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Is this Windows feature available on a Mac?

M

masterell

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 13, 2009
133
36
Hi guys,

Sorry, I'm fairly new to Mac OS X having finally made the move, I'm a lot happier now!

I'm still getting to grips with the OS. I know that in Windows, if a folder contains just pictures, you have the option of viewing the contents of the folder just by looking at the thumbnail of the folder.

Can you do this on a mac, or is there something that can enable this?

Thanks in advance.
 
The equivalent feature on a Mac would be Events in iPhoto. You can skim your mouse over the event to see each picture within that event in the thumbnail.
 
Hmmm..but that would require me to import my photos into iphoto first, which is not what I really want to do..

Are there any other methods?
 
It can all be done right in the Finder.

Coverflow view would be the nicest, but you can also enable "Show Icon Preview" in the window's View Options. With that enabled, the icon will show a preview in all view modes. Try enabling icon preview, then switch to Icon View. You can also change the background color (open "view options" for that window).

Here are a couple of examples. the left is Icon View (preview enabled); the right is CoverFlow (also preview enabled).
 

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gr8tfly said:
It can all be done right in the Finder.

Coverflow view would be the nicest, but you can also enable "Show Icon Preview" in the window's View Options. With that enabled, the icon will show a preview in all view modes. Try enabling icon preview, then switch to Icon View. You can also change the background color (open "view options" for that window).

Here are a couple of examples. the left is Icon View (preview enabled); the right is CoverFlow (also preview enabled).
Click to expand...

I second this. It CAN be done on OS X...

"Show Icon Preview" spoken to above should already be automatically enabled unless you switched it off.
"Cover Flow" and "Icon View" are 2 ways of viewing your files (the other options being as a "list" or a "columun") You can change between ways of ways of view files through the View menu at the top of the screen, or my computer also has 4 little icons on the top left of any finder window where you can switch between them.
I'm not sure how gr8tfly enlarged the icons in "Icon View", but in "Cover Flow" if you just make the window bigger and drag down the bar separating the previews and icon names, the pictures will be def big enough to preview.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/finder.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPgxoGMaaR0 <-- this is pretty good :)
 
Baya87 said:
........
I'm not sure how gr8tfly enlarged the icons in "Icon View", but in "Cover Flow" if you just make the window bigger and drag down the bar separating the previews and icon names, the pictures will be def big enough to preview.
Click to expand...

In the View Options, you can adjust how large the icon is. I have "Icon size" set to 128 x 128 (up from the default of 32 x 32). I also changed the color of the background for just that one window.
 
Sorry for asking, by why would you need that exactly when you have so many other options for seeing your files without even opening them?

Anyway, there is a free program you can download called CocoThumb that is supposed to be able to create thumbnails although I've never tried it.
http://www.stalkingwolf.net/software/cocothumbx/

other potential programs:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/25926
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/19673
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/32518
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/25647

(Use version tracker to find downloadable applications that will do almost anything macs can't already do naturally)
 
masterell said:
Hmmm..but that would require me to import my photos into iphoto first, which is not what I really want to do..

Are there any other methods?
Click to expand...

Is there a reason you want to avoid iPhoto? Having your photos in iPhoto is where Apple applications expect them to be. Including Open/Save dialog boxes and Inspector Panels in various apps.
 
masterell said:
yer its the FOLDER icon which i need to display what's inside..:(
Click to expand...

So, you're talking about panning the mouse over a folder to preview its contents? Like an event in iPhoto. I think I see where you're going.

The only other option in the Finder that can do this "on-the-fly" might be Coverflow. With the folder in List view, open the folder(s) with the hierarchical view (select all the folders, then "shift-right arrow"). Coverflow will now show the contents of all folders in the "flow" view. You can enlarge an individual image with QuickLook (hit "space").

Sorry I missed the "folder" part - I didn't associate it with iPhoto's "skimming" ability. But, I agree with BaldiMac - iPhoto is a great app, especially '09. It launches very fast, and if you use it often, just leave it open in a Space.
 
masterell said:
Hi guys,

Sorry, I'm fairly new to Mac OS X having finally made the move, I'm a lot happier now!

I'm still getting to grips with the OS. I know that in Windows, if a folder contains just pictures, you have the option of viewing the contents of the folder just by looking at the thumbnail of the folder.

Can you do this on a mac, or is there something that can enable this?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I would love this feature as well! I've got 100's of folders and it's quite time comsuming looking for that specific folder when there's no thumbnail preview. I hope that we will see this feature in Snow Leopard.
 
Its because I have an external hard drive of all my pictures (ever taken), labeled by the date I took them (e.g. 010509), and in windows, I could just look at all of the folders and know immediately without clicking anything what was in them.

I don't want to import these photos into iPhoto because I don't want to mix them with my current photo albums, and because I don't have enough space on my hard drive!
 
masterell said:
Its because I have an external hard drive of all my pictures (ever taken), labeled by the date I took them (e.g. 010509), and in windows, I could just look at all of the folders and know immediately without clicking anything what was in them.

I don't want to import these photos into iPhoto because I don't want to mix them with my current photo albums, and because I don't have enough space on my hard drive!
Click to expand...

You can create multiple libraries in iPhoto and store them on external drives. Just hold down option when you launch iPhoto. There are also several utilities to manage multiple libraries.

iPhoto Library Manager
iPhoto Buddy
 
I just don't like the prospect that they'll always have to be on iphoto forever, and theres no easy way to export them...
 
masterell said:
I just don't like the prospect that they'll always have to be on iphoto forever, and theres no easy way to export them...
Click to expand...

You can leave the photos in place when you import them into iPhoto.

If you do have iPhoto copy the photos into the library, the original photos are stored inside the package by year and then by event. Modified photos are stored separately in the same way.

Nothing is preventing you from moving to a different system in the future.
 
masterell said:
I just don't like the prospect that they'll always have to be on iphoto forever, and theres no easy way to export them...
Click to expand...


Maybe he means no easy way to delete them? I have wondered about this myself. When I delete a picture it is not moved to the trash, it just disappears, but I think there is a way to restore them? So are they ever really gone?

P.S. Did any of my versiontracker apps prove helpful?
 
OS X does not have thumbnail feature for photos. Quite unfortunate actually hopefully Snow Leopard fixes this.

And no iPhoto is not a good substitute at all. It's a pretty bloated program and having your entire "picture library" stored inside what seems to be an album software, doesn't exactly work right.

They simply need to put this feature into Snow Leopard's finder. I can imagine lots of ways to make it Apple-fied and much better than Window's implementations
 
wankey said:
OS X does not have thumbnail feature for photos. Quite unfortunate actually hopefully Snow Leopard fixes this.
Click to expand...

Yes. OS X doe haves photo thumbnails in Finder.

And no iPhoto is not a good substitute at all. It's a pretty bloated program and having your entire "picture library" stored inside what seems to be an album software, doesn't exactly work right.
Click to expand...

Bloated? I suppose different people have different definitions. It starts fast and sticks to its primary purpose of managing photos. I don't see the bloat.

Photos are stored within standard folders inside of a Package in a logical way.

They simply need to put this feature into Snow Leopard's finder. I can imagine lots of ways to make it Apple-fied and much better than Window's implementations
Click to expand...

Huh? The Apple-fied way to manage photos is with iPhoto or Aperture.
 
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