07-navigation

Navigation and Jump

Iris keeps track of where you've been and gives you several ways to move around without scrolling.

Back and forward

Every time you click a different sidebar node, Iris adds it to your browsing history — just like a web browser.

  • ⌘[ — Back
  • ⌘] — Forward
  • The toolbar Back/Forward buttons do the same thing.

The Go menu shows your full history, with the most recently visited items listed below the Forward command. Pick any item to jump straight back there. Up to 50 history items are kept per window.

Each window and each tab has its own independent history.

Go to date

When you have an item selected, you can jump straight to its date node in the sidebar:

  • Choose Go → Item Date (⌃D).

This is the fastest way to ask "what else was happening that day?" — Iris navigates to the day‑level Date node containing the selected item.

Nearby items

When you have an item with GPS data selected:

  • Choose Go → Nearby Items (⌃N).

Iris filters the library to items captured near the selected item's coordinates. This is a great way to discover other photos from the same spot, even across different trips or years.

To return to the unfiltered view, navigate back (⌘[) or click a different sidebar node.

Jump (Quick Open)

The Jump dialog is the fastest way to navigate anywhere — type the name of any sidebar item and press Return.

  • Press ⌘K anywhere to open it.

Start typing a person's name, a location, a year, a chapter — anything that exists in the sidebar. Use / to move through results, Return to navigate there, or Escape to dismiss.

Surprise Me!

Choose Go → Surprise Me! (⌘⇧9) to display a random photo or video. It's a serendipity feature — see what you find.

This is especially fun in a large library, where there are always corners you've forgotten about.

Lights Out

Not strictly navigation, but related: View → Lights Out (⌘L) hides the window chrome and only displays the center pane. Toggle back the same way.

Focus shortcuts

These move keyboard focus to specific UI areas without changing what's selected:

Shortcut Action
⌘⌃1 Focus the sidebar
⌘⌃2 Focus the content area (grid / list / map)
⌘F Focus the search field

You can also press the right arrow to navigate from the sidebar to the grid or list view. And press the left arrow to move back to the sidebar (when the leftmost item in the grid is already selected).