How to use the preview pane in Finder on Mac: show, resize, and fix it

The preview pane is the strip on the right side of a Finder window. Select a file or folder, and the pane shows a preview of it. You can check a photo, skim a PDF, or confirm you have the right spreadsheet without opening it in another app. That matters most when a folder holds many files with similar names. Apple calls this feature the Preview pane in its Mac help, so this guide uses the same name.

Turn on the preview pane in Finder

Open any Finder window and click a file once so it is highlighted. Then choose View > Show Preview from the menu bar at the top of the screen. The pane appears on the right side of the window and shows the file you selected. If you do not see it, check that menu first. Icon and List views keep the pane off until you turn it on.

Apple's help page for the pane uses the same path. It says to select a folder or file, and if you do not see the pane, to choose View > Show Preview. If the pane still does not appear, the view you are in is the usual cause. The next section covers that.

Which Finder views show the preview pane

The pane behaves differently in each view. Column view shows it by default, so many people first meet the pane there. Icon and List views need you to switch it on by hand. Once you know this, you can pick the view that suits the task and turn the pane on only when you need it.

• Column view: the pane shows by default. Select a file to see its preview on the right.
• Icon view: choose View > Show Preview to turn the pane on.
• List view: choose View > Show Preview to turn the pane on.

Column view is handy when you move through nested folders, because each level sits in its own column. Icon view suits a grid of thumbnails. List view suits sorting by name, date, or size. Pick the view first, then decide whether the pane earns its space.

If you use the sidebar a lot, read how to change the sidebar in Finder. The sidebar and the pane work well together. Set the sidebar once, then use the pane to check what is inside each folder.

Choose which details the pane shows

The pane is not a fixed box of information. Apple says the options depend on the file type, so an image shows different choices from a text file. Open View > Show Preview Options and tick the boxes for the details you want. Untick anything you never read, so the pane stays short.

Try this once with a typical file. Click the file, look at the pane, then untick what you do not need. Next, click a file of another type, such as a PDF or a video, and see what changes. That quick check saves guessing later, when the pane is the only thing you have time to read.

Resize the preview pane or close it

Look for the thin divider line between the file list and the pane. Drag it left to make the pane wider. That helps with long text or large images. Drag it right to give the file list more room. Apple describes the same divider on its help page.

To close the pane, drag the divider all the way to the right. You can also choose View > Hide Preview. Both work. The menu is quicker when you switch the pane on and off often. The drag is quicker when you only want a little more room.

Use Quick Actions from the pane

Quick Actions sit at the bottom of the pane once you choose View > Show Preview and tick Show Quick Actions in the Preview Options list. Apple uses rotating an image and creating a PDF as examples. To change which actions appear, click More and choose Customize. That opens Extensions settings, where you can review the list.

Preview pane or Quick Look: which one to use

Finder has a second way to look at a file. Select it and press Space to open Quick Look, which shows a larger preview in its own window. The pane stays inside the Finder window and updates as you move through the folder. Use the pane to scan many files one after another. Use Quick Look when one file needs a closer look.

Worked example: check photos before you share them

Say you have a folder called Trip with several photos, and you need to send only a few of them. Choose View > Show Preview, then click each photo in turn. The pane shows each one large enough to judge focus and framing. You can spot a blurry shot or closed eyes in seconds, without opening each image in another app.

If one photo is sideways, select it and use the rotate action at the bottom of the pane. That works only with Show Quick Actions ticked, because Apple says that checkbox must be selected for tasks such as rotating an image. When you have picked your photos, select them together and drag them into your email or message as usual.

A quick routine for a messy Downloads folder

A Downloads folder often holds receipts, scans, and screenshots with names like IMG or Scan. Turn on the pane, then press the down arrow to move through the list. The pane follows each file as you move, so you can read the receipt, skip the screenshot, and keep going.

Untick the details you never need before you start, so each preview stays easy to scan. When you find the file you want, double-click it to open it in its normal app. The pane is for deciding. Double-clicking is for opening.

Why the preview pane is missing

Most missing panes come down to three causes: the view, the menu setting, or the file. First check that the window is in Column view, or that you turned the pane on in Icon or List view. Next check View > Show Preview, because the setting may have been switched off by accident. Last, try a file that Finder can preview, such as a photo.

A simple reset helps when the pane seems stuck. Choose View > Hide Preview, then choose View > Show Preview again. This does not change or move any of your files, so you can try it first, before any deeper fix.

Fix missing thumbnails in Finder

Thumbnails are the small pictures Finder draws for each file. When they stop showing, the preview can look broken even when the pane is on. MacRumors describes a fix for missing file icon previews in macOS Finder. It has four steps, and you do them in order.

1. Choose View > Show View Options and tick Show Preview Icon.
2. Open Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor.
3. Search for ThumbnailsAgent, select com.apple.quicklook.ThumbnailsAgent, and restart it.
4. Relaunch Finder. Hold Option, right-click the Finder icon in the Dock, and choose Relaunch.

Give Finder a few seconds, then open a folder of images in Icon view. If the thumbnails return, you are done. If they still do not appear, restart the Mac and check again.

Mistakes people make with the preview pane

• Mixing up the pane with the Preview app. The pane lives inside Finder. The Preview app is a separate program for opening and editing files.
• Looking for the pane in Icon or List view before turning it on. Those views keep it off until you choose View > Show Preview.
• Expecting every file to preview. Apple's iCloud help says a file without a thumbnail cannot be previewed there, so test with a photo or PDF first.
• Trusting a shortcut from a blog without testing it. Apple's keyboard shortcut page lists none for the pane.
• Deleting settings files without a backup. Copy the file before any reset, so you can put it back.

Is there a shortcut for the preview pane?

Many people look for a key combination before they look at the menu. MacMost says ⇧⌘P, which is Shift-Command-P, toggles the pane on and off. Apple's keyboard shortcut page does not list a shortcut for the Preview pane or for Show Preview Options. So treat the shortcut as a third-party claim until you test it.

Test it yourself. Open a Finder window, select a file, and press ⇧⌘P. If the pane appears or closes, the shortcut works on your Mac. If nothing changes, use View > Show Preview instead. The menu path is the one Apple documents, so it is the safe fallback.

Previewing files on iCloud.com instead

The pane is part of Finder on your Mac. iCloud.com has no equivalent pane. Apple's iCloud help says to select a file, click More in the top-right corner, and choose Preview. Pressing the Space bar with the file selected also previews it. Double-clicking opens the file in a new tab, which is a different action.

If you work across a Mac and the web, expect the steps to differ. Keep the Finder steps for your Mac, and use the iCloud steps only in a browser. Mixing them up is the fastest way to waste a few minutes.

Which macOS version these steps cover

Apple's help pages show macOS 27 Golden Gate as the current release. The preview pane steps on those pages are not tied to one version. The menu wording was not checked against macOS 26 Tahoe or earlier. If your View menu looks different, look for the same items by name, such as Show Preview and Show Preview Options.

Next steps once the pane works

Once the pane works, a few related settings help it fit your work. If you need to see where a file lives while you preview it, read how to show the path bar in Finder. If you need hidden files, read how to show hidden files in Finder.

Set the details once in Show Preview Options, and you will rarely need that menu again. Keep Quick Actions on if you rotate or convert files often. Turn the pane off when you only need the file list, because the list gets the full window back.