Sometimes when you Mac’s desktop is full of files with all kinds of format then checking what’s in them could take a lot of time. As you need to click on a file, the file will open using the associated app, and this has to be done for every file. Tedious, right?
Wouldn’t it be easy to just preview the file to check the content? You can do that just selecting the app and pressing Spacebar. This shortcut brings up the Quick Look feature on your Mac.
Isn’t it simple? This is not only thing that Quick Look feature can do. There is more to it! Let’s explore!
1. Preview Files With a Shortcut
To preview files you need to press spacebar and the contents of a Finder file will be shown. In case you want it to disappear, then tap Spacebar again. You can also press the Escape key to make it vanish.
You can press CMD and Y key to get Quick Look of the file. Also, there is a corresponding option, Click File and select Quick Look.
You can drag the edges to expand the preview window. Also, you can zoom and pan within Quick Look previews. You can use CMD and ‘+’ to zoom in and CMD and ‘-’ to zoom out.
To pan across preview, swipe right or left with two fingers. Don’t use this gesture in any video preview, as the action will scrub through the video.
If you wish to expand Quick Look preview window to fill the screen, press & hold down Option key along with tap the Space key.
You can also go to Full Screen by clicking Full-Screen button beside Close button in the preview window.
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You can choose multiple items at once and Quick Look will show their previews as a collection that you can surf through. Use left & right arrow keys to switch between file previews.
No matter whether the items you choose are in various formats. Quick Look will work the same.
Whenever you are previewing items more than one, get the Index Sheet Button located at the left section of the title bar. The button shows you a grid-based display of chosen files, which makes it easy previews files in any order.
In case you are going for full-screen previews, you can locate the Index Sheet button at bottom of the window in the toolbar. You will also get a Play/Pause button which previews the preferred images as a slideshow.
3. Open, Mark Up, & Share Files
Quick Look enables you to preview all the files from text, PDFs, videos presentations, and spreadsheets. You will find common buttons in all previews:
Open with: Use this to open a file you are previewing in the default app. This button can’t be seen in full-screen previews.
Share: This button is used for sharing the file using a Share sheet
On the basis of the type of file you are going to preview, you will be offered with a few other alternatives if you have macOS Mojave.
Let’s say if you preview a PDF, you can access markup tools set in Finder, one of the features that you get with Mac Mojave OS.
The Markup button provides you with tools to write notes in PDF in the preview window. You can locate different pages in PDF using page thumbnails in the side panel. Just like that, you can do the same in spreadsheet previews, navigate between sheets.
You can also rotate videos/ images from their previews. Also, you can Trim the audio and videos in previews, using the Trim button. In case Trim button is missing, then you can get it by going to System Preferences, then Extensions. Under Extensions- look for Finder.
4. Preview Things in Dock, Spotlight, Notes, & More
Spotlight and folders added to Dock provide file previews. You can go through PDFs, replace sheets in spreadsheets, or play videos and more. However, you will not get share menu and index sheet, the advanced Quick Look features.
Spotlight displays a preview for a file on its own when you select the file in search results.
When it comes to the folder on the Dock, to preview the content of their files, you need to display folder content as a grid.
Mac OS allows you to take a Quick Look in some other apps as well. This is convenient when you need to preview attachments in Mail or Notes, preview files in Time Machine before recovering them.
To conclude:
Quick Look is a great option to give you an opportunity to previews different files without even opening them. It is a convenient method to browse through files. If you didn’t know about it then you must be excited to know. So, now whenever you want to look through the files, Quick look is all you need. Try it and let us know how makes dealing with files easier for you in the comments below.
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