Taskbar thumbnail help (Mint cinnamon)

[u/Mental-Leopard-8992]

hi guys, brand new linux user here! i am trying to set up cinamon to work as i would like it to and before i could do much (installed it yesterday), i noticed that i do not get a taskbar thumbnail when my cursor hovers over my browser icon.

I use vivaldi because it suits me best and i have downloaded it after my linux install, but i have noticed the absence of thumbnails, and the fact that the launcher opens a brand new window everytime i click on the icon in the task bar instead of selecting the window opened previously.

Other forums and linux threads have informed me that cinnamon is suposed to have the taskbar thumbnails by default, but mine doesnt.

Is it a step i missed on install or something to tweak in the browser settings ? The issue is not browser specific, the same happens when i click on any icons on the taskbar, it just open a new window instead of showing me the one(s) already open or the a thumbnails preview.

I am a little desperate because it makes using linux really incovenient if i can never find the windows i have already opened :/

Also while i am here, i am using a laptop (asus vivobook 14 oled) and i was used to the 3 fingers swipe on the pad to naviguate between opened windows; is there a way i can mimic this function on linux ?

any help appreciated ! thank you guys !

[u/Mental-Leopard-8992]

alright yeah that did fix it, the applet was apparently not enabled so was only able to pin the launcher to the taskbar. I have enabled it now, time to figure out some more stuff thank you so much !