Preview not showing photos in "order" (by file number/name)

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Level 1

21 points

Preview not showing photos in "order" (by file number/name)

I drop a file that contains photos onto Preview and it opens and shows the icons in the right sidebar. I can click on each icon and see the full size image in the main window. That all seems correct.

However, the photos are not shown in the order they were taken in (which is the same as their file name). Say I have 20 photos (example simplified) number 101.jpg, 102.jpg, 103.jpg . . . .120.jpg. The is the order that the photos were taken in and thus, the different photos of the same/related things will be next to one another.

But Preview does not show them in this order. It might show something like: 110.jpg, 111.jpg, 112.jpg, 103.jpg, 102.jpg, etc. where 110.jpg is the first icon on the side bar and will be the first photo viewed. Instead of showing the order correctly as 101.jpg, 102.jpg . . .

This happens in HighSierra and Mojave, and with a variety of different cameras - Sony, Lumix and Fuji.

How can I get the photos to display in the correct order which would be by file name (101, 102 etc) which is also the order the photos were taken?

Thank you in advance.

MacBook Pro 13", 10.13

Posted on Feb 3, 2019 9:56 AM

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Answer 1

leroydouglas

Level 10

200,106 points

Feb 3, 2019 10:03 AM in response to drennman10

Preview and it opens and shows the icons in the right sidebar.

right sidebar? Does this mean on the Desktop?

Drop your photos in a folder and sort by your preferred method then use preview or QuickLook.

View and edit files with Quick Look on Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 2

balsa2

Level 4

1,402 points

Feb 3, 2019 10:28 AM in response to drennman10

Open the images in Preview, then select the Contact Sheet view, (Option-Command-6):

Control-Click on any image, & a contextual menu will open showing sorting options for the selected images:

The images will be in the sorted order, when selecting the Thumbnail view (Option-Command-2),

(Preview will open the Thumbnail view, on the last selected image in Contact Sheet view)

You can also sort the images from the Sidebar in Thumbnail view:

Control-Click any thumbnail in the Sidebar, gives the same sorting options as Contact sheet view.

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Answer 3

drennman10 Author

Level 1

21 points

Feb 3, 2019 10:30 AM in response to leroydouglas

Thank you for such a quick response. I apologize that I wasn't precise in what I wrote.

I see that I incorrectly called the "image thumbnails" which is what I see in Preview on the Left sidebar as "icons."

I see the "thumbnails" of the photos on the left sidebar that opens as part of Preview. If I click each thumbnail or arrow down, I will see the full size image in the right pane of Preview. It's just that the images are not in order - by file-name which is the same order as date-created.

Thanks for the tip on QuickLook. It's a great tool but seems more useful to me for looking at a specific file/image not for reviewing 100's of photos in a file folder. Yes, though, since the photos are in proper order in the file folder, clicking each one does show them in order.

Again sorry for the confusing description.

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Answer 4

drennman10 Author

Level 1

21 points

Feb 3, 2019 10:52 AM in response to balsa2

Thank you Balsa2

Yes, this does indeed allow the photos to be displayed in Preview in the correct order!

However, I see that it needs to be done each time that folder (or another one) is opened as the sorting choices aren't durable.

Is there a way to have Preview always use "name" or "date" (set a sorting order default for all folders)? Preview is defaulting to "no order" for it's sorting which seems odd.

Thanks again!

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Preview not showing photos in "order" (by file number/name)

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