Cover Flow view Click to see a larger image

Cover Flow is standard method for viewing albums in iTunes and on iPods. With Cover Flow you can quickly scroll through your album covers to find the music you are looking for.

A lesser known use of Cover Flow is in the Finder to quickly flip through file thumbnails.

At the top near the the left of each Finder window there are four buttons that you can use to choose which way you prefer to view your files: by icon, by list, by column view and with Cover Flow.

Not every folder of contents is ideal for Cover Flow. A folder of folders or applications just gives you previews of their icons. Cover Flow in the Finder works best with folder of photos. As one Basics4Mac reader wrote to me:

I can scroll thru my art files very quickly and then drop the icons directly into Photoshop. Its MUCH faster than scrolling thru the Open command in Photoshop.

Another bonus of Cover Flow is that it works with Quick Look. Hitting the Space Bar while in Cover Flow view will activate Quick Look, letting you see a larger preview of the photo without opening it.

Related Items: Finder | Cover Flow | iTunes | Quick Look