How to Add the Mac's Quick Look File Preview Feature to a Windows PC

Whether you're a new Windows user coming from the PC or a die-hard Mac user that splits time between a Mac and a Windows machine, bringing the Mac's Quick Look feature to your Windows machine can be a huge time saver as you juggle files. Here's how to get started with the awesome Quick Look app.

What is Quick Look?

On the Mac, Quick Look allows you to press the space bar and instantly get a pop-up preview of a selected file or files in Finder without having to open that file in an app. It works with videos, photos, and docs like spreadsheets, PDFs, Word files, and even Keynote/PowerPoint presentations. To activate it, you simply select a file with a single click or tap and then press the space bar.

This feature is missing in Windows, so to add it, we'll need to install the aptly-named Quick Look, a free third-party app available in both the Microsoft Store and on GitHub.

Where to find Quick Look

The Microsoft Store is the slightly easier path in terms of installing Quick Look, but we prefer the GitHub version because it allows you to use the utility not only in Windows Explorer or OneCommander windows, but also in the "Open in" and "Save as" dialog boxes.

Microsoft Store: https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9NV4BS3L1H4S

GitHub: https://github.com/QL-Win/QuickLook/releases

Installing Quick Look on Windows

Installing Quick Look is extremely easy. If you go the Microsoft Store route, once it's installed you'll just open the app up and it will start running in the background. You'll immediately have the ability to Quick Look files with the space bar.

If you install from GitHub, you'll want to head to the Quick Look releases page, find the most recent stable release of the app (for us it was 3.7.3) and then download the .msi installer. (Note: Quick Look also offers a .zip installer if you'd like to have a portable installer. This will let you install the app to a thumb drive and use the utility on other computers without installing it to those computers.)

Once you download the .msi installer, double click it to run the installation and, voila. You now have Quick Look running in the background.

Using Quick Look

Because Quick Look runs in the background, it acts like a native part of Windows once it's installed. That means it automatically works with File Explorer, allowing you to select a file, press the space bar and see a preview.

The preview window that opens has options as well. In the top left-hand corner of the preview window that opens there is a button that will keep the preview window on top of all other windows.

Next to the keep on top button, you'll find the pin button. This option actually one-ups the Mac's Quick Look feature by allowing you to pin a Quick Look Preview and then open up subsequent preview windows.

On the top-right of the preview window you'll find buttons that allow you to open previews in a default program, or a separate program. This could come in handy with apps like VLC player which supports a litany of video file formats.

OneCommander Integration

We mentioned above that Quick Look works with File Explorer and OneCommander, a more customizable alternative to File Explorer that we recently reviewed.

To activate Quick Look integration in OneCommander. Install OneCommander and Quick Look and then open OneCommander settings, click Preview in the left pane of the settings window and then select Quick Look as your preview method from the drop down box.

Quick Look settings

To customize Quick Look, you'll be able to access it from your System Tray of the Windows Task Bar. Right click the icon and you'll be able to set the app to Run at Startup, Check for Updates, Exit the app, or search for plugins.