Way to make QuickLook display a hex dump preview of files for which no other preview is defined

quicklook

This question has two parts, I suppose.

Is there a way to assign a default case to QuickLook (if no other preview applies, use this one) and
is there a good hex-dump QuickLook preview?

Best Answer

I think you would need two things in order to make this work. 1. You would need a hex editor that was tied into whatever black magic Apple is using to provide QuickLook. 2. You would probably need to set hex editor as the default application for handling the specific file type...

In short... no, I don't think you can do it out of the box.

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MacOS – For applications that do not store Quick Look information within the file, where does Lion (or a Server) store that information

Graham - quick look generate the data on the fly. The inspectors know to use the previews when present, but will do the heavy lifting when needed.

The virtual memory system of course caches these files so it feels faster after the first render until it swaps out or gets disposed if the pages are not marked for a swap to disk.

Detach the QuickLook window from the Finder

Yes Thilo, there is a way. It will require a bit of command line wizardry though. As long as you're not allergic you can do the following:

Open Terminal.app
Change directories to the location of the file you want to view using QuickLook.
- For example, if the file you want to view using QuickLook is on your desktop you would type: "cd ~/Desktop" (no quotes, caps matter, and ~ is a shortcut to your home directory).
Now type: "qlmanage -p filename.pdf" (replacing filename with the name of your file and pdf with the extension of your file).

A new icon will appear in your Dock called "qlmanage". This is the helper application that is usually launched headlessly by the Finder. By launching it from the command line it becomes accessible via the Dock, Command-Tab etc.

Just for the record (and the curios) this little application is stored deep in the OS where mortals are not meant to tread at this location:

/System/Library/Frameworks/QuickLook.framework/Versions/A/Resources/quicklookd.app/Contents/MacOS

Best Answer

Related Solutions

MacOS – For applications that do not store Quick Look information within the file, where does Lion (or a Server) store that information

Detach the QuickLook window from the Finder

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