The Preview app on Mac can not only view PDFs and images, but also implement multiple editing functions. 1. It can open multiple format files and support multiple selection and comparison viewing; 2. It provides practical editing functions such as labeling, highlighting, and signatures; 3. It supports merging and splitting PDF files; 4. It has quick skills such as rotation, cropping, and compression to meet daily lightweight processing needs.

Opening the Preview app is the basic way to view and edit PDFs, pictures and other files on your Mac. Although it looks simple, it can solve many daily problems if used properly, such as merging files, marking key points, compressing PDFs, etc.

How to view and open files

Preview is the default viewing tool that comes with macOS, suitable for PDF, JPG, PNG, TIFF and other formats.
Double-clicking a PDF or image file will usually be automatically opened with Preview. If not, you can right-click the file → "Open With" → select Preview.

You can also open the Preview app directly, drag in the file, or select "File → Open" in the menu bar to load the document.

• If you want to open multiple files at once, you can hold down the Command key to multiple selections.
• Want to compare while watching? Drag multiple files into Preview and will be listed in the sidebar for easy switching.

Common editing functions: labeling, highlighting, signature

Preview is not just for "reading", its editing function is actually quite practical, especially suitable for processing PDF documents.

Common operations include:

• Add text box : Click the "T" icon on the toolbar to insert text on the page.
• Draw/Score : Click the "Draw" button (pencil icon), you can choose the thickness and color of the line, which is suitable for marking.
• Highlight/underscore/delete : After selecting the text, click the corresponding button in the toolbar above.
• Signature function : You need to set the signature when you use it for the first time (you can use the trackpad to write or use the camera to take pictures and enter it), and then you can quickly insert the electronic signature.

These functions are very helpful for contract review, homework correction, and conference material labeling.

Merge and split PDF files

If you need to organize multiple PDF files, the merge and splitting functions of Preview are very practical.

Merge multiple PDFs:

1. Select multiple PDF files in Finder (Click Command to select multiple times)
2. Right-click → “Open With” → Select Preview
3. All files appear in the sidebar as thumbnails
4. After the drag sequence is adjusted, click "File → Merge into PDF"

Split PDF:

1. Open a PDF file
2. In the thumbnail list on the left, right-click a page
3. Select "Extract Selected Page as PDF" to save a separate page

This way, there is no need to install additional software, which is enough for lightweight needs.

Quick tips: rotation, cropping, compression

Sometimes the PDF or picture is incorrect in the direction and the size is too large, and Preview can also help you quickly process it.

• Rotate the image : Click the "Rotate Left/Right" button in the toolbar, or right-click to select the Rotate option.
• Crop page : Click "Tools → Crop", drag the boundary line and press Enter.
• Reduce file size : Select "Quartz filter (low quality)" when exporting PDFs to compress volume, suitable for sending emails or uploading.

Note: The image quality after compression will decrease, and it is recommended to keep the original file.

Basically that's all. Although the Preview interface is simple, it has complete common functions and does not stutter, many tasks can be handled.

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