diff --git a/src/kitemviews/kfileitemlistview.cpp b/src/kitemviews/kfileitemlistview.cpp
index b7f7455b41..70ce11b1fb 100644
--- a/src/kitemviews/kfileitemlistview.cpp
+++ b/src/kitemviews/kfileitemlistview.cpp
@@ -323,6 +323,7 @@ void KFileItemListView::updateVisibleIndexRange()
 
     const int index = firstVisibleIndex();
     const int count = lastVisibleIndex() - index + 1;
+    m_modelRolesUpdater->setMaximumVisibleItems(maximumVisibleItems());
     m_modelRolesUpdater->setVisibleIndexRange(index, count);
 
     if (m_updateIconSizeTimer->isActive()) {
diff --git a/src/kitemviews/kfileitemmodelrolesupdater.cpp b/src/kitemviews/kfileitemmodelrolesupdater.cpp
index 9fca8a1f68..39d01e2320 100644
--- a/src/kitemviews/kfileitemmodelrolesupdater.cpp
+++ b/src/kitemviews/kfileitemmodelrolesupdater.cpp
@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ KFileItemModelRolesUpdater::KFileItemModelRolesUpdater(KFileItemModel* model, QO
     m_iconSize(),
     m_firstVisibleIndex(0),
     m_lastVisibleIndex(-1),
+    m_maximumVisibleItems(100),
     m_roles(),
     m_enabledPlugins(),
     m_pendingVisibleItems(),
@@ -178,6 +179,11 @@ void KFileItemModelRolesUpdater::setVisibleIndexRange(int index, int count)
     }
 }
 
+void KFileItemModelRolesUpdater::setMaximumVisibleItems(int count)
+{
+    m_maximumVisibleItems = count;
+}
+
 void KFileItemModelRolesUpdater::setPreviewsShown(bool show)
 {
     if (show == m_previewShown) {
@@ -670,7 +676,16 @@ void KFileItemModelRolesUpdater::startUpdating(const KItemRangeList& itemRanges)
         const int lastIndex = range.index + range.count - 1;
         for (int i = range.index; i <= lastIndex; ++i) {
             const KFileItem item = m_model->fileItem(i);
-            if (!hasValidIndexRange || (i >= m_firstVisibleIndex && i <= m_lastVisibleIndex)) {
+            bool visible;
+            if (hasValidIndexRange) {
+                visible = (i >= m_firstVisibleIndex && i <= m_lastVisibleIndex);
+            } else {
+                // If the view has not informed us about the visible range yet,
+                // just assume that the first items are visible.
+                visible = (i < m_maximumVisibleItems);
+            }
+
+            if (visible) {
                 m_pendingVisibleItems.insert(item);
             } else {
                 m_pendingInvisibleItems.insert(item);
diff --git a/src/kitemviews/kfileitemmodelrolesupdater.h b/src/kitemviews/kfileitemmodelrolesupdater.h
index 68559d8dd7..b837e8c7f6 100644
--- a/src/kitemviews/kfileitemmodelrolesupdater.h
+++ b/src/kitemviews/kfileitemmodelrolesupdater.h
@@ -77,6 +77,8 @@ public:
      */
     void setVisibleIndexRange(int index, int count);
 
+    void setMaximumVisibleItems(int count);
+
     /**
      * If \a show is set to true, the "iconPixmap" role will be filled with a preview
      * of the file. If \a show is false the MIME type icon will be used for the "iconPixmap"
@@ -254,6 +256,7 @@ private:
     QSize m_iconSize;
     int m_firstVisibleIndex;
     int m_lastVisibleIndex;
+    int m_maximumVisibleItems;
     QSet<QByteArray> m_roles;
     QSet<QByteArray> m_resolvableRoles;
     QStringList m_enabledPlugins;
diff --git a/src/kitemviews/kitemlistview.cpp b/src/kitemviews/kitemlistview.cpp
index 9ebad7f8bd..763b7e68fa 100644
--- a/src/kitemviews/kitemlistview.cpp
+++ b/src/kitemviews/kitemlistview.cpp
@@ -208,6 +208,11 @@ qreal KItemListView::maximumItemOffset() const
     return m_layouter->maximumItemOffset();
 }
 
+int KItemListView::maximumVisibleItems() const
+{
+    return m_layouter->maximumVisibleItems();
+}
+
 void KItemListView::setVisibleRoles(const QList<QByteArray>& roles)
 {
     const QList<QByteArray> previousRoles = m_visibleRoles;
diff --git a/src/kitemviews/kitemlistview.h b/src/kitemviews/kitemlistview.h
index cd59ddcb53..6d609a9df5 100644
--- a/src/kitemviews/kitemlistview.h
+++ b/src/kitemviews/kitemlistview.h
@@ -92,6 +92,8 @@ public:
 
     qreal maximumItemOffset() const;
 
+    int maximumVisibleItems() const;
+
     void setVisibleRoles(const QList<QByteArray>& roles);
     QList<QByteArray> visibleRoles() const;