How to Get Mac-Like File Previews in Windows

One of OS X's greatest features is Quick Look in Finder, the ability to preview a file by pressing the spacebar. Windows Explorer doesn't have this capability, but you can add it with a free utility called Seer.

Seer is a small (75MB), simple program. Here's how it works.

1. Download Seer from SourceForge.

2. Double-click the EXE file to install Seer.

3. Click X on the help window that opens after installing Seer.

4. In Explorer, select the file to view and press the Spacebar. A new window will open with either a preview, if you selected an image, for example, or details of the file.
[seer-preview1.png]

[seer-preview2.png]

5. Click on the icons in the preview window to see the file details, open it in the default program for that file type, or show the file in Explorer.

6. Click the Spacebar again to quickly close the preview window.

Seer works with images, video and audio files, plain text, PDFs, and more. You can even listen to audio or watch a video in the preview windows or scroll long text files. If Seer is unable to preview a type of file you use often, such as Microsoft Office formats, you might be able to install a plugin for that application. Right-click on the program icon in the system tray to go to Settings and install plugins.

All in all, it's a great little tool that gives you a quick look at your files without having to open them in the default application.