VideoGlance user guide
This guide describes VideoGlance 1.1.
VideoGlance adds Quick Look previews and Finder thumbnails for videos macOS can’t show: MKV, WebM, WMV and other formats. This guide explains how to use it day to day.
Before you start
VideoGlance requires a Mac with Apple silicon running macOS 15 Sequoia or later. It has been tested on macOS 15 Sequoia; later versions of macOS haven’t been tested yet, and Intel Macs aren’t supported for now.
Supported formats are MKV, WebM, FLV/F4V, WMV, OGV/OGM and RMVB. The same format can contain various codecs; the list of tested codecs shows which ones have been checked.
macOS keeps AVI, RM, TS, MTS and M2TS for itself: even with VideoGlance, its own preview opens. It plays most TS, MTS and M2TS files itself; for AVI and RM it shows only an icon.
MP4, MOV, M4V and 3GP files are still previewed by macOS, as before. Double-clicking a video still opens your usual player.
Installing VideoGlance
Download the disk image from the Download page, open it and drag VideoGlance to the Applications folder. If you use Homebrew, the command brew install --cask kwadz/videoglance/videoglance does the same.
On the first preview, or if you open VideoGlance, macOS asks you to confirm opening an app downloaded from the internet: click Open.
Once the app is installed, there’s nothing to launch day to day: macOS calls on VideoGlance whenever you preview a video. You can keep its information window closed. It gives access, even offline, to the third-party software notices (Third-party notices) and the terms of use (Terms of use).
Opening a video in Quick Look
- Select a video in Finder.
- Press Space, or Command-Y.
- The window opens and playback starts.
- Press Space or Escape to close the preview.
To move to the next video, use the arrow keys as usual: they stay with Finder and don’t skip through the video. To open the preview directly in full screen, use Option-Command-Y.
Quick Look window controls
Move the pointer over the video to reveal the control bar. It hides when the pointer leaves the image and, during playback, after a few moments without movement. While you hover over or use the controls, they stay visible.
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Play/Pause | Start or pause the video |
| Skip back/forward 15 seconds | Go back or forward 15 seconds |
| Progress bar | Click or drag to go to a specific moment |
| Duration, right of the bar | Click to switch between total and remaining time |
| Speaker | Open or close the volume control |
| Volume slider | Move up for louder sound, all the way down to mute |
| More controls menu | Choose a speed: 0.5×, 1×, 1.25×, 1.5× or 2× |
| Full screen | Go full screen with Quick Look’s own control |
In a small window, some controls hide to keep the bar readable. Volume and speed aren’t saved as permanent settings. At the end of the video, playback stops: click Play to start again from the beginning.
Playing in Finder’s Preview pane
The Preview pane is the area shown on the right of the Finder window. Show it with View → Show Preview or Shift-Command-P, then select a video. It works in list, icon and column views.
The video first appears as a still image. Move the pointer over it to reveal the central button, then click it to play or pause.
During playback, the ring around the button shows progress. Click or drag in the ring to jump to another moment without interrupting playback. Volume and speed are adjusted in the Quick Look window.
Thumbnails in Finder
VideoGlance gives Finder a frame from each video, with its original proportions. Your MKV, WebM and other videos then show a real preview instead of a generic icon in views that use thumbnails. The thumbnail frame may differ from the first image shown in the Preview pane.
Videos are read directly from where they are: no copy is made to show a preview or a thumbnail.
Good to know
- Colors and transparency of the controls may differ slightly from Apple’s previews.
- If you go from an MKV video to an MP4 and then back to the same MKV, the preview may resume where you left it, or stay paused. Drag the progress bar back to the start to begin again.
- VideoGlance plays the file’s default audio track. Choosing another audio track or subtitles isn’t offered.
- Trimming, AirPlay, Picture in Picture, protected (DRM) videos and online streams aren’t supported. Apple’s controls remain available for formats macOS handles itself.
If something goes wrong
- No preview after installing or updating: close the preview, then try again. If VideoGlance previews or thumbnails still don’t come back, log out of macOS and log back in.
- A video won't open: check whether other files in the same format open, and note the format and, if you know them, the video’s codecs.
- An old thumbnail is still shown: Finder keeps thumbnails in memory. Make a copy of the file to check whether the new thumbnail appears.
If the problem persists, report it in the website's public issues. Include your macOS version, your Mac model, the VideoGlance version and the steps that reproduce the problem. Don’t attach personal videos or sensitive data: a small sample file is enough.
Updating VideoGlance
Close any open previews, then replace VideoGlance in the Applications folder with the new version, downloaded from the Download page. With Homebrew: brew upgrade --cask videoglance.
Uninstalling VideoGlance
Move VideoGlance from the Applications folder to the Trash, or run brew uninstall --cask videoglance if you installed it with Homebrew. The previews and thumbnails it provides go away with the app; Finder may still keep an already displayed preview or thumbnail for a few moments.