This is useful for getting a look at everything from the fine print in a document to the digital noise in an image, and it’s super-easy to toggle on and off. You can zoom in and out easily in the Preview window, but these tools will adjust the zoom level for your whole document, and that isn’t always helpful.Įnter the Magnify tool to save the day! Magnify turns your mouse cursor into a rectangular magnifier so that you can get a closer look at a specific section of your open file. While having a high-DPI screen makes it easier to see fine details in your documents and images, there are still times when it’s necessary to get a closer look at things. You can also make notes and even add your signature! 3. You can use the Sketch tool to add handwritten notes and doodles, use the Shapes tool to add geometric shape overlays or use the Text tool to add a text overlay complete with custom formatting. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Command + Shift + A, or you can open the View menu and select Show Markup Toolbar.Ī whole secondary toolbar will appear below the main toolbar, giving you access to all the wonderful tools that the Markup toolbar has to offer. To open the Markup toolbar, click the Show Markup Toolbar button (as shown above). This toolbar provides a wide range of options for working with your document, everything from simple rectangular selections to content redaction to adding handwritten notes and sketches. The Markup toolbar is probably my favorite feature of the Preview app, especially when I’m working with screenshots. You can even set the Sidebar panel to Thumbnails and use it to rearrange the pages of a PDF document by just clicking and dragging the page thumbnails into a new order. Note: If there is no relevant content for your chosen sidebar selection, the sidebar will be empty.

You can choose between Thumbnails, Table of Contents, Highlights and Notes, Bookmarks, and Contact Sheet. To open the Sidebar panel, click the Choose Sidebar Display button (see above), and select the content type you want it to display. It also provides a handy overview of any bookmarks, notes, and annotations that are present in the document.

The Sidebar panel is a hidden part of the Preview app that makes it easier to view and edit multi-page documents.

How to open the preview app on mac