command-r not rotating photos in Finder

[usagora]

I'm not sure if this was the case pre-Ventura and I just didn't notice it, but for some reason when I'm in my OneDrive folder in Finder, click on an image file (that's downloaded, not cloud-only), and press command-r to rotate it 90 degrees, instead nothing happens and I get the "boop"/invalid command sound. It works in other folders, but not in my OneDrive folder.

Anyone else have this issue?

I've both relaunched Finder and restarted.

 

[bogdanw]

Shouldn’t that be defined in System Settings – Keyboard – Keyboard Shortcuts – Services?

 

[usagora]

Shouldn’t that be defined in System Settings – Keyboard – Keyboard Shortcuts – Services?

It's a built-in keyboard shortcut in macOS that can't be changed AFAIK. But oddly it appears nowhere in the official Apple article on keyboard shortcuts:

Mac keyboard shortcuts - Apple Support

By pressing certain key combinations, you can do things that normally need a mouse, trackpad, or other input device.

support.apple.com

But you can try it yourself and see that it works (just not in my OneDrive folder for some reason):

I click the image file in a folder on my desktop, press command-r four times and you can see the image rotate 90 degrees each time. I then switch to a folder in my OneDrive, and try the same thing on the same image, yet nothing happens.

 

[gilby101]

Same behaviour with new Dropbox which also uses 'files on demand' with folders and files appearing in ~/Library/CloudStorage. I suspect it is part of the expected functionality which has been compromised by the 'files on demand' structure.

The Command-r works as expected if you use a different method of connecting to OneDrive or Dropbox. As an example, the rotate image works as expected when connected via Mountain Duck.

 

[usagora]

Same behaviour with new Dropbox which also uses 'files on demand' with folders and files appearing in ~/Library/CloudStorage. I suspect it is part of the expected functionality which has been compromised by the 'files on demand' structure.

The Command-r works as expected if you use a different method of connecting to OneDrive or Dropbox. As an example, the rotate image works as expected when connected via Mountain Duck.

Wow--never even heard of such an app before. Crazy that the native Apple solution for connecting cloud storage lacks such basic functionality. Has to be an oversight.

Oh well, not really a big enough deal for me to install another app for. I was just perplexed why it didn't work. Thanks for the insight, though!

 

[chabig]

I don't think Finder ever rotated photos. Preview has a Rotate R command with cmd-R as the shortcut.

 

[usagora]

I don't think Finder ever rotated photos. Preview has a Rotate R command with cmd-R as the shortcut.

See my video in post 3. It definitely works in Finder too. I believe this functionality was introduced with Mojave several years ago:

How to Rotate Images in MacOS from Finder the Fast Way

The latest versions of MacOS include an handy feature that allows you to quickly rotate images directly from the Finder, without having to open any other application like Preview or Photos. This im…

osxdaily.com

Anyway, obviously you can try it yourself and see, assuming you're not still on a pre-Mojave macOS version of course 😉

 

[chabig]

What do you know. I learn new things everyday. So here I am on Ventura 13.0 and cmd-R does rotate my photos in Finder. Now the speculation...maybe it doesn't work in your OneDrive folder because those are just placeholders, not the actual files.

 

[usagora]

What do you know. I learn new things everyday. So here I am on Ventura 13.0 and cmd-R does rotate my photos in Finder. Now the speculation...maybe it doesn't work in your OneDrive folder because those are just placeholders, not the actual files.

Yet other keyboard commands that act on those files such as command-d (duplicate), command-c (copy), and command-v (paste) work. So it just seems strange to me that command-r (rotate) doesn't.

 

[gilby101]

I don't think Finder ever rotated photos.

I don't know when it started to accept Cmd-R for rotate, but it does.

The odd thing is that Rotate is not in any of Finder's menus, but the Undo Rotate (cmd-z) does appear in the Edit Menu once you have done a rotation.

Cmd-R also has the meaning of "Show Original" in the File Menu. Confusing!

 

[gilby101]

.maybe it doesn't work in your OneDrive folder because those are just placeholders, not the actual files.

I think that is the right explanation.

 

[usagora]

The odd thing is that Rotate is not in any of Finder's menus, but the Undo Rotate (cmd-z) does appear in the Edit Menu once you have done a rotation.

Yeah, it's almost like it's an Easter egg or something, lol!

I think that is the right explanation.

But, as I replied to him, why do commands such as cmd-d/c/v work on those files if that's the case? Doesn't make much sense to me if that's the reason.

 

[gilby101]

Yet other keyboard commands that act on those files such as command-d (duplicate), command-c (copy), and command-v (paste) work. So it just seems strange to me that command-r (rotate) doesn't.

The duplicate etc act on whole files by making copies or deleting. Rotate has to change the file content. Obviously rotate could have been, but I suspect it was not even thought about until too late to add it.

 

[panzer06]

Works fine in Finder and my dropbox folders. I don't have one drive.

 

[usagora]

The duplicate etc act on whole files by making copies or deleting. Rotate has to change the file content. Obviously rotate could have been, but I suspect it was not even thought about until too late to add it.

Agreed it seems like an oversight, but what do you mean too late? Apple can add that feature at any time they wish.

 

[bogdanw]

Rotate is a quick action:
“Control-click the file, then choose Quick Actions. Depending on the file type (options vary), you can do the following:
Rotate an image or movie: Choose Rotate Left or press and hold the Option key, then choose Rotate Right. Repeat to continue rotating the item.”
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/perform-quick-actions-in-the-finder-on-mac-mchl97ff9142/mac

I never used them and I presumed the shortcut must be user created/managed.

 

[usagora]

Rotate is a quick action:
“Control-click the file, then choose Quick Actions. Depending on the file type (options vary), you can do the following:
Rotate an image or movie: Choose Rotate Left or press and hold the Option key, then choose Rotate Right. Repeat to continue rotating the item.”
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/perform-quick-actions-in-the-finder-on-mac-mchl97ff9142/mac

I never used them and I presumed the shortcut must be user created/managed.

Yes, and the shortcut is definitely built-in to macOS, not user-created (just to be clear . . . I believe you're implying by the past tense "presumed" that you understand that now)

The duplicate etc act on whole files by making copies or deleting. Rotate has to change the file content. Obviously rotate could have been, but I suspect it was not even thought about until too late to add it.

bogdanw's post prompted me to check the right-click/context menu for an image in OneDrive to see what Quick Actions were available. Rotate is not there, however "Remove Background" is, which does indeed change the file content, so the lack of rotate functionality is even more puzzling now. However, it should be noted that "Remove Background" creates a new file (but it also does this with files not in OneDrive).

 

[gilby101]

Works fine in Finder and my dropbox folders. I don't have one drive.

Which version of dropbox?

V160.4.4703 puts files in ~/Library/CloudStorage (just like OneDrive) - you can't choose somewhere else. There is no rotate quick action or cmd-r. I suspect your version is older - and you might not want to upgrade.

 

[bogdanw]

You can still create a normal QuickAction in Automator with "Rotate images" and see if it works in your OneDrive folder.

 

[usagora]

You can still create a normal QuickAction in Automator with "Rotate images" and see if it works in your OneDrive folder.

View attachment 2107895

Thanks, but it doesn't work. It shows up as a Quick Action in the context menu, but if the image file is in OneDrive, nothing happens when I select the custom Quick Action.

 

[panzer06]

Which version of dropbox?

V160.4.4703 puts files in ~/Library/CloudStorage (just like OneDrive) - you can't choose somewhere else. There is no rotate quick action or cmd-r. I suspect your version is older - and you might not want to upgrade.

v160.4.4703

 

[gilby101]

Rotate is not there, however "Remove Background" is, which does indeed change the file content, so the lack of rotate functionality is even more puzzling now. However, it should be noted that "Remove Background" creates a new file (but it also does this with files not in OneDrive).

So not like rotate which does not create a new file. Rather like duplicate which creates a new file.

 

[usagora]

So not like rotate which does not create a new file. Rather like duplicate which creates a new file.

But I think it only does that because, unlike rotate, you can't just redo the action 3 times to get back to the original. It's to preserve the original in case you don't like the results.

I see no reason why the file could not be rotated in place. Apple has plenty of smart people that could make this work, even if it meant it created a separate file, rotated the image, then overwrote the original file.

 

[Nermal]

I don't know when it started to accept Cmd-R for rotate, but it does.

It works on my 10.14 machine so it's been there for a few years. It doesn't work in 10.3 but that version doesn't have thumbnails in Finder so that's to be expected!