by Quick Look is an under-appreciated OS X gem. Before its arrival, you had to laboriously open a document to see what it contained, often after first launching the app it was created in. Imagine! But in the last few versions of OS X, you merely select the file in Finder and tap the space bar to get a preview.
This much you’re probably familiar with, but Quick Look has a slew of hidden tips that can power up previews on your Mac. Keyboard shortcuts can provide fast access to functions and hidden information, and Quick Look’s extensibility means that if it can’t properly preview a file, chances are someone’s written a plug-in to get around that problem.
The technology is also dotted around OS X, providing the means to save you time. For example, you cannot open items in the Trash—OS X first wants you to drag them elsewhere. But if you just want to check that you’re about to destroy the right thing, you can use Quick Look. And in Mail, attachments can be previewed using the Quick Look button, but you can also hover the cursor near any link and then click the little arrow that appears to get a preview of the associated web page. The remainder of this tutorial shows many more hints and tips to make the most of Quick Look.
