Quick Tip : X-Ray Finder

I just finished listening to The MacCast Ep. 295, and Adam had this great tip for QuickLook on Snow Leopard. So, credit where it’s due, thanks Adam!

Anyway, this will require you to do a little bit of Terminal work, but it should not pose a problem to power users. If you want to try this but would prefer a GUI, head over to the BlackTree for a prefPane that can do this and loads of other cool stuff.

What does this tip do? You presumably know that you can hit space when in the Finder and bring up QuickLook to have a look at PDF’s, Word documents etc. without having to open an actual program. Well, when you do this with folders you just get a boring picture of a folder and some info about it. Wouldn’t it be cool to sort of see what’s inside? Well, that’s what this hack does! It gives an animated view of the content flowing by in sort of a Front Row style. It looks very cool, and could be useful at times.

Here’s what you do:

1. Bring up the Terminal
2. Type defaults write com.apple.finder QLEnableXRayFolders 1
3. Hit Enter
4. Restart the Finder (Hold down Command+Alt and click the Finder icon in the Dock, choose Restart Finder)
5. You’re done!

Now, choose a folder, hit Space, and voilà!

See you soon!