Windows 11 offers its version of Quick Look, a very handy feature from macOS

Windows 11 introduces its own Quick Look feature inspired by macOS. More specifically, it’s an evolution of the Peek function. Now, you can simply press the spacebar to preview a file, instead of using Ctrl + Space as before.

It is important to note that this new feature is added by PowerToys 0.95, which also enables quick switching between dark mode and light mode. As a reminder, Quick Look is one of the most beloved features of Finder, the file manager of macOS. For Apple PC users, simply pressing the spacebar allows them to preview the selected file.

Windows 11 allows file previews with the spacebar

Indeed, Windows 11 offers Peek, but the simplicity was greatly lacking in the previous version since it required pressing two keyboard keys simultaneously. With PowerToys version 0.95, you can still use Ctrl + Space, but now you can also just press the spacebar.

To activate this feature, navigate to Settings > File Management > Peek. The dropdown menu will allow you to select the activation via the spacebar. Then, the functionality works just like on macOS. Simply select a file in File Explorer and press the spacebar to display its contents.

Peek supports various formats, although the display speed varies depending on the type of document. For instance, images and videos appear immediately, while larger documents may take a bit longer to load.

It’s worth noting that PowerToys is a program that needs to be installed separately. However, many users miss out on the interesting features of this tool for Windows 11, with version 25H2 now available in its final release. Nevertheless, according to recent information, PowerToys could be natively integrated into Windows 11 to enhance the overall user experience.

Source: Neowin