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I find the file information in the preview pane in column view is far more useful than the thumbnail. I wish I did not have to continually resize the Finder window or scroll the preview pane to see the info I'm looking for.

As you can see below, the useful info is hidden in default size of Finder's new window under the preview options like rotate etc.

finder screenshot

Is there a way to do any of these to achieve the said goal (listed in order of decreasing likelihood!):

  • reduce the size of the preview "thumbnail" covered by black here,
  • reduce the amount of whitespace(grey here) around the preview "thumbnail" (only significant for landscape thumbnails),
  • remove the preview "thumbnail" altogether,
  • reorder the content of the preview column(bring file info up and send thumbnail down)?

This question includes the options:

  • resizing the Finder in every new window (which is labor intensive).

  • Using View menu> Show Preview Options to turn off Quick Actions (which must be done for each file-type, and only reveals a small amount of file info).

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  • I'm a little confused. What do you mean by Finder Preview Pane? Do you just mean the list of files given by Finder? if so, there are 4 views to pick from. Which view are you referring to?
    – Natsfan
    Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 18:50
  • @jmh Ah I thought of adding that.. then went to IPS.SE. It's column view, as in the screenshot and in the yellow box summary too. Other views don't allow to use "preview options" in View menu, neither do they have preview pane. (that's just the root cause of the former. )
    – anki
    Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 19:07

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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Sadly, I don't think there is the level of customization in the Finder that you want.

There are "Finder alternatives", like Path Finder, which may lay out information in a better way.

The default size of a Finder window can be set as follows:
1. Close all windows.
2. Open a window and make it the size you want.
3. Close it. Now all new windows will be the same size.

(Since Classic MacOS days!)

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  • Resizing Finder's new window suggestions are welcome too. Ignore the yellow banner
    – anki
    Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 9:34
  • The old trick for Finder window sizing was: 1. Close all windows. 2. Open a window and make it the size you want. 3. Close it. Now all new windows will be the same size.
    – benwiggy
    Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 12:17
  • That's a cool tip! Now I wonder 1 how to windows end up in the small size in the first place? restart? 2 It actually increases the size of the thumbnail too. But it is helpful! Do edit it into the answer.
    – anki
    Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 20:20
  • As someone who uses Path Finder, it seems like the obvious solution to me. I mean I do also like Naveed's answer as I always liked the list view the best. But getting back to Path Finder, its info module has a collapsible preview and the preview has a max height of about 200px unlike the Finder preview. Not to mention the info can be rearranged: youtu.be/Iv9H-D6WCcU — You can sprinkle these modules in other modes too: youtube.com/watch?v=lqUssENRSXs you could add the info module in the list view too...
    – Joonas
    Commented Sep 24, 2019 at 7:31
  • @joonas path finder is not free I presume? If it is, it would be one stop for me too.
    – anki
    Commented Sep 24, 2019 at 20:16
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+50

Finder has multiple views including ‘List’ view mode. Your required information can be shown in multiple columns.

Finder > View > as List   ⌘2

Finder List View

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  • Could you add screenshot please. I don't understand Details view mode.
    – anki
    Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 10:32
  • Right. Does it solve the problem? Or are you still looking to hack into Finder App.
    – Naveed Abbas
    Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 11:02
  • This is no-doubt informative. I didn't know that more columns can be added in List view. Thanks! But I am a long time user of column view. But compromise is the way to go if there's nothing else to do. Also, I just put up the bounty, question belongs to JamesM. They decide the acceptance, I will keep the bounty alive for 3 more days.
    – anki
    Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 11:06
  • If the goal were only to reveal more information, then the shortest route would be to open a "Get Info" window (⌘I). For quickly looking through multiple files, ⌥⌘I for an "Inspector" window. This is less disruptive than switching from Column view to List view. However, the goal of the original question was to have the information immediately available in Column view.
    – James6M
    Commented Sep 26, 2019 at 3:11
  • Idea is to use the list view on a folder where file info of every next file is required. Opening multiple info windows would be confusing.
    – Naveed Abbas
    Commented Sep 26, 2019 at 3:17

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