Quick Look

Quick Look screenshot
Developer(s)	Apple Inc.
Initial release	October 26, 2007 (Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard")
Operating system	Mac OS X
License	Proprietary
Website	Quick Look

Quick Look is a quick preview feature developed by Apple which was introduced in their operating system, Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard". It was announced and demonstrated at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2007.

[edit] Overview

While OS X's Finder has always had icon previews, Quick Look allows users to look at the contents of a file in the Finder at full or near-full size, depending on the size of the document relative to the desktop. It can view files including, but not limited to: PDFs, HTML, QuickTime readable media, ASCII and RTF text documents, Apple Keynote, Pages and Numbers, ODF documents, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files (including OOXML), RAW camera images.

[edit] Activation

To activate Quick Look, select the document and press the space bar (or choose File > Quick Look, Cmd-Y) and the file will be viewable in a separate window. Press space bar again to close, or double-click the window to open the file with its default application.

Quick Look can also be opened in full screen by pressing Opt-Spacebar or Cmd-Opt-Y in the Finder. Press the Escape key (esc) to exit full screen.

[edit] Implementation

Quick Look technology is implemented throughout Mac OS X v10.5+. Some examples are iChat Theater, Time Machine and the Cover Flow view on the Finder.

[edit] Formats not supported by default

There are various file formats not supported by default Quick Look or Cover Flow:

• AI (Adobe Illustrator vector file)
• Animated GIF (multiple frames stored in Graphics Interchange Format) - Only first frame preview displayed
• APNG (Animated Portable Network Graphic) - Only first frame preview displayed
• FLV (Flash Video File)
• JNG (JPEG Network Graphic)
• MKV (Matroska video)
• MNG (Multiple-image Network Graphic)
• OGM (Ogg Media video)
• RM, RMVB (Real Media video files)
• SWF (Shockwave Flash video)
• textClipping (Apple's own unformatted text file) - Support added in 10.6 "Snow Leopard"
• VOB (Video Object, DVD format)
• XML (Extensible Markup Language text file)

Support for additional formats can be achieved via use of 3rd party plug-ins.

[edit] See also

• Office Open XML software
• OpenDocument software

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Apple - Mac OS X Leopard - Features - Quick Look
• A directory of Quick Look Plugins for Apple’s OS X 10.5 Leopard
• Gloobus, an application based on Quick Look for Linux