Free Mac photo viewer like Windows, with arrow keys

If you came from Windows, the Photos viewer gave you a simple loop: double-click a picture, press the arrow keys to move through the folder, scroll to zoom, and press Delete when a shot is no good. macOS splits that loop between Preview, Quick Look and Finder, which is why the first double-click often feels like a dead end.

What the Windows Photos viewer does in one window

One window, one folder, one photo at a time. The next photo is one arrow key away, the wheel zooms, and Delete removes a shot. Nothing needs importing, and you do not select the rest of the folder before you start. That is the habit this page is about.

Where Preview stops

Preview is an editor and a document viewer, not a folder browser. Double-click one image and it opens exactly that file. Apple's shortcut list sends the Up and Down arrows to the sidebar and Page Down to the next image in the window, so the keys only reach documents already open (Apple Preview shortcuts). MacMost puts it plainly: after a double-click, Preview cannot move to the next file with the arrow keys (MacMost).

Where Quick Look stops

Quick Look is closer because it follows the Finder selection. Select files, press Space, and the Left and Right arrows move through the selected items (Apple Quick Look guide). It is still a preview window tied to the Finder selection, not a viewer with a folder behind it: zoom is ⌘+ and ⌘- rather than the wheel, and closing the window ends the session.

Flipic Lens: the Windows-style loop on a Mac

Flipic Lens is a free, open-source Mac photo viewer that reads the folder directly. Double-click any photo, press → for the next one and ← for the previous one; the strip along the bottom is the rest of the folder. The wheel zooms around the pointer, a pinch zooms on the trackpad, and holding 0 shows 100% at the pointer, with the fit view back when you let go. ⌘⌫ moves the current photo to the Trash and ⌘Z puts back the last one. Ratings 1 to 5 and P marks are there when you want them, and the stars are standard XMP that Lightroom reads.

Set it as the default photo viewer

Open Settings (⌘,) and click Make Default Viewer under General; common image formats and camera RAW are set in one go. Or Control-click a photo in Finder, hold ⌥ and choose Always Open With › Flipic Lens. After that, a double-click opens the photo in Flipic Lens, the arrows page the folder, and with Esc Closes Window turned on, Esc returns to Finder.

Not the same as an IrfanView replacement

This page is about the Windows Photos loop. If you are looking for IrfanView or Honeyview themselves, the differences are on the IrfanView for Mac alternatives page. That page covers the Windows-only apps and the native Mac options; this one covers the double-click, arrow, zoom and delete habit.