We use Google Drive to store different types of files. It keeps them synchronized, so the latest copy is always accessible. But how can you preview all of your stored images in one place in Google Drive on your desktop browser?
Google Drive allows you to preview videos, images, spreadsheets, documents, PDFs, and more without opening the actual file. I mean, right within the Drive interface itself. As far as I can remember, Google rolled out this preview feature back in 2013.
People use cloud storage not just for images but also for Docs, Sheets, and other file types. In this tutorial, we will see how to preview all stored images in one place in Google Drive.
How to Preview Images Stored in Google Drive
First, locate the image you want to preview on your Google Drive interface. Then you have three ways to open the preview:
- Right-click on the image or click the kebab menu (three dots) on the file, then select Preview.
- Double-click on an image to open it in preview mode.
- Once in preview, use the left/right arrow buttons to navigate between images. You’ll also see Zoom In and Zoom Out options, just like any standard image viewer.
Now, let’s see how to preview all images in one place in Google Drive instead of opening them folder by folder.
Preview All Images in One Place in Google Drive
You might think you need a Chrome extension to preview all images in one place in Google Drive on your desktop browser. That’s not required. Just follow these steps:
- Go to the homepage of Google Drive (the page that opens when you sign in).
- Click on My Drive on the left side of the window.
- Under My Drive, you’ll find a filter option labeled Type (earlier it was called File Type).
- Click on it and select Photos & images from the drop-down menu.
Google Drive will now display all photos from all folders in one place.
Simply double-click on any image and use the left/right arrow keys to navigate from one photo to another.
That’s it—you can now preview all images in one place in Google Drive quickly and easily.
Note on “._” Files in Google Drive (AppleDouble Files)
If you see image files in Google Drive starting with “._”, they may not open in preview. To view the actual images, scroll past these and look for the regular image files.
These “._” files are created when images are copied from macOS to Google Drive. They are known as AppleDouble files or “dot underscore” files. macOS creates them to store hidden metadata about the original files.
For some reason it works for some accounts and doesn’t work for other accounts. How do I manually get it to any account which doesn’t have it?