10.5: Open and close Quick Look windows with one key

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Tue, Oct 30 2007 at 12:00PM PDT • Contributed by: mfeinstein

Pressing the space bar while a file is selected in the Finder will open a Quick Look for that file. Press the Space Bar a second time to close the Quick Look window.

[robg adds: Although Steve Jobs demoed using the Space Bar with Quick Look, I'd forgotten about it -- and OS X's help doesn't say anything about using the Space Bar, just Command-Y. It's also not listed in the Keyboard Shortcuts panel in System Preferences. The only spot that this seems to be documented at all is on Apple's Quick Look page.]

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10.5: Open and close Quick Look windows with one key
Authored by: sd on Tue, Oct 30 2007 at 12:37PM PDT

you must be kidding! It IS documented in the paper manual (page 21 in French version).
Of course, only people who have bought Leopard will have this booklet...

Mentioned in the Guided Tour
Authored by: jecwobble on Tue, Oct 30 2007 at 2:02PM PDT

Not that it's official documentation, but I recall hearing this in the Guided Tour

10.5: Open and close Quick Look windows with one key
Authored by: simonpie on Tue, Oct 30 2007 at 4:12PM PDT

Does anyone know a keyboard shortcut to go to full screen using quicklook ?

10.5: Open and close Quick Look windows with one key
Authored by: babaloo on Tue, Oct 30 2007 at 5:38PM PDT

Option-Command-Y will instantly go fullscreen. At least on a German system. As the keys "Z" and "Y" are switched between English and German keyboard layouts, I don't know if the English shortcut actually is: Option-Command-Z.

10.5: Open and close Quick Look windows with one key
Authored by: babaloo on Tue, Oct 30 2007 at 5:44PM PDT

I just realise that the Z-key doesn't make sense at all. So it has to be Option-Command-Y on both keyboard layouts.

10.5: Open and close Quick Look windows with one key
Authored by: luckylindy on Sun, Nov 25 2007 at 6:02AM PST

Excellent! Thanks for this..been wondering why I couldn't do this. The Mac community rocks, doesn't it!

10.5: Open and close Quick Look windows with one key
Authored by: UberFu on Wed, Sep 24 2008 at 9:28AM PDT

It works in English_

Option +  + Y will force a QuickLook window in Full Screen Mode_

10.5: Open and close Quick Look windows with one key
Authored by: horhey23 on Sun, Apr 6 2008 at 12:56AM PDT

Option-Spacebar works for me.

10.5: Open and close Quick Look windows with one key
Authored by: chabig on Tue, Oct 30 2007 at 7:38PM PDT

Here's a cool Leopard hint...you can make a window go away by clicking on the red circle in the upper left corner!

10.5: Open and close Quick Look windows with one key
Authored by: jef_pearlman on Wed, Oct 31 2007 at 7:06AM PDT

Does this interfere with typing filenames that contain a space? I often do this to jump to the file. Or does it treat the space differently if you're already typing in a filename? It wouldn't be a major inconvience, but it'd be a little odd.

(Obviously I don't have leopard yet.)

10.5: Open and close Quick Look windows with one key
Authored by: johnsawyercjs on Sun, Dec 2 2007 at 11:17PM PST

Quick Look's use of the space bar in the Finder, doesn't interfere as long as there are characters in front of the space. Where it interferes with typing filenames in the Finder, is when you want to shift focus to the topmost item in a Finder window by hitting the space bar (something I do all the time, or used to be able to do)--you can't do that any more, unless someone's figured out how to disable the space bar activation of Quick Look.

10.5: Open and close Quick Look windows with one key
Authored by: UberFu on Wed, Sep 24 2008 at 9:36AM PDT

I had this habit as well from the beginning of the Mac OS thru Tiger_

Leopard screwed up much_ C'est le Vie_

Anyway - if you hold down either Option or Shift and then press the Space Bar it will focus to the first file in the folder_

Shift + Space

or

Option + Space

10.5: Open and close Quick Look windows with one key
Authored by: UberFu on Wed, Sep 24 2008 at 9:32AM PDT

As with typing anything within the system as long as you are continuously typing - pressing space for the file name will not invoke Quick Look_ But if the gap of time/ pause is long enough it will "switch" [for lack of a better term] back to the Quick Look function and whatever file you are currently focused on will pop open in QL_

10.5: Open and close Quick Look windows with one key
Authored by: bengarland on Wed, Oct 31 2007 at 8:07AM PDT

Wow, this is funny... because the only way I knew how to use QL was WITH the space bar. I didn't even know CMD-Y was an option.

Is this really a hint? This is along the lines of "click an application icon in the dock to open it." Heh...

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