Here are some tips for using Quick Look, the preview functionality in OS X Leopard:

1. The best way to use Quick Look is to navigate to a file in Cover Flow view using the arrow keys, and then pressing the space bar when you see a file you’re curious about. Press the space bar again to close Quick Look.
2. You can open Quick Look by right clicking (control click) on a file and choosing “Quick Look” from the contextual menu.
3. You can open Quick Look in any of the view modes - you don’t have to be in Cover Flow view.
4. You can invoke Quick Look on the folder-esque items in the Finder sidebar.
5. While the Quick Look view is open, use the arrow keys to select other files to look at.
6. The scroll wheel scrolls through files in Cover Flow view. You can have a file open in Quick Look and scroll through files by merely moving the cursor over the Cover Flow window and scrolling in it (the Cover Flow view need not be active).
7. In Quick Look view, clicking on the double arrow icons changes to full screen mode. Use Escape to exit the full screen mode.
8. If you want to open a file you’re currently viewing in Quick Look, use Command + O to open the file in its associated application.
9. PDFs: You get a preview of the entire PDF. Use the scroll wheel to move through pages of a PDF. Command + and Command - zooms in and out respectively.
10. JPGs: You get a preview of the image. Option click zooms in and Option Shift click zooms out. You can also hold down option and use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out. A button appears at the bottom to add the image to iPhoto.
11. Text files: You get the text in a Monaco font and you can scroll through the document.
12. HTML files: You can’t click on links but a hover will tell you where the link is pointing.
13. Folders: You get the total size, number of files inside, and last modified date.
14. Video files: You get a video interface so you can play the video.
15. Audio files: You get a playback interface and the cover art.
16. Fonts: You get a sample alphabet in that font.
17. For files Quick Look doesn’t recognize, you get the file’s size and last modified date.
18. You can open multiple files. Just select several and invoke Quick Look. You get an “index sheet” view (thumbnails arranged in a table) and a timed slide show that you can use the arrow keys to advance through. This is not limited to just image files - I tried it on a few videos and also got the index sheet option.
19. You can resize the Quick Look window by clicking and dragging its lower right corner.
20. You can reposition the Quick Look window by clicking and dragging its top bar.
21. To go directly into full screen mode, select a file and use Option + Command + Y.
22. When in full screen mode, use space bar and Shift + space bar to page up and down in a multi-page document.

Any other Quick Look tips you’ve discovered? I’m all ears.

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