The Wide Column Clutter
The macOS Finder offers several ways to view your files, with “Column View” being a favorite among power users for rapidly navigating deep folder hierarchies. In recent versions of macOS, when you select a file in Column View, Finder automatically opens an additional column on the far right called the “Preview Column.”
This panel displays a large thumbnail of the file, along with detailed metadata (creation date, dimensions, file size) and Quick Actions. While incredibly useful for photographers managing images, it is highly frustrating for users dealing with dense text documents or code files. The Preview Column takes up a massive amount of horizontal screen real estate, often pushing your actual folder navigation off the left side of the screen. If you prefer to maximize your folder view and rely on Quick Look (pressing the Spacebar) for previews, you can disable this column.
How to Hide the Preview Column
You can toggle the preview panel’s visibility directly from the Finder’s menu bar.
- Open a new Finder window and ensure you are in Column View (the icon with three vertical rectangles in the toolbar).
- Select a file so that the Preview Column appears on the right.
- Look at the very top of your screen to the macOS menu bar.
- Click on the View menu.
- Look down the dropdown list for the option labelled Hide Preview. (If it says “Show Preview,” the feature is already disabled).
- Click on “Hide Preview”.
- Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut:
Shift + Command + P.
The wide metadata column will instantly slide away, allowing your folder columns to expand and fill the window, making hierarchical navigation much easier on smaller MacBook screens.