image Browser for Mac?? anyone, please?

[iOrbit]

does anyone know if any new, or better revision for image browsing apps are available for Mac??

when i was on my windows, i was so happy and content with google picasa's image viewer.

it was clean and minimal just like apple's philosophy, simple, swift, no lag, and had basic functions of just browsing image files in a folder, left right arrow, resize the window and image stays that size with it, and slide show.

i have not found Anything like this for mac os which is frustrating for me. i'v tried some apps but they just don't compete in the same league. many programs are more than just an image browser, and are over flowed with tools and options and just kill it for me. i also don't want a side-bar in the way, all i want is Image!

windows photoviewer was essentially about the same in concept as google's picasa photo viewer.

the only thing that comes close to these, is mac os's built in preview feature, which has the smoothness and simplicity concept, but its just not practical for the full use. i can't open a photo in the preview and come back to it, as soon as i click elsewhere in another find window, or the desktop, it will naturally just change, or even play a video file automatically.

i did try 'JustLooking' which wasn't too far off, but its slide show feature is frazzled, it gets slow and laggs badly after a dozen photos have played through. and its just half baked.

sorry for the slight rant, i got a bit carried away, but im hoping there might be something out there that someone knows of and can recommend.

 

[ScoobyMcDoo]

If you like Picasa, there is an OSX version of that program you can download.

 

[GGJstudios]

Have you tried Preview?

 

[iOrbit]

If you like Picasa, there is an OSX version of that program you can download.

i know, but unfortunately Google for whatever reason, have not given the Mac Version their 'photo image viewer' which is all i want.

i say this out of pure assumption but with Plenty confidence, it is the most pleasant, and best simplified image viewer/browser out there.

i love how you can full screen it, and there is only a bar at the bottom and outside the image is only a dimmed transparent background to the desktop, if you click outside the image into this background, it automatically turns the image you was looking at, back into a windowed image at its current size.
arrow keys worked images swiftly, it could view and browse photos infinitely without lagging or slowing.

and it is without a shadow of a doubt, the most apple-like of them all. disappointing apple haven't equipped the os x with something as simple and similar.


GG,

i'll google it, it sounds familiar, i'm assuming you mean something other than the OS's built in preview feature, as i already resentfully use it.

 

[GGJstudios]

GG,

i'll google it, it sounds familiar, i'm assuming you mean something other than the OS's built in preview feature, as i already resentfully use it.

I'm talking about the Preview.app that comes with Mac OS X and is in your /Applications folder. It does everything you described.

 

[iOrbit]

I'm talking about the Preview.app that comes with Mac OS X and is in your /Applications folder. It does everything you described.

it probably does but in a really cumbersome way.

its a good start for a program, os, or application to be able to do everything.

but How its done, and in what way, is what seals the deal, the experience.

Preview, coming from the pacasa photo viewer, is milessss behind. have you used picasa photo viewer? if you browse photos regularly in your files, you can really experience a intuitive, and a unobtrusive way to browse your images perfectly, and fully in any way needed, and be able to exit and get back to the rest of your productivity smoothly.

in Preview, i have to used key board short cuts to highlight and select all my files, then open them in preview, just to be able to begin browsing the library of images in the folder. also in preview, theres no intuitive interface i can click, within the program independently, all this file-selecting nonsense outside the program is incredibly cumbersome.

in the picasa photo viewer, i was so used to just double clicking any picture in my folder, and using the arrow keys straight away, i didn't have to pre-plan any selection of files, and there was never an obtrusive side bar like their is in preview and all the other image browsers.

just a couple of examples off the top of my head. the Mac OS preview file browser is much closer to the picasa image viewer than 'preview.app'. its just such a shame its only a few basic features behind from being a good competitor.

it is like comparing windows to Mac os.

 

[GGJstudios]

it probably does but in a really cumbersome way.

its a good start for a program, os, or application to be able to do everything.

but How its done, and in what way, is what seals the deal, the experience.

Preview, coming from the pacasa photo viewer, is milessss behind. have you used picasa photo viewer? if you browse photos regularly in your files, you can really experience a intuitive, and a unobtrusive way to browse your images perfectly, and fully in any way needed, and be able to exit and get back to the rest of your productivity smoothly.

it is like comparing windows to Mac os.

I haven't tried Picasa in years. If I want to simply view a selection of photos, I just press the space bar and I'm off to the races. I can view them as thumbnails or one at a time, in a resizable window or full screen, navigation is simple, and I don't have to actually open any files or launch any apps. If I need to do more than that, Preview does the vast majority of what I've needed.

 

[iOrbit]

i updated my reply

i also wanted to mention that the one big annoying thing about the os'x file previewer, is with images atleast, the arrow keys stop flowing through images every 4 images, i have to press the down arrow key once i get to the end, to move on to the next row of images in the folder. thats another good example of how cumbersome it is. icant beleive apple actually let that slip by, and be considered 'intuitive' which is apples whole approach and philosophy to their products and how they are used / experienced.

 

[GGJstudios]

i also wanted to mention that the one big annoying thing about the os'x file previewer, is with images atleast, the arrow keys stop flowing through images every 4 images, i have to press the down arrow key once i get to the end, to move on to the next row of images in the folder.

I'm not sure I follow you. I can open a folder with 100 pics, click on the first one, press the space bar, and then use the down arrow to go through all 100 pics. Can you post a screen shot or describe what you're talking about in more detail?

 

[Kate.]

You might want to look into Xee — a free, lightweight image browser. I've used it for several years and love it. When you open an image, you can use the keyboard to browse the rest of the images in the folder without preselecting files. It falls nicely between Finder's Quick Look and Preview.app in terms of functionality and ease of use.

Always one of the first pieces of software I install.

 

[GGJstudios]

You might want to look into Xee — a free, lightweight image browser. I've used it for several years and love it. When you open an image, you can use the keyboard to browse the rest of the images in the folder without preselecting files. It falls nicely between Finder's Quick Look and Preview.app in terms of functionality and ease of use.

Always one of the first pieces of software I install.

I use Xee for viewing animated .gif files, since Preview doesn't show the animation. Other than that, I haven't used it much, but it seems to be a good app.

 

[iOrbit]

I'm not sure I follow you. I can open a folder with 100 pics, click on the first one, press the space bar, and then use the down arrow to go through all 100 pics. Can you post a screen shot or describe what you're talking about in more detail?

Basically, lets say i open a Folder of images, one i regularly open is my Space art folder, where i may have several versions of one piece of art taht differ slightly where maybe i experimented. ideally, i would like to open one image with the spacebar-previewer, and just arrow left and right and browse through. but it doesn't work as ideally as it should. lets say my folder has 24 images, and the images are split into 4 rows with 6 images across per row.
when the previewer reaches the 6th image on the end, carrying on pressing the arrow key does not bring me to the next row where ideally and intuitively, it would. instead i have to press the down arrow key in order to continue browsing the rest, the down arrow key moves onto the next row of images. the only way to stop this from happening is to preselect all images in the folder. its just not intuitive.

You might want to look into Xee — a free, lightweight image browser. I've used it for several years and love it. When you open an image, you can use the keyboard to browse the rest of the images in the folder without preselecting files. It falls nicely between Finder's Quick Look and Preview.app in terms of functionality and ease of use.

Always one of the first pieces of software I install.

im sure i tried it before and i don't remember that experience, but you've convinced me to give it another go, thanks.

 

[GGJstudios]

Basically, lets say i open a Folder of images, one i regularly open is my Space art folder, where i may have several versions of one piece of art taht differ slightly where maybe i experimented. ideally, i would like to open one image with the spacebar-previewer, and just arrow left and right and browse through. but it doesn't work as ideally as it should. lets say my folder has 24 images, and the images are split into 4 rows with 6 images across per row.

I think I know the problem. You're using the Icon View in Finder. Use the List View and you can scroll through the entire list with the up/down arrow keys. I rarely use the Icon View, as you could have items in the folder that don't appear on the screen.

 

[iOrbit]

I think I know the problem. You're using the Icon View in Finder. Use the List View and you can scroll through the entire list with the up/down arrow keys. I rarely use the Icon View, as you could have items in the folder that don't appear on the screen.

you're right, i think so. its a shame to me, just shows how limited the thinking is behind the use of it. if it works for you, then i guess you're happy.


i browse most my files in icon view.

On a positive note for me, i have just tried xee, originally i expected an image viewer to have this basics down. i see now that xee just needs a bit of fiddling and configuring to get it to be more on par. im actually quite happy now. i'v managed to get xee to open my image file, and i can browse whatever is in the folder straight away. it also has settings for the window to stay a fixed size and simply upscale any smaller photos. which i like. i always hated any image viewer keeping images at scale size, and shrinking the finder window with it.

im happy, still not quite there with picasa, but its much closer to getting the essentials. one thing im delighted to see that picasa image viewer never had, is the ability to slide show photos without being in full screen, always missed that feature from windows media centre.

im gonna keep looking at it, and see if i can find a way to make it easy to keep flowing/browsing through images, because iv noticed xee actually stops you from browsing photos anymore once you reach the last image. instead it makes you have to click a 'replay'/'restart' or 'back to beginning' button in order o browse again. i cannot simply press the left arrow key. bit odd.

thanks alot kate.

i needed to be pushed to really try that app.

 

[Small White Car]

I agree that it's annoying that iPhoto is so great at browsing photos and Finder is so much poorer. If I could just use iPhoto to browse everything, that'd be great, but I can't use it to just browse. It has to import. I don't want to load every image on my computer into my iPhoto library.

What I want in Finder (and have never found a solution for) is to: Use the keyboard to click through full-sized photos while hitting a button to erase the ones I don't want.

You know...basic first-round rough cutting. Easy in iPhoto and Aperture. Easy in Windows (for goodness sake). Impossible in Finder.

 

[robgendreau]

DON'T use icon view.

If you switch to cover flow or list view or column view you will find with spacebar and the arrows it acts more or less like you want. You don't have the little row along the bottom, but the navigation is the same.

I still don't like it as much as the windows in Windows, but better than nothing. As you've seen, the Finder is a rather outdated piece of software. Apple puts its image viewing emphasis into both Aperture and iPhoto; most don't spend much time using the Finder to view photos.

And you don't have to actually copy everything into the iPhoto library; it can leave stuff in place. But then that leaves the problem of easy erasing....

 

[knobsturner]

Try Leap

Using Leap you can point at a folder, then view all images inside it, no matter where they are buried. Pop up a Quicklook window and arrow key away. Or just make big icons and scroll.

Its not free, but it does allow you to find an image on your hard drive fast.

 

[BeagleRott]

If I want to simply view a selection of photos, I just press the space bar and I'm off to the races. I can view them as thumbnails or one at a time, in a resizable window or full screen, navigation is simple, and I don't have to actually open any files or launch any apps. If I need to do more than that, Preview does the vast majority of what I've needed.

Wow, I did not know that. I had been double-clicking on images to view them one-at-a-time in Preview, which is a pain. I just tried your technique and it works great. My own quest for a good Mac photo viewer has come to an end.

 

[entatlrg]

Wow, I did not know that. I had been double-clicking on images to view them one-at-a-time in Preview, which is a pain. I just tried your technique and it works great. My own quest for a good Mac photo viewer has come to an end.

I didn't know that either. Great tip thanks. How/where do you guys learn this stuff?