Compare, pan and zoom

Compare items

You can pick a reference item to visually compare against other media items. This is useful if you’ve taken several photos of a single subject, but you only want to keep the one you like the most.

To begin comparing items, select the reference item (for example, the one you currently think is the best) and use Edit > Compare Items to begin. The viewer will always show two items; the reference item and one other item you select.

The reference item will not be part of the selection, so you can use this to apply ratings or reject items while visually comparing the reference item.

Changing the reference item

When you find an image you like better than the reference item, you can make it the reference item by using the Edit > Change Reference Item menu command, or by pressing the return key.

Exiting comparison mode

You can exit the comparison mode by using Edit > Pick Selected Item or Edit > Pick Reference Item; the one you pick will become the selection.

You can also press the escape key to exit and pick the reference item.

Zooming images

You can magnify displayed images to inspect details by enabling zoom.

  • The View > Zoom menu command will zoom all items to display at 100% magnification.
  • Change the magnification of items by using the View > Zoom In and View > Zoom Out menu commands.
  • Click an image with the ⌘ key pressed to zoom in, or the ⇧⌘ keys to zoom out.
    • Drag instead of clicking to adjust zoom by moving the mouse.
  • Use a pinch gesture on a trackpad to zoom in and out.

Synchronized pan and zoom

When you’re displaying multiple items while zoomed, hold down the Option key while performing any zoom or scroll action to make all items have the same magnification level and scroll position.

You can also use the View > Synchronize Zoom (⌥Z) to update all items to have the same zoom properties.

Comparing focus of similar photos

When zoomed into an image, you can use your keyboard’s arrow keys to navigate to neighboring images. The next image will be displayed at the same zoom and scroll position as the previous image, letting you compare the two images for sharpness.

If you change the rating of the current image so that it’s no longer shown in the browser, this will also display the next image. For example, when the browser is set to show “unrated & up,” pressing X to reject an image will show the next one at the same zoom and scroll position.

Use this to quickly reject blurry photos in a series of photographs.