Force Preview to open files in new windows

[SparklyApple]

Does anyone know how or if it is possible to force Preview to open 30+ photos each in their own window?

It opens a dozen in their own window and then lumps the rest into one tabbed window. I want them all in their own windows.

 

[The_Auryn]

I've had this problem going back years with multiple operating systems. As far as I know, it can't be done.

 

[fisherking]

preview>settings!

 

[SparklyApple]

preview>settings!

View attachment 2579814

I have that set but it still opens most in one tabbed window. The first dozen or so it opens in their own window and then they all go into one tabbed window.

 

[SparklyApple]

I've had this problem going back years with multiple operating systems. As far as I know, it can't be done.

Ugh.

I'm glad it isn't just me missing something, but this is ridiculous. If I want to try and open 300 photos at once I should be able to. (It's not actually that high.) It's not like we're in 1995 any more – today's Macs could cope with 300 easily.

I just want to be able to quickly open a bunch of photos, in their own windows, and then close the ones I don't need – which is much faster and easier cmd-W than cmd-shift-W.

 

[fisherking]

I have that set but it still opens most in one tabbed window. The first dozen or so it opens in their own window and then they all go into one tabbed window.

ah... yikes. i never use that setting, seems it should work 🤷

 

[!!!]

Did you try setting "Prefer tabs when opening documents" to "In full screen" or "Never" inside System Preferences? Under Desktop & Dock.

 

[SparklyApple]

I've had this problem going back years with multiple operating systems. As far as I know, it can't be done.

Have you ever tried reporting it as a bug/feedback to Apple?

I've recently discovered typing applefeedback:// in the URI bar in Safari brings up an app to report bugs. The way they've named the menu option is misleading with such a low cap on it. Could they even have put a limit of 15 on it for testing purposes and then never taken it out for the actual release of Preview?

I've reported it anyway. Probably won't change anything but at least I've tried. I've also sent feedback via the standard feedback website. https://www.apple.com/feedback/macos/

 

[SparklyApple]

Did you try setting "Prefer tabs when opening documents" to "In full screen" or "Never" inside System Preferences? Under Desktop & Dock.

Yes, I have it set to "never". Good suggestion though – it took me a while to notice that one.

 

[The_Auryn]

Have you ever tried reporting it as a bug/feedback to Apple?

Yes, reported it many times over the years. Never heard anything back. Another thing I dislike about Preview is that when you try to make a window smaller, it only goes so small than stops. The actual "picture" itself continues to get smaller, but now black bars grow on either side of the frame. I find this very annoying. For example, I'd like to open up ten or so pictures on my desktop, make them smaller and manually place them side-by-side to create a collage, then do a screenshot so that I can send it as one photo to friends, family etc. But with these black bars, it's impossible to do. At the same time, all other Apple windows on the desktop can be resized to how you want it. It's only Preview that has this limitation. See the attached below. The first photo shows a large JPG image, which Preview opens nicely. But if I then try to resize the image by grabbing the corner of it and shrinking it, the picture continues to shrink but the window itself stops shrinking at a certain point, and creates black bars on either side. Annoying.

 

[whatnot]

Yes, reported it many times over the years. Never heard anything back.

have they ever responded to anyone's feedback personally? your can only hope that some Kardashian tweets 'oh do you guys think this sucks' and wipes 6% off market value before they act.

 

[TumbleDryer]

Yes, reported it many times over the years. Never heard anything back. Another thing I dislike about Preview is that when you try to make a window smaller, it only goes so small than stops. The actual "picture" itself continues to get smaller, but now black bars grow on either side of the frame. I find this very annoying. For example, I'd like to open up ten or so pictures on my desktop, make them smaller and manually place them side-by-side to create a collage, then do a screenshot so that I can send it as one photo to friends, family etc. But with these black bars, it's impossible to do. At the same time, all other Apple windows on the desktop can be resized to how you want it. It's only Preview that has this limitation. See the attached below. The first photo shows a large JPG image, which Preview opens nicely. But if I then try to resize the image by grabbing the corner of it and shrinking it, the picture continues to shrink but the window itself stops shrinking at a certain point, and creates black bars on either side. Annoying.

View attachment 2580179

View attachment 2580180

The bit about only going so small and the black bars is because the window width can only go so far. Any more and the window controls would disappear, because of this minimum width the window has to be any reduction of the image thereafter will affect the aspect ratio of the image which is why you get the black bars.

 

[SparklyApple]

The bit about only going so small and the black bars is because the window width can only go so far. Any more and the window controls would disappear, because of this minimum width the window has to be any reduction of the image thereafter will affect the aspect ratio of the image which is why you get the black bars.

Have you tried shrinking an image as far as it goes?

I just did. Wow. That is also crazy. I can't shrink it any further in either direction. Why does it need all that space?

 

[SparklyApple]

have they ever responded to anyone's feedback personally? your can only hope that some Kardashian tweets 'oh do you guys think this sucks' and wipes 6% off market value before they act.

Haha, that's what we probably need to get Preview sorted out. At the moment it's just bizarre. Either let us have separate windows for everything, and also match the window size to the content without a ton of padding, or just don't bother and force everything into tabs with only the menu options to change where things appear on the screen. This half-assed approach just makes Apple look like *****.

 

[TumbleDryer]

Have you tried shrinking an image as far as it goes?

I just did. Wow. That is also crazy. I can't shrink it any further in either direction. Why does it need all that space?

Because of literally what I said above?

 

[SparklyApple]

Because of literally what I said above?

Yes. The traffic light buttons have plenty of space. The file name has plenty of space – and even if it didn’t that doesn’t stop anything else from truncating the text in the title bar. It doesn’t *need* all that padding shown in my example.

 

[TumbleDryer]

It's probably the tools that you have hidden. If you activate them from the menu bar it would mean the window would have to auto expand which would be even more annoying. Try turning on the editing tools see if they match the minimum width you can make the window.

 

[The_Auryn]

It's probably the tools that you have hidden. If you activate them from the menu bar it would mean the window would have to auto expand which would be even more annoying. Try turning on the editing tools see if they match the minimum width you can make the window.

I'm not convinced of that. Microsoft Office can be shrunk much futher than Preview, hiding a lot of the buttons and doesn't auto-expand. In fact, I've noticed there's no fixed ratio for maximum shrunken windows. The attachment below is the smallest you can get for MS Word, Safari, and Preview. There's no reason for all that black space in Preview.

 

[SparklyApple]

It's probably the tools that you have hidden. If you activate them from the menu bar it would mean the window would have to auto expand which would be even more annoying. Try turning on the editing tools see if they match the minimum width you can make the window.

Oh! I hid that stuff so long ago I forgot it was ever there. I see what you mean now. I guess we are stuck with the size then.