QuickLook Paddy Xu
winget install --id=QL-Win.QuickLook -e Bring macOS “Quick Look” feature to Windows
QuickLook is a software tool designed to bring the macOS "Quick Look" feature to Windows. This application allows users to preview files directly from the file explorer or context menu, replicating the seamless preview functionality of macOS on Windows.
Key Features:
- Seamless Integration: QuickLook integrates effortlessly with Windows, enabling quick previews without disrupting your workflow.
- File Type Support: It supports a wide range of file types, including images, documents, and media files, ensuring versatile utility across different use cases.
- Customizable Shortcuts: Users can assign custom keyboard shortcuts for quick access to the preview function, enhancing productivity.
- Performance Optimization: Designed with efficiency in mind, QuickLook provides fast and fluid previews, minimizing resource usage without compromising speed.
Audience & Benefit: Ideal for Windows users who appreciate the macOS "Quick Look" feature or seek a streamlined file preview solution. By incorporating this tool into their workflow, users can enhance productivity by quickly accessing file content without opening applications, saving time and improving efficiency.
Available as open-source software, QuickLook can be installed via winget, making it accessible to a broad audience looking for a lightweight and efficient file preview solution.
README
QuickLook
Background
One of the few features I missed from macOS is Quick Look. It allows users to peek into a file content in lightning speed by just pressing the Space key. Windows, on the other hand, does not have this handy feature ... until now!
I am aware that several alternatives are already available on the Internet but I still decided to craft another one by myself, because they are either not being actively developed, lack of variety.
Highlights
- Tons of supported file types (full list here)
- Fluent design
- Touchscreen friendly
- HiDPI support
- Preview from Open and Save File Dialog
- Preview from 3rd-party file managers (see a list here)
- Easily extended by plugins
- Strict GPL license to keep it free forever
Usage
Download/Installation
Get it from one of the following sources:
- Microsoft Store (Windows 10 and later only). Not supported on Windows 10 S. Not support file preview in Open-File or Save-File dialogs.
- Installer or portable archive of the stable version from GitHub Release
- Using Scoop:
scoop bucket add extras && scoop install extras/quicklook - Nightly builds from AppVeyor and GitHub Action
What are the differences between .msi, .zip, Nightly and Store versions?
Note: Don't forget to check out the plugins for previewing office-files, epubs, fonts and more!
Typical usecase
- Run
QuickLook.exe(only necessary if autostart is disabled) - Select any file or folder (on the Desktop, in a File Explorer window, in an Open or Save-File dialogue, doesn't matter)
- Press Spacebar
- Enjoy the preview and interact with it
- Preview next file by clicking on it or using arrow-keys (arrow-keys move selection in the background if the preview window is not in focus)
- When you're done close it by either hitting Spacebar again, pressing Esc or clicking the
⨉button
Hotkeys and buttons
- Spacebar Show/Hide the preview window
- Esc Hide the preview window
- Enter Open/Execute current file
- Mouse ↑ ↓ ← → Preview another file
- Mouse Wheel Zoom in/out (images)
- Ctrl+Mouse Wheel Zoom in/out (PDFs)
- Wheel Increase/decrease volume
Supported file types, file manager integration, etc.
See the Wiki page
Translations
See the Translation guide
Community
QQ Group: 371388501
Developer
- Formatter: CodeMaid.config, Settings.XamlStyler
Thanks to
- Many open-source projects and their contributors
- Our UI designers @OiCkilL (“Fluent” user interface since v0.3), @QubitsDev (app-icon v0.3-v3.6.9) and Donno (app-icon since v3.6.10)
- Our contributers who
- teach QuickLook to speak your language
- send pull requests, report bugs or give suggestions
- ... and you 😊
Licenses
This project references many other open-source projects. See here for the full list.
All source codes are licensed under GPL-3.0.
If you want to make any modification on these source codes while keeping new codes not protected by GPL-3.0, please contact me for a sublicense instead.