Photo: Yasin Hasan / Shutterstock.com
Mac users often rely on the convenience of the Spacebar preview feature to quickly and easily view files without opening them fully. Whether you’re browsing through photos, documents, or videos, the Spacebar preview is a handy tool that can save you time and effort. However, sometimes, you might encounter an issue where the Spacebar preview stops working on your Mac. This can be frustrating, especially when you’ve come to rely on this feature.
In this article, we have discussed the causes of the Spacebar preview not working on Mac and a few ways to help you fix the issue.
Causes of Spacebar preview not working on Mac issue
Below we have mentioned the reasons that might be causing the spacebar preview not working on Mac.
- Problems with the Finder.
- Corrupted Cache.
- Outdated software.
- System glitch.
Also read: Why is my external hard drive showing up twice on Mac?
How to fix the issue?
If your Spacebar preview is not working on Mac, we have explained a few methods to help you fix the issue.
Restart the Finder
The simplest way to resolve the problem of Quick Look not working in macOS Monterey is to restart Finder. This action will also refresh Quick Look because it’s a part of Finder’s functions.
To restart the Finder, press the Option key on your keypad, and while pressing the Option key, right-click on the Finder icon in the dock and then click on the Relaunch option in the menu.
Clear the quick look cache
Cached files can sometimes cause problems. To clear the quick look cache, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Open Finder, click the Applications option in the sidebar, and then click on the Utilities folder.
Step 2: Double-click on the Terminal.
Step 3: In the terminal, type the command qlmanage -r cache and hit Enter.
Also read: What is the Utilities folder on Macbook?
Quit the Quick Look from the Activity Monitor
QuickLookUIService is like the engine behind Quick Look; you can find it in Activity Monitor. Stopping QuickLookUIService can also be useful to get Quick Look working again on Mac, whether you’re using Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura, or other macOS versions. To quit the quick look, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Open Finder, click the Applications option in the sidebar, and then click on the Utilities folder.
Step 2: Double-click on Activity Monitor.
Step 3: Type quicklookuiservice or you can just type quick in the search bar.
Step 4: In the search results, select QuickLookUIService (Finder).
Step 5: A new window will open. Click on the Quit button at the bottom left of the window and then click on the Quit button in the pop-up box to confirm your action.
Update macOS
Outdated software can lead to compatibility issues and malfunctions. If you haven’t updated your macOS in a while, a bug causing the spacebar preview problem may have been addressed in a later update. To update the macOS, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Click on the Apple menu, then click on the System Settings option in the dropdown menu.
Step 2: In system settings, click on the General option in the sidebar and then click on the Software Update option on the right.
Step 3: If you have any available macOS updates, install them.
Restart the device
Restarting the device is a simple yet effective method to resolve various software-related issues, including problems with the spacebar preview. When you restart your Mac, it clears temporary system files and refreshes system processes, which can often resolve glitches affecting Spacebar preview.
Also read: How to copy and paste on a Mac?
