How to remove anti-aliasing in Preview?
 

Has anyone else noticed that when you open an image in preview (10.3.3), it looks really great for a second, then gets fuzzy? I am really tired of this and want to know how to turn it off. I've gone through the preferences many times and tried all the options, but none seems to fix this "problem" (I'm sure that Apple thinks that everyone will like this feature and won't want to turn it off).

Are there any ideas?

Thanks for the help,

M@ Dale

It too, drives me insane. The arrogance of Apple to assume everyone wants this "feature" without option to disable is unbelievable, especially for graphics pro users. I would do anything to regain control over anti-aliasing being dumped onto image files in Preview. Anyone know how?

I'd suggest a freeware picture viewer or perhaps GraphicConverter to replace preview. You can make your new app the global default application to open various image types by using get info on an image file. I'm sure there are a zilion freeware image viewers on macupdate.com or versiontracker.com that don't do antialiasing.

I've heard this a few times, but never seen it for myself. When I open Preview, regardless of the scale of the image, it's perfectly sharp.

Can one of you post a screenshot here, using the attachment feature? I'd love to see the problem ...

thx;
-rob.

Antialiasing
 

As far as I can tell the antialiasing only occurs when you view a file that is 'zoomed out', so the window has fewer pixels than are in the image. A window where the image is at actual size or oversampled doesn't get AA'd.

Either way Preview isn't giving you a completely accurate representation of the image, but in my opinion the AA'd one is better, although I understand lots of people will disagree.

yes, if somone knows how to disable that please speak up!

Rob,

Here's a routine example where the original is large dimensionally and Preview aggressively adds anti-aliasing to the displayed image when less than 100%. Actually, with this example, even at 100% size.

The larger the original (many digital cameras default to 18x24" @ 72ppi) and the smaller the displayed size, the more heavily the effect is applied, so that when opened with Preview the image initially is sharp, then immediately blurs any fine detail, making sharpness judgements impossible.

With an image such as this example (very low light levels with slow shutter speed handheld and subject movement at issue), the anti-aliasing renders Preview useless and requires opening the file in another application that doesn't add the softening effect.

The anti-aliasing may be pleasing with portraits and flowers-type images, but for work-related image handling it is nothing but exasperating.

It is as absurd as if Text-Edit would edit words as you type, arbitrarily without being able to disable it, too.

The original is too large to attach (4.5MB) and can be downloaded here:

http://homepage.mac.com/brucemillerphoto

On a second issue, with the above uploaded .jpg (which stuffing wouldn't reduce further being compressed already) why in the world does .Mac insist on .sit AND .hqx'ing the .jpg so it grows UP to almost 6MB when downloaded and shrinks BACK to original size unstuffed.

Even free web sites such as pBase.com directly upload and download .jpg's all at original sizes without issue.

Two prime examples of Apple NOT being leading edge in graphics handling to me.

Hmm, looking at your sample picture at 100% and at 50% the images look the same to me in both preview and graphics converter.

I do see the change in the image after a second in preview, it always seemed to me as if it were the second half of the image (interlaced?) and once it is done it always appears clearer/more complete to me.

Can you tell which window is preview or graphics converter in the attached screen captures (1=100% 2=50%)?

The ones on the left Preview?

The effect with Preview is so obvious here its hard to not see the blurring. You don't see the blur of fine detail into mush occur within a half second?

At 4x6" size display only Preview and iPhoto blur the image details. Photoshop, ViewIt, ImageBuddy, PhotoMechanic, MacBibble, Nikon View, Nikon Capture, Archer Pro, et al show no problem rendering small views sharp (as sharp as display is capable at resolution selected).

Nope, Graphics Converter on the left and Preview on the right.
:)


I can see some differences when I look at the screen shots (IE you can see where actual pixels are different), so I am not saying they are exactly the same, but on my monitor I cannot tell them apart at any reasonable resolution.

Actually I see jaggies, that go away after the change happens....

Exactly. Jaggies SHOULD be displayed without arbitrary fiddling by the OS.

Preview 2.0 does not have this problem
 

Well, I'm glad that I'm not the only one who has this problem when viewing Hi-res photos in Preview 2.1.0.

As a side note, in Preview 2.0 (10.2.X) has an option in the preferences which allows you to choose anti-aliasing. In 2.1.0 the only anti-aliasing option pertains to PDFs.

I have been playing around in the .plist file and found a setting for Anti-aliasing which was set to '1' in my file, changing it to '0' had no effect. Oh, well.

Thanks anyways,

M@

OK, now I see what you're talking about, but ... just barely :). Must be because I don't make my living dealing with imagery. Whenever I want to work on a photo, I work on it in Photoshop, which obviously doesn't blur.

Preview to me is just that -- a quick & dirty image viewer. It's super-fast, super-easy to use. I often drop a folder of JPEGs on it to cull out the obvious crud, then work on the keeper images in Photoshop. In that sense, the anti-aliasing doesn't really bother me, but I can see where it could if you were using Preview for more than a quickie look-see.

-rob.

As digital cameras mature, now many amateurs suddenly are using high-res DSLR's with +$1,000 zoom optics, there will be less tolerance for that Preview "feature." Those users will want to see every detail at all displayed sizes and hopefully then will complain loudly enough in the future for Apple to reconsider their target user audience (which obviously isn't graphics pros anymore).

An observation (not really of practical use) but if you do a marquée style selection and keep jiggling the mouse with the button down, you can stay one step ahead of the antialiasing and keep it from refreshing.

You do realise that what Preview is doing is arguably of benefit to high-res images?

Whenever the scale is enough to show the image in full detail Preview does so. Whenever it isn't Preview is adding back in the fine detail by anti-aliasing, not removing it. This sharpness that is 'disappearing' is an artifact of the pixellation and I would say that the antialiased version is a more accurate representation of the real image.

I would agree that Preview should have an option for it in the preferences for those users that dislike it but to claim that it is a problem for those wanting to 'see every detail' is a mistake. It is a problem for those that happen not to like it (and antialiasing is a very personal thing, just look at font smoothing debates).

By that logic, anti-aliasing being piled on top of image files should be standard in Photoshop and every other high-end image software...but not a single application does it except Preview and iPhoto.

I'm not arguing that Preview shouldn't have an option to turn this feature off. Nor am I saying that Photoshop should have it on. I am arguing with your claim that the image Preview shows is less accurate and less suitable for viewing large files.

Take a look at the attached file in Preview with it zoomed out, before and after the antialiasing is applied and tell me which is a more accurate representation of the contents, and which shows more fine detail. In my opinion it is the antialiased view. You certainly can't see every detail in the non-AA version, as large stripes across the image are totally white where black pixels should be present.

Anti-aliasing is entirely appropriate for fonts and line graphics where displays are incapable of rendering the curves of a solid hardedge typeface without breaking it up into visible pixel points.

But everyone wants to be able to set their threshold for minimum font smoothing. Why? Simply because the scheme breaks down at a certain point and only serves to BLUR the font. Certainly the threshold for image files breaking down with anti-aliasing is far below 6 point type, yet no one wants to be subjected to squinting at anti-aliased 6 point text.

The opposite is true for continous-tone image files where the grain or pixels shouldn't ever be smoothed out to appear "better," but simply to display the data unaltered. In any other application, image sharpness can be judged at almost any size percentage displayed, not just at 100% or greater as with Preview.

Anti-aliasing has absolutely no useful function in images file rendering nor was it ever designed to. This "innovation" would be widely ridiculed if Microsoft had started slapping on Cleartype smoothing to every file.

I completely agree with your comments on antialiasing in general and font smoothing. All I'm trying to point out is that it isn't as clear cut (if you'll excuse the expression) as you'd like when it comes to 'seeing every detail' and antialiasing isn't necessarily the evil you think, especially in a preview application that doesn't do editing.

The opposite is true for continous-tone image files where the grain or pixels shouldn't ever be smoothed out to appear "better," but simply to display the data unaltered.

How is an image with half the pixels ignored 'unaltered'?

Anyway, I'm giving up on trying to explain my point on this one :rolleyes: ;)

Its just hard to maintain the Apple is better mantra when tech-savy Windows using pros witness such odd OS behavior. I'd love a good explanation why its that way by design, but haven't been able to find one yet. I still use Preview. I still use my .Mac account, even with it double-stuffing .jpg's.