How to Crop Images with Mac's Preview App

Mac's Preview app is a versatile tool that goes beyond just viewing PDFs and images. It also offers a variety of editing features, including the ability to crop images. Whether you need to trim down a photo for a presentation, social media, or personal use, Preview makes the process simple and efficient. Here's a step-by-step guide to cropping images using Preview on your Mac.

Step 1: Open the Image in Preview

First, locate the image you want to crop in Finder. Once you've found it, double-click the file. By default, this should open the image in Preview. If it opens in another application, you can manually open it in Preview by right-clicking the image, selecting "Open With," and then choosing "Preview."

Step 2: Select the Area to Crop

With your image open in Preview, you’ll need to select the portion of the image you want to keep. Here’s how:

1. Activate the Selection Tool: Go to the toolbar at the top of the screen and click on the "Markup Toolbar" button (it looks like a pencil inside a circle). This will reveal additional editing tools.

2. Choose a Selection Shape: Click on the down-arrow next to the selection tool icon (a dotted rectangle) to choose the shape of your selection. You can choose between "Rectangular Selection," "Elliptical Selection," or "Lasso Selection" for freeform cropping.

3. Make Your Selection: Click and drag your cursor over the part of the image you want to keep. A dashed line will appear, indicating the selected area. You can adjust this selection by dragging the corners or edges.

Step 3: Crop the Image

Once you’ve selected the area you want to keep, cropping the image is straightforward:

1. Crop to Selection: With the desired area selected, go to the "Tools" menu in the top toolbar.
2. Choose Crop: From the dropdown menu, select "Crop." This will instantly crop the image to the selected area, removing everything outside the dashed line.

Step 4: Save Your Cropped Image

After cropping your image, you’ll want to save your changes:

1. Save the Image: Go to the "File" menu and select "Save" if you’re okay with overwriting the original image. If you want to keep the original image intact, choose "Save As" or "Duplicate" to create a new file.
2. Choose a Format and Location: If you selected "Save As," you can rename the file, choose a different format (such as JPEG, PNG, or TIFF), and select where to save the new image.

Additional Tips

• Undo Mistakes: If you make a mistake during the cropping process, you can undo it by selecting "Edit" from the menu and then "Undo," or by pressing Command + Z on your keyboard.
• Aspect Ratio: If you need to maintain a specific aspect ratio (e.g., 16:9, 4:3), you can hold down the Shift key while making your selection to constrain the proportions.
• Annotations: Use the Markup Toolbar to add text, shapes, or annotations to your cropped image before saving it.

Wrapping Up

Cropping images in Preview on a Mac is a quick and easy process, perfect for anyone who needs basic image editing capabilities without downloading additional software. Whether you're editing photos for personal use or preparing images for professional presentations, Preview's cropping tool provides a simple yet powerful way to get the job done.