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Icon Preview is not shown for mp3 files in finder

Hi. Recently I noticed icons of mp3 files are no longer as used to be in finder. Previously I had a dark music note icon and when i hover my mouse there was a play button. Now I only see itunes icon in mp3 files. "Show Icon Preview" option is enabled, and i can preview image and pdf files in finder. But something happened to the mp3 files. It is very annoying. Please guide me to get back the good old icon preview for mp3 files.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Mar 6, 2012 2:38 AM

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62 replies

Mar 6, 2012 8:46 AM in response to RickRaven

Displaying icons as previews of files



In Finder windows and on the desktop, the icons for files can appear as thumbnail previews of the file contents. For example, instead of seeing a generic icon for a PDF file, you can see a miniature version of what’s in the PDF file. If you “hover” over the icon for a movie or sound file, you’ll see a Play button, which you can click to view the movie or hear the sound. (If you don’t see a Play button, enlarge the icon.)

NOTE:If you’re using Cover Flow view, you’re already previewing files and don’t need to change any settings.



To display icons as previews:

  1. To work with icons in a Finder window, click the Finder icon in the Dock.To work with icons on the desktop (the background area of your screen), click the desktop.
  2. If you’re working with icons in a Finder window, click one of the View buttons in the toolbar to select icon, list, or column view.
  3. User uploaded file
  4. Choose View > Show View Options.
  5. Select “Show icon preview.”
  6. If you’re working in a Finder window, you can also set the following options, depending on which view you’re using:
    • In Icon view: Use the “Icon size” slider to adjust the size of the preview image.
    • In List view: Click one of the two “Icon size” buttons.
    • In Column view: To see a larger preview in the adjacent column, select “Show preview column.”
  7. NOTE:The Finder may not be able to show a preview for some files.



Another way to get a quick preview is to select one or more images, and then click the Quick Look (eye) button in the Finder window toolbar, or press the Space bar.




Related Topics

Finder preferences

Previewing files with Quick Look

Mar 8, 2012 4:41 PM in response to RickRaven

I think I have to clarify the problem.


On my system, "Show Icon Preview" option is enabled. And I can view icons of files as previews instead of still icons.


PDFs, JPEGs, etc. clearly shown as preview icons.


And, previously my mp3 and movie files are used to displayed as preview icons. When I hovered my mouse on an mp3 file, a play button was shown.


But recently this have gone. Now mp3 files are shown as "still itunes icons". There is no play button, when I hover mouse on an mp3 file.


I would prefer to contact to a support personel because I bought this mac less than 1 year ago, so I think my warranty hasn't expired yet. But I couldn't find a mail address to ask for support. There is a phone support option I think, but because I didn't register my mac when I bought it, I can't apply now.


Please guide me...

Mar 9, 2012 2:28 AM in response to X423424X

Yes I tried it, logged out, restarted, shutted down, but no mp3 files are still itunes icons. pdfs, movs, jpegs displayed fine, but something wrong with mp3s. I think it is somehow related with itunes because all other file types are working, but mp3s only show itunes icons.


Is there a way to uninstall and reinstall itunes?

Mar 9, 2012 2:41 AM in response to RickRaven

That won't help. The file associations are recorded by Launch Services. You could clear Launch Services but then all file associations will revert to their original defaults. It's not clear this will fix what you are looking for either.


OnyX could be used to rebuild the default Launch Services (in Onyx, Maintenance --> Rebuild --> LaunchServices).

Mar 9, 2012 2:54 AM in response to RickRaven

Previously I had a dark music note icon and when i hover my mouse there was a play button.


Are you really sure this ever was true? I never saw this function (unless it's in 10.6.6 and above) when viewing icons in the finder. I have .mp3's, with the black icon and music note in the middle, and it's just the icon associated with iTunes. If I want to play it I double click it to launch iTunes or I view in column mode and click a .mpg, and then I can see a little play button appear over the enlarged image of the icon in a column to its right and then play it in the finder that way.


Now I only see itunes icon in mp3 files. "Show Icon Preview" option is enabled, and i can preview image and pdf files in finder. But something happened to the mp3 files. It is very annoying. Please guide me to get back the good old icon preview for mp3 files.


So I repeat, are you viewing this stuff in column mode view option?

Mar 9, 2012 3:32 AM in response to X423424X

X423424X wrote:

Are you really sure this ever was true? I never saw this function (unless it's in 10.6.6 and above) when viewing icons in the finder.

It should work in Icon view (if the icon size is large enough), in Column view's preview (last) column, & in Cover Flow view (in the top section). It does not work in list view.

Mar 9, 2012 4:06 AM in response to RickRaven

1. Make sure the current window really is set to Show Icon Preview -- this can be set differently for different folders.


2. Select any one mp3 file & open the Get Info window. In the "Open With" section, make sure an application that can play mp3 files is selected (usually, it would be iTunes). If this isn't true, first verify that in the General section that the Kind is "MP3 audio," & then set it to open with an mp3 capable app (like iTunes). Then click the "Change All…" button.


Note that this is a global change & will affect all mp3 files regardless of what folder they are in.


3. If this doesn't help, you can try rebuilding the Launch Services database, as described earlier.

May 27, 2012 11:44 AM in response to RickRaven

rick,


did you get an answer for this?


periodically, i wipe out my hard drive and re-install everything. it's just house cleaning.


i was running snow leopard 10.6.8, and the last time i did this was probably 8 months ago. i'm up to date on the OS updates.


yesterday, i installed an SSD drive (replacing my optical drive) and re-installed snow leopard with the most recent combined update. i'm moving my boot volume over to the faster drive.


now, my icons only show the .mp3 with no hover-over button to play music files, so i know exactly what you are talking about.


when i boot from my original startup volume, the icon view functionality is there, but when i go over to the new boot volume, it disappeared.


so, it has something to do with latest update of snow leopard. i'm thinking that maybe that functionality got lost in the last 8 months and only stayed on my previous boot volume because i did incremental updates (???)


did you ever figure it out?

Icon Preview is not shown for mp3 files in finder

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