05-views
Views: Grid, List, and Map
The content area in the middle of the window shows the items from whatever you've selected in the sidebar. There are three view modes, switchable from the toolbar or the View menu.
| View | Shortcut | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Grid | ⌘1 |
General browsing and visual scanning |
| Map | ⌘2 |
Seeing where photos were taken |
| List | ⌘3 |
Sorting by metadata, finding specific files |
You can switch modes any time without losing your sidebar selection.
Grid view
Grid view shows photos and videos as thumbnails laid out in a flexible grid.
Interacting with the grid
- Click a thumbnail to select it. The inspector updates immediately.
- Double‑click or press Space to open the inline viewer.
- Right‑click a thumbnail for a context menu of item actions.
Thumbnail size and shape
⌘=zooms in (bigger thumbnails).⌘-zooms out (smaller thumbnails).⌘⌥Rtoggles between square thumbnails (uniform grid) and aspect ratio thumbnails (variable height, photo proportions preserved).
When the current sort order is by date, a floating date callout in the corner shows the date of whatever's currently scrolling past, so you always have your bearings.
Layout style
In Settings → General, you can choose between two grid layout engines:
- Classic — fixed‑size cells, predictable spacing.
- Modern (experimental) — fluid layout that adapts to window width.
List view
List view shows items as a sortable, scrollable table with metadata columns.
The columns
By default, List view shows:
- Media type icon (image, video, screenshot, live photo)
- Filename
- Date Captured
- Duration (for videos)
- Dimensions (pixels)
- File Size
- Favorite
You can:
- Click a column header to sort by that column. Click again to reverse the direction.
- Drag column headers to reorder columns.
- Right‑click a column header to choose which columns are visible.
- Double‑click a row to open the inline viewer.
Sort order
The sort order you set in List view applies in Grid view too — and vice versa. You can also set sort order from the View → Sort By submenu, which offers:
- Date Captured
- Date Added
- Filename
- File Size
- Face Count
- Duration
- Interestingness (an ML‑derived score)
…and Ascending / Descending.
Map view
Map view plots all geotagged items in the current selection on an interactive Apple Maps view.
How clustering works
When many items sit close to each other on the map, Iris groups them into a cluster with a count badge. As you zoom in, clusters break apart into smaller clusters and eventually individual pins.
- Zoom in / out with pinch (trackpad),
⌥‑scroll, or the +/- buttons. - Click a cluster or pin to filter the content grid to items at that location.
- Drag to pan around the map.
What gets plotted
Only items with GPS coordinates appear on the map. Items without GPS are silently excluded from Map view. If a sidebar selection has no geotagged items, the map will be empty — switch back to Grid or List to see them.
If compass direction (orientation) info is available, Iris will draw a small arrow beneath the item in the direction the camera was facing when the item was captured.
Trail mode
Iris can draw a "photo trail" connecting the items in capture order. This makes Map view feel like a story — you can follow the path of a road trip, hike, day at an amusement park, or a walk across a city.