Effortlessly Copying Finder Icons Using macOS’s Preview Application
Seamlessly duplicate Finder icons in the Preview app on your Mac.
The Copy feature within macOS’s Finder not only allows you to transfer files but can also be utilized to capture file icons directly into the Preview application. Here’s how you can do it.
Using Copy Commands Efficiently
Most users are familiar with utilizing the contextual menu in macOS’s Finder to execute copy and paste commands for maneuvering files from one directory to another within their system.
The process begins by selecting one or multiple files inside Finder, followed by a Control-click (or right-click) on your selection which reveals a pop-up contextual menu. From this menu, simply choose “Copy”.
Pasting into Preview: A New Approach
While many users typically opt for pasting items into another folder or drive, there’s an alternative that focuses solely on obtaining an image of a file’s icon instead of duplicating the file itself.
To achieve this, first use the Copy command as previously described, then launch the Preview app and navigate to File > New from Clipboard.
If what you have copied is an application or any recognized file type that has an associated system icon within macOS, you’ll see a full-size icon captured neatly in its own window within Preview. This image can be saved as an individual file or transferred to other applications seamlessly.
Caveats with Certain File Types
For specific types of files like PDFs and documents, pasting doesn’t necessarily yield just an icon; instead, it recreates a full duplicate of that document. If your goal is simply to get a standard PDF icon without duplicating its content, you’ll need to perform some additional steps: go to File > Get Info for your PDF document, select its current icon within this window and hit Command-C on your keyboard before returning back to Preview and using File > New from Clipboard.
This method also applies effectively when dealing with most alias files found in Finder—allowing you access not just content but also their corresponding generic images effortlessly.
The Advantages of Using Preview for Icon Capture
The benefit of utilizing this method lies inPreview’s ability produces high-resolution images quickly without requiring complicated actions such as extracting .icns files from app bundles or taking screenshots followed by edits through graphic design applications. With recent updates introduced in macOS Sonoma now allowing images saved directly as HEIF files—this process continues evolving towards greater efficiency and quality!
