Many people don't realize there is a built in feature for quickly viewing pictures in Mac OS X. You don't need to open iPhoto or install any third party software to see a thumbnail index or a quick slide show of your pictures--just use the built in Slideshow feature.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 30 seconds
Here's How:
- Use Finder to open the folder of pictures you'd like to view. The pictures can be on any kind of media--hard disk, CD, flash drive, memory card, network share, etc.
- Select the pictures you want to view. If you want the whole folder, just press Command-A to select all.
- Right click and choose Slideshow. If you only have a single button mouse, Ctrl-click and choose slideshow.
- Press I to change the slide show to an index sheet.
- Use the arrow keys to navigate the grid of thumbnails, and press enter to view the image large.
- Use the F and A keys to switch between Fit to screen (F) and Actual size (A) views of the large image.
Tips:
- An index sheet will only display 100 thumbnails, so it's best to limit your selection to 100 images or less before invoking the Slideshow command.
- Another way to access the Slideshow feature is from the View menu in the Preview application.
- Look for the Slideshow button in the Mail app when you receive an email with attached pictures.
- When a Spotlight search finds images, a small play arrow will appear to the right of the group heading. Clicking this will invoke the same Slideshow feature.
What You Need:
- Mac OS 10.4 or higer
