How to Use macOS Preview

Edited 5 months ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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Preview is a versatile application that comes pre-installed on macOS systems, making it accessible to any Mac user. Although it is often associated with being a simple PDF and image viewer, Preview offers a wide range of features that can be useful for a variety of tasks such as viewing, editing, and annotating. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore how to make the most of Preview's capabilities through an easy-to-understand approach.

Getting started with Preview

Preview is an exceptionally user-friendly application. To open a document or image in Preview, if the file is associated with Preview, simply double-click on it. Alternatively, you can right-click on the file, select "Open With", and choose Preview from the list of applications.

Once open, you'll see a clean and simple interface with several menu options at the top of the window. The main areas include the navigation panel on the left, the main view of your document in the center, and a toolbar that provides options for editing and navigating files.

Viewing documents and images

One of Preview's main functions is as a viewer for documents and images. It supports various file types such as PDF, JPEG, PNG, and more. You can navigate multi-page documents using the arrow keys or by scrolling. Thumbnails on the left sidebar provide a quick overview and allow you to jump to specific sections of the document.

For images, you can view detailed information about the file by choosing "Tools" in the menu bar and then "Show Inspector." This provides metadata and other details such as resolution, color profile, and file size.

PDF editing

PDF files are widely used for documentation purposes, and Preview offers a variety of tools for editing them:

• Highlighting and annotating: Use the markup tools located in the toolbar to highlight text, add notes, and even draw. Select the highlighter icon to emphasize text passages. For annotations, click the text tool, and a text box will appear where you can type your comments.
• Inserting text and images: You can add text and images to your PDF files. Click the text icon in the toolbar to insert a text box. To add an image, drag the image file into the PDF or use the "Edit" menu to choose "Insert" and then "Page from File."
• Signing documents: Preview allows you to digitally sign documents. To add a signature, click the "Markup Toolbar" and select the "Sign" button. Draw your signature using your trackpad, or scan a paper signature with your camera. Once saved, you can easily place it on any part of the document.
• Reorder and delete pages: Managing pages in a PDF in Preview is simple. Open the sidebar to see page thumbnails, then drag and drop to reorder them. To delete pages, select them from the sidebar and press the "Delete" key.

Editing and annotating images

Editing images is also possible in Preview and, although it may not be as advanced as some specialized software, it is good enough for basic tasks:

• Cropping: To crop an image, click and drag to select the area you want to keep. Once selected, choose "Tools" in the menu, then "Crop" to finalize.
• Adjusting size and color: Images can be resized using the "Tools" menu; choose "Adjust Size." For color adjustments, choose "Adjust Color" to modify brightness, contrast, and other settings.
• Adding shapes and text: The Markup toolbar provides options for adding shapes and text. Click the "T" icon for the desired shape or text, and place it on the image accordingly.

Export and file conversion

Preview's exporting feature is quite powerful. Not only can you save PDFs and images in different formats, but you can also convert files:

• Exporting PDF as images: Open your PDF, choose "File" > "Export", then choose the image format you want (JPEG, PNG, etc.) and specify the pages you want to export as images.
• Converting images: To convert an image file, open it in Preview, go to "File" > "Export", and choose your preferred format from the dropdown menu.

Pay attention to the quality and resolution options when exporting or converting files to make sure they meet your needs.

Using Preview for presentations

Although it's not specifically a presentation software, Preview can be used for simple slideshow presentations. Open an image or PDF in Preview, then use the "View" menu to choose "Slide Show" or simply press Command+Shift+F for full-screen mode. Use the arrow keys to navigate through your slides.

Combine and split PDFs

One excellent feature of Preview is its ability to merge and split PDF files without the need for additional software:

• Merge PDFs: Open one of the PDFs in Preview, make sure the sidebar is visible, then drag and drop additional PDF files into the sidebar. Arrange them as needed and save the new merged file.
• Splitting a PDF: To split a PDF, simply drag the pages you want to separate out of the sidebar, and drop them on the desktop or another Finder window to create a new PDF with those pages.

Password protect your PDFs

For sensitive documents, you can add password protection directly in Preview. Open your PDF, choose "File" > "Export", then check the "Encrypt" option. You'll be prompted to enter a password, ensuring that only people with the password can access the content.

Integration with other apps and workflow automation

Preview can be seamlessly integrated with other macOS apps to enhance productivity:

• Sharing a document: Use the “Share” button in the Preview toolbar to send a document via Mail or Messages, or add it to Notes or Reminders.
• Automate tasks with Automator: You can automate repetitive tasks by creating Automator workflows. For example, automate converting a group of images to PDF with a single command.

Troubleshooting common problems

Although the preview is generally reliable, you may sometimes encounter the following issues:

• File won't open: If a file won't open, make sure it's a supported format. Check for updates for macOS as older systems may not support newer file types.
• Text is not copying correctly from PDF: This can happen if the PDF uses images instead of actual text. Consider using OCR (optical character recognition) software to convert it.

Increase productivity with keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts can make your work much faster. Here are some useful shortcuts:

• Command+O: Open the file.
• Command+P: Print the current document.
• Command+S: Save changes to the current file.
• Command+Z: Undo the last action.
• Spacebar: Quickly glance at the selected item in Finder.
• Command + “+”/“-“: Zoom in or out.

Learning these shortcuts will save time and make your workflow much smoother.

Conclusion

macOS Preview is more than just a basic viewer for PDFs and images; it's a powerful tool that's enhanced by its capabilities to edit, annotate, convert, and protect documents. Whether you're a casual user or someone who wants to explore its advanced functionalities, Preview is equipped to handle a wide range of tasks efficiently. Familiarize yourself with its features and experiment with its various tools to take full advantage of this application's potential. Although there will always be tasks that require specialized software, for most everyday document and image management needs, Preview is more than enough.

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