Preview app in Lion will act as Word, Excel, PowerPoint viewer
Mac OS X's Preview app has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a PDF viewer. AppleInsider reports that in the latest build of Lion, Preview has received a UI overhaul and added some pretty cool new features.
For example, Preview will act as a Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint viewer. This is one of the smartest things Apple could have done. How many times have you sent a PowerPoint file to someone only to get an email back saying they didn't know how to open it (happens all the time with my friend's grandparents)?
Now when anyone running Mac OS X 10.7 Lion receives an Excel or PowerPoint file, the file will automatically open in Preview if they don't have Office or iWork installed. Of course, they won't be able to edit the Microsoft docs in Preview, but they will be able to view them just like they can view PDFs. Word docs can open in Preview as a viewable file too, but by default they will still open in TextEdit as an editable document.
Other additions to Preview include Full Screen mode; monochromatic, square toolbar buttons; a magnifier loupe tool (like the kind you find in Aperture); expanded PDF annotation tools (including filled text and speech and thought bubbles); and the ability to scan your signature in the Preview app so you can use it to digitally sign documents. I don't know about you, but I always look forward to OS X upgrades not so much for the big features, but for the continued refinements to the OS and its apps as a whole. Judging by the way Lion is shaping up, it won't disappoint.
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Mac OS X's Preview app has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a PDF viewer. AppleInsider reports that in the latest build of...
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Without a dynamic zoom tool, Preview will continue to play second fiddle to Adobe Reader when it comes to making presentations. Panning and using the "+" and "-" keys just doesn't cut it.
April 24 2011 at 11:28 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThere is something seriously wrong with people who keep sending files to a person or persons who have repeatedly let them know that they cannot open such files, but I guess it is true that using Microsoft programs leads to brain damage.
April 23 2011 at 12:55 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyA gray "graphite" theme has been present in Mac OS since at least 8.6. Even a modern Snow Leopard machine can go "graphite". The "graphite" theme was geared more to creative outlets that work with color and proofing color and gray is neutral enough to work with calibrators. Gray UI elements makes the human eye less "distracted/contaminated" when evaluating on-screen colors for printed works.
April 23 2011 at 11:25 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe improvements makes viewing those files more obvious for people used to simply double-clicking on a file... like most people of all computer literacy levels.
Quick Look is obscure to those new to Macs.
Windows 2000 had Quick Look. It was removed in XP. It was one of the first things I looked for when I switched to Macs.
April 23 2011 at 2:46 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replygreat! looking forward to the next generation, always.
April 23 2011 at 10:56 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply"Other additions to Preview include Full Screen mode; monochromatic, square toolbar buttons"...
Well I think a lot of Mac users will just HATE this look and feel judging by all the negative comments I have heard about the look and feel of iTunes 10.
Hardly a major development, QuickLook has always been able to view those file types anyway.
April 23 2011 at 7:49 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyRemember when Preview used to be called a 'program', even an 'application'? Now it's just an 'app'.
April 23 2011 at 7:42 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplySweet, won't have to resort to using QuickView anymore to view Office files.
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