03-main-window
The main window
The Iris main window is a classic three‑pane Mac app: sidebar on the left, content in the middle, inspector on the right, with a toolbar across the top.
The three panes
| Pane | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sidebar (left) | A tree of every way to browse your library — by date, person, place, chapter, source, or insight. See The sidebar. |
| Content area (center) | Photos and videos from whatever you've selected in the sidebar. Switches between Grid, List, and Map. See Views. |
| Inspector (right) | Tabs of detailed metadata and AI results for the currently selected item. See The Inspector. |
The sidebar and inspector are both collapsible. Toggle them from the toolbar or with keyboard shortcuts (see below).
The toolbar
From left to right:
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Sidebar toggle | Show or hide the left sidebar (⌘0) |
| Back / Forward | Navigate through your browsing history (⌘[ / ⌘]) |
| Window title | Shows the current selection and item count (e.g. "Sarah — 412 items") |
| View mode | Switch between Grid, Map, and List (⌘1 / ⌘2 / ⌘3) |
| Search field | Search your entire library (⌘F to focus) |
| Inspector toggle | Show or hide the right inspector panel (⌘⌥0) |
You can customize the toolbar with View → Customize Toolbar… to add or remove buttons.
Windows and tabs
New windows
Choose File → New Window (⌘N) to open a second independent library window. Each window has its own sidebar selection, view mode, and browsing history — useful when you want to compare two parts of your library side by side.
Window state is saved when you close Iris and restored on next launch.
Tabs
Iris supports native macOS tabs. Choose File → New Tab (⌘⇧T) to add a tab within the current window. Each tab is independent — different sidebar selection, different view mode — but tabs share the window frame.
When tabs are open, a standard macOS tab bar appears below the toolbar. Drag tabs between windows to rearrange, or drag a tab out to detach it into its own window.
Lights Out
Choose View → Lights Out (⌘L) to dim the window chrome and focus your eyes on the photos themselves. Press ⌘L again to turn the lights back on.
Full screen
Choose View → Enter Full Screen (⌘⌃F) to fill the entire display. The menu bar and toolbar auto‑hide and reveal on hover, just like any other macOS app.
Customizing the layout
Most layout decisions are made by clicking and dragging:
- Resize the sidebar or inspector by dragging the divider between panes.
- Reorder columns in List view by dragging column headers.
- Sort by a column in List view by clicking its header.
- Change thumbnail size in Grid view with
⌘=and⌘-.
For grid layout style (square vs. aspect‑ratio‑preserving), see Views. For sort order across all views, see View → Sort By in the menu bar.