Quick Look

How to instantly preview items in the Files app

iOS 13 and iPadOS make it easy to look at the contents of a file with Quick Look, a quick preview feature which debuted on the Mac in October 2007 as part of the Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard software update. iOS's version of Quick Look functionality isn't without pitfalls though. For instance, the native Quick Look button is unavailable in column view or via share sheets. Worse, tapping a file seems to be a hit-and-miss affair because sometimes Files launches a quick preview of the selection and sometimes opens it. Follow along with us to learn how to create a custom Quick Look button that does everything like the native version but more consistently, without launching fullscreen and accessible from more places vs. Apple's version.