TMO Quick Tip - Viewing Large Icons in Leopard

by , 7:30 AM EST, November 16th, 2007

In prior version of Mac OS X, you could view icons up to 128 x 128 pixels, but in Mac OS X 10.5 you can view pixels at up to 512 x 512 pixels. The question is: How? The answer: Cover Flow.

Show View Options adjusts Finder icon sizes.

The Command-J Finder keyboard shortcut invokes the Show View Options dialog. From there you can set the the size of your icons -- up to 128 x 128 pixels. To see icons even bigger, click the Cover Flow button in a Finder window.

Click the Cover Flow button to view large icons.

Cover Flow displays icons independently of the Show View Options setting, so don't worry about bumping up the size there first. Also, icons that haven't been designed for 512 x 512 pixel viewing will look jaggy when enlarged beyond their 128 x 128 limit.

Big icons, Cover Flow style.

You can change the size of the icons in Cover Flow view by resizing the window they are in. Smaller window, smaller icons; bigger window, bigger icons.

Jeff Gamet is TMO's Morning Editor and Reviews Editor. He lectures, teaches and speaks on Mac OS X and design-related topics, and is the author of The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X from Peachpit Press.

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