How to Use the Preview Panel in ComfortFiles
Updated August 25, 2026
The preview panel is a side panel on the right that shows the file you have selected, what it is, and what you can do with it. Open it with ⇧⌘P, or from View ▸ Preview Panel, or with the button at the right of the command bar, the row under the address bar. It stays open as you move through a folder, previewing each file you land on.
What it previews
The panel uses the same preview engine macOS itself uses, so it renders what you would expect and a little more:
- Images — including RAW and HEIC.
- PDF and documents — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Pages, ePub.
- Video and audio.
- Text and code — coloured the way an editor colours them, for about sixty kinds of source file, with a switch for wrapping long lines. The panel gives text the full height, since more height is simply more lines you can read.
- 3D models —
.obj,.stland.usdzrender as models, not as icons. - Folders — the folder’s icon, what is inside it, and a ring showing where its space went.
Files macOS has no renderer for — archives, disk images, applications — show their icon at a modest size, and the space goes to the details instead.
What it tells you
Under the preview, the panel writes out what is worth knowing about this kind of file. It is not the same list for everything:
| File | What you get |
|---|---|
| Photograph | Dimensions, resolution, colour profile, bit depth, camera, lens, focal length, exposure, date taken, GPS coordinates |
| Page count, page size, title and author, whether it is password-protected | |
| Video / audio | Duration, dimensions, video codec, frame rate, bitrate, audio format |
| 3D model | Meshes, vertices, triangles, bounding box |
| Text and code | Line and character counts |
| Folder | How many files and folders it holds, its total size, and the biggest things inside it |
Coordinates are a link: click them and the place opens in Maps.
Cheap answers appear at once; the expensive ones — a folder’s total size, a video’s tracks — arrive a moment later rather than making you wait for the rest. If the file has more to say than the panel is tall, the upper half scrolls.
Where a folder’s space went
Select a folder and the panel measures it, then draws what is inside as a ring: the five biggest things, each with its share and its size, and everything else gathered into one line. Click any of them and the app goes there, so the answer to “what is filling this up” is one click away from the question.
It fills in as the count arrives rather than making you watch a spinner, so a big folder starts answering immediately. Anything it could not read — another user’s folder, parts of the system — is marked rather than counted as nothing: a total that is too small sends you looking in the wrong place.
It measures one level down, inside the panel. Finding the one enormous file at the bottom of a tree is a different job, and a different kind of app.
The actions underneath
Along the bottom sit the actions that mean something for the file on screen. Every file gets Open, Share and Properties. Beyond that the row changes with the type:
- A picture — Rotate Left, Rotate Right, Convert Image, Create PDF and Remove Background.
- An archive — Extract All.
- A folder — Open in new tab.
These are the same commands as the right-click menu, in the place where you are already looking.
Good to know
- The panel’s width and whether it is open are remembered per tab, and survive quitting the app.
- Drag the divider to resize it; the file list narrows and scrolls rather than pushing the panel back.
- Selecting several files at once shows how many rather than guessing which one you meant.
- Inside an archive there is no file on disk to render, so the panel names the entry instead of showing an empty frame.
Related
- The photo library — the panel plays video and shows pictures from there too, with the same controls.
- Previewing files with Quick Look — the full-size Space preview, for when you want to look closely rather than browse.
- Image tools — the rotate, convert, PDF and background-removal actions the panel offers for pictures.
- Sorting, filtering and grouping — finding the file the panel then describes.
Frequently asked questions
How do I turn on the preview panel in ComfortFiles?
Press ⇧⌘P, or use View ▸ Preview Panel, or click the panel button at the right of the command bar, the row under the address bar. The same shortcut closes it again. Whether it is open, and how wide you made it, is remembered per tab and survives a restart.
What is the difference between the preview panel and Quick Look?
Quick Look (Space) is a full-size window over everything, for looking closely at one file. The preview panel is a strip down the side of the window that stays open while you move through a folder, so each file you select is previewed as you go. Both use the same macOS preview engine, so anything one can render, the other can. Use Quick Look to inspect, the panel to browse.
Does the preview panel show photo EXIF data?
Yes. For a photograph it lists the camera, lens, focal length, exposure (aperture, shutter, ISO), when it was taken, and the colour profile — read from the file header, without decoding the image. If the photo has GPS coordinates they are shown as a link that opens the place in Maps.
Can it preview 3D models?
Yes — .obj, .stl and .usdz render in the panel, and beside the render it reports the mesh, vertex and triangle counts and the model bounding box. Finder shows the picture and nothing else.
Why does the panel show an icon instead of a preview for some files?
Archives, disk images and applications have nothing to render — macOS has only an icon for them — so the panel shows the icon at a modest size and spends the space on the file details instead. Inside an archive there is no file on disk at all, so the panel names the entry rather than showing an empty frame.
Can I see what is taking up space in a folder?
Yes. Select a folder and the panel draws a ring of the biggest things inside it, each with its share and its size, and clicking one takes you there. It fills in as the count arrives, and anything it could not read is marked rather than quietly counted as zero. It measures one level down — finding a single huge file at the bottom of a deep tree is a different job.
Does the preview panel show code with syntax colouring?
Yes, for about sixty kinds of source file — Swift, PHP, Python, JavaScript, SQL, YAML and so on — with a switch beside the file name for wrapping long lines instead of scrolling sideways. Press Space for the same file larger, with line numbers. Nothing is installed and nothing is sent anywhere; the colouring happens inside the app.
Does the preview panel slow down browsing a folder?
No. Holding an arrow key walks the list faster than any preview could be built, so the panel waits for the selection to settle before rendering, and cancels work for files you have already passed. Expensive answers — a folder’s total size, a video’s tracks — arrive after the cheap ones rather than holding them up.