnails for these items are stored inside the document itself; they are not stored in the item's metadata.

1. Open the map, globe, or scene document for which you want to create a thumbnail.
2. Open the document's Properties dialog box.
   • In ArcMap, click File > Map Document Properties.
   • In ArcGlobe, click File > Globe Document Properties.
   • In ArcScene, click File > Scene Document Properties.
3. Click the Make Thumbnail button.
   • If the document doesn't have a thumbnail, the Make Thumbnail button will be available.
   • If the document already has a thumbnail, the Delete Thumbnail button will be available. Click this button to remove the existing thumbnail, then click the Make Thumbnail button to create a new one.

   

   Note:

   If you open the document's Properties dialog box from the item's shortcut menu in the Catalog window, the Make Thumbnail and Delete Thumbnail buttons will be unavailable. The document must be opened in the appropriate ArcGIS for Desktop application to create a thumbnail for it.

4. Click OK.

The thumbnail records the document's current layout.

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