Quick Look previews files in Finder without launching their full apps. It is fast for photos, PDFs, documents, videos, and many other file types, and it lets you confirm a file before opening or editing it.
This guide applies to Finder and Quick Look on recent macOS versions.
Does This Affect You?
Use Quick Look when you want to inspect a file without waiting for an app to open or risking changes to the original.
Preview One File
- Open Finder.
- Click the file once so it is selected.
- Press the Space bar.
- Scroll or zoom inside the preview if the file supports it.
- Press Space again or click the close button to exit.
Simply viewing a file in Quick Look does not change it.
Preview Multiple Files
- Select several files in Finder with Shift-click for a range or Command-click for individual files.
- Press the Space bar.
- Use the arrows or thumbnail strip to move through the selected files.
- Close Quick Look with Space when finished.
Quick Look Extras
Full Screen
Click the expand control in the preview window or press Option + Space on a selected file to open Quick Look full screen.
Markup
For photos and PDFs, click the Markup icon to draw, add text, highlight, or sign. Save if you want those changes written to the file.
Rotate Photos
Use the rotate button in Quick Look to turn a photo 90 degrees. Repeated clicks continue rotating and the change saves to the file.
Works Beyond Finder
The Space bar preview also works for Mail attachments and many Open or Save dialogs when a file is selected.
Sources
- Apple Support: Preview files using Quick Look on Mac
- Apple Support: Mark up files using Quick Look on Mac
- Apple Support: Use Finder views on Mac