28.07.2020

Apps Better Than Preview On Mac

Apps Better Than Preview On Mac 5,0/5 9365 votes

Jun 30, 2020 Alternatives to Preview for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone and more. Filter by license to discover only free or Open Source alternatives. This list contains a total of 25+ apps similar to Preview. List updated: 6/30/2020 7:19:00 PM. Apr 23, 2018 In this video, we're going to go over some of the best features that the macOS Preview app has to offer. Read More - https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/get-the. On a related note, I still find it odd that some macOS apps makes you drag a disk image to the Applications folder, and that's just one of at least three different ways to install apps on a Mac.

Apps Better Than Preview On Mac Download

There’s a frustrating issue with macOS, where the app you’re using stops working and spits out an error message saying it isn’t open anymore. This mostly happens with Preview, but it can affect any app on your Mac, including Finder, Safari, the App Store, and others.

When this error occurs, the app you’re using becomes unresponsive and the following alert pops up:

Despite the error message, your app still appears as though it’s open. There may be a dot beneath it in the Dock or it may still have open windows. But you’re unable to use it. With Preview, that means you can’t open PDFs, screenshots, or other images anymore!

This article explains how to fix this error and get your apps working again. We’ve even gone so far as explaining how to fully reinstall macOS, in case this issue keeps cropping up again and again.

Contents

1 Quick Tips
2 Step 1. Force Quit Preview
3 Step 2. Reboot your Mac
4 Step 3. Remove your Preview preferences
5 Step 4. Update or reinstall macOS

Quick Tips

Here are the basic steps to fix Preview when macOS tells you it’s not open anymore, we’ve explained each step more fully in the article below: Hp deskjet 3630 scanner software mac.

Force Quit Preview using command+option+escape.
Reboot your Mac, using a hard reboot if necessary.
Remove your Preview preferences from the Library.
Update and then reinstall macOS using Recovery Mode.

Step 1. Force Quit Preview

The first thing to try and do — although it doesn’t always work for this error — is to close the unresponsive app. Despite the error message telling you Preview “is not open anymore,” it usually is. But it has frozen and needs to be reopened.

There are two ways to Force Quit an app in macOS: using the Force Quit window or using Activity Monitor. If either of these methods works, make sure you reboot your Mac before opening Preview again.

How do I close Preview using the Force Quit window?

Press the command+option+escape keys to open the Force Quit window.
If the escape key on your Touch Bar is unresponsive, go to  > Force Quit from the menu bar.
Select Preview from the list of applications.
Click Force Quit, then reboot your Mac.

How do I close Preview using Activity Monitor?

Open the Activity Monitor application in one of these ways:
1. Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities.
2. Or go to Launchpad > Other.
Select the CPU tab, then click ‘Process Name’ to sort the processes.
Find and select Preview in the list of processes.
Click the stop sign button in the top-left of Activity Monitor.
Choose Force Quit, then reboot your Mac.

Step 2. Reboot your Mac

If it’s not possible to close Preview using Force Quit or Activity Monitor, you can close it by rebooting your Mac instead. This forces any apps that macOS says are not open to restart, bypassing the error message.

The safest way to reboot your Mac is using a soft reboot, but that may not be possible if the unresponsive app cannot close. If that’s the case, you have no choice but to use a hard reboot. We’ve explained both reboots below.

How do I soft reboot my Mac?

From the menu bar, go to  > Shut Down.
Uncheck the box to reopen windows when logging back in.
Confirm you want to Shut Down.
Wait at least 30 seconds for your Mac to power off.
Briefly press the power button to turn your Mac on again.

How do I hard reboot my Mac?

Performing a hard reboot may result in lost data or corrupt files. If possible, save your documents and back up your Mac first.
Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds or so until the screen goes black.
Wait 30 seconds, then briefly press the power button again to restart your Mac
In the alert window that appears, click Cancel to avoid reopening any apps.

Step 3. Remove your Preview preferences

If you still get the same error message — ‘The application “Preview.app” is not open anymore’ — you may need to remove some of your preference files.

These are small files that macOS automatically creates to store your settings for each application. You can usually remove them without losing any data or causing problems, but we recommend you back up your Mac first just in case.

Follow each of the suggestions below, testing Preview again after each one.

We advise you to move the preference files to a new folder on your Desktop for safekeeping, that way you can always put them back if something goes wrong. If this works and your issue is fixed, go ahead and delete those preference files.

How do I remove my Preview preferences?

Open Finder, then from the menu bar select Go > Go to Folder.
Type the following location and click Go:
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Preview.plist
Move the highlighted preferences file to your Desktop for safekeeping.
Reboot your Mac and test Preview again.
If the error persists, repeat the steps above for each of the following files:
1. ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Preview
2. ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.quicklook.ui.helper
3. ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Preview.LSSharedFileList.plist
4. ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Preview.SandboxedPersistentURLs.LSSharedFileList.plist
5. ~/Library/Saved Application State/com.apple.Preview.savedState

Step 4. Update or reinstall macOS

Hopefully, that’s all you need to resolve the ‘“Preview.app” is not open anymore’ errors. But if you’re still experiencing problems, there might be a bug in your operating software. You can fix this by updating or reinstalling macOS.

We suggest you update your Mac to the latest version of macOS first. Apple frequently releases patch updates to fix bugs like this, but you can’t benefit from them if you don’t keep your machine up-to-date.

If you’re already running the latest version of macOS or if an update doesn’t solve anything, you need to reinstall macOS using Recovery Mode. This shouldn’t affect your data — although we recommend you back up your Mac first anyway.

Reinstalling macOS rewrites every line of code in the operating software on your Mac.

How do I update to the latest release of macOS?

Connect your Mac to a working Internet connection.
Go to System Preferences > Software Update to check for new updates.
Download and install any updates your Mac finds.

How do I reinstall macOS?

If you haven’t already, make a new backup using Time Machine.
Use the following instructions to boot your Mac into Recovery Mode:
1. Go to  > Shut Down and confirm you want to Shut Down you Mac.
2. Wait 30 seconds for your Mac to fully power off.
3. Briefly press the power button, then immediately hold command+R.
When the Recovery Mode screen appears, click Reinstall macOS.
Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the macOS reinstallation.

Fingers cross, that’s the last of the ‘“Preview.app” is not open anymore’ messages. Check out this post if you need more help with crashing apps on your Mac.

And let us know in the comments if you found these suggestions helpful!

Dan is a freelance writer based in South West England.

He spent two years supervising repairs as a Genius Admin for Apple Retail and uses that knowledge to keep our troubleshooting guides up to date.

Long before that, Dan turned to Apple products from a musical background. Having owned iPods for years, he bought a MacBook to learn sound recording and production. It was using those skills that he gained a first-class Bachelor of Science in Sound Technology.

top 5 alternatives to the Photos app in Windows 10.For seasoned Mac users, Preview is the default option, but for the fresh converts from Windows often feel stifled and frustrated. Keeping that into consideration, I aim to strike a balance with the shortlisted apps. Also, I wouldn't recommend the ones that annoy you with 'Buy the Pro Plan' prompts as soon as you launch the app. If it irks me, I can only imagine how much it would bother you. So let's check out the options.To use any of the options as a default viewer, you will have to select different image files (PNG, JPG, BMP, and other). Right-click on them and select Get Info. From the Info window, you need to click on the drop-down below Open With and choose a relevant app from the list. After that, click on Change All to apply the tweaks to relevant files across the system.So let's take a look at the top Image Viewer apps for Mac.

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1. Xee

Xee is quite a straightforward replacement of Preview. Despite the similarities, Xee steps ahead with a few unique features. As expected, the Previews and Next buttons for browsing between images are placed at the top left corner. The other options appear neatly placed next to them at the top.Xee's status bar shows additional details about the image, such as its dimensions, file type, file size, color details, and more. The only thing I found odd that Xee did not pick up the Dark them of my macOS. I had to navigate to Xee's Preferences > Style and then pick Black.Xee is simply an Image Viewer. That means if you are looking for an Image Viewer with editing options, you are out of luck here. This app is streamlined, fast, and quite responsive.Unfortunately, Xee isn't free, and you will have to pay $3.99 to buy it from the App Store on your Mac.Download Xee

2. XnView MP

The XnView is more than an image viewer. It's a popular cross-platform media management software, and Windows users love it so much that many want to set XnView as the default image viewer on Windows 10. With support for over 500 image formats, the developers lock quite a bunch of handy features behind the paywall. However, the app lets you customize the layout of the app. Free

When the app is open, navigate to View>Layout and select Free from the subsequent menu. After that, you can click on the x-shaped icon irrelevant windows. In short, you get enough viewing and sorting modes that you can keep changing between them to suit your requirements. The app's performance setting allows you to squeeze out the maximum from your on-board GPU chip. That means, the processing and caching will be faster on beefed-up MacBook Pros.Download XnView MP

3. Phiewer

The free version of Phiewer lets you view one image at a time. When you open a photo, it shows the main image with a collection of thumbnails on the left side. While being one of the fastest image viewers to open a photo, Phiewer shows the thumbnails on the left with an option to start a slideshow directly. However, the blurring effect offering backdrop might just steal your attention for a bit.Phiewer stands out by displaying the basic details about a photo distinctly on its interface. Besides photos, it also supports a variety of media formats. That will become apparent as soon as you sync your media folders with the app. You might enjoy the readymade bouquet of options, such as different effects, to try out on photos. You can pay for the Pro version to unlock alignment, cropping controls, applying filters, adjusting granular aspects, and more.You may call it a simpler version of the XnView MP and use it accordingly.Get Phiewer

4. Lyn

Lyn is like a proper replacement of the Photos app with the Image Viewer capabilities built-in. The interface of Lyn app is quite familiar so that you won't feel out of place at all. When you launch it initially, you will notice the basic adjustment options at the top — they will remind you of Preview.Apart from viewing options, you can also link other cloud-based services such as Flickr, Facebook, Dropbox, and more. The i-shaped button is the hidden information panel that will present you with details of the image ranging from resolution to metering mode. If you check the photos clicked using your digital camera, DSLR, or Mirrorless, then Lyn is a suitable image viewer app. Of course, you can always customize the layout from the preferences for quick access to the frequently used folders. Lyn supports a variety of picture formats, and you can quickly share photos with your friends over email, Flickr, or even Smugmug. The basic version comes with a 15-day trial, which is decent enough to try it out. Otherwise, you will have to cough out $20 as a one-time payment to get rid of the trial period limitation.Get Lyn App

5. qView

If you are looking for a no-nonsense image viewer for all your photos and screenshot, then this is the best option. Without mincing words, qView is one of the minimalist photo viewer that looks amazing with the dark theme on the macOS.qView is also available on Windows, which makes it a perfect cross-platform tool to use for viewing photos on both the platforms. It works best as the no-nonsense photo viewer on your Mac. Of course, it doesn't offer editing or tweaking options.Download qView

Bonus Recommendation: ApolloOne

The ApolloOne is one of the rare apps that utilize the Core Image graphics and hardware features such as multi-threading to deliver the best photo gallery and organization experience.
It can also handle RAW photos and support over 1000 digital cameras. Also, it lets you tinker around with the EXIF details. You can always try out its Slideshow to view a series of photos. This feature-rich image viewer can be purchased to unlock support and other helpful settings.Get ApolloOne

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Change Is Good

While Apple's Preview gets the basic job done, it does leave a lot to be desired. Specifically for folks who move from or use macOS alongside Windows 10. My favorite is ApolloOne since it supports a variety of cameras for importing images directly, and I often use qView just for browsing photos on my Mac. So which one will you pick?

Next up:Wondering what photo backup service to use with iPhone? Check our list of top 5 iCloud Photo backup alternatives for iPhone.

The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read NextTop 5 iCloud Photo Backup Alternatives for iPhoneAlso See#apple #macos

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