Mac Beachballing: How to Fix Preview Freezes in iCloud

There is no way I can list homes in Sacramento without manipulating photos, which I’ve discovered also causes Preview freezes when using Mac OS Sierra and iCloud. I stopped fighting iCloud a while back and finally embraced it. One of the things I don’t like about iCloud storage is Apple options lump my Desktop with Documents, and can’t be separated, and I’m used to doing a lot of work on my desktop. Having the ability to view my desktop on multiple devices isn’t a useful tool for me because I clean up my desktop every night before I turn off my computer. But I’ve also had Preview freezes prior to iCloud, so I think it’s just an bug that’s been happening now for a few years.

If you find that you’re encountering Preview freezes with photographs, I can help you to fix that problem. Of course, I first spent an afternoon at the Mac repair shop a while back troubleshooting this problem with a Mac specialist, and he could not figure it out. I also called Apple and talked to a few specialists on Apple’s support line, and they couldn’t offer solutions, either. Basically, Apple techs said just wait until another update fixes the problem with Preview freezes. I’m thinking that’s gonna happen when hell freezes over because it’s been too long already.

To get started, let’s talk about the problem so we can identify if you are having the same problem. Let’s say you export photos from iPhoto or maybe download through an email. In my case, as a Sacramento Realtor, it happens after my photographer emails a link to my home sale photos, and I save the folder onto my desktop. As an ordinary course of business, I often resize the photos and rearrange the order. I start by select all and open all photographs in Preview.

Now, sometimes Preview will report you don’t have authority to open the photo. If you get that message, you cannot fix it like you may presume through “Get Info.” This is the fix for that: just Quit Preview and reopen. That non-authority issue, as you will note, vanishes.

Next, with the photo open on your desktop, if you duplicate the photo and then try to resize it, you’ll get the beachball. Preview freezes. You can sit there and watch the beachball spin, or you can Force-Quit Preview and slam two fingers of scotch down your throat. But that won’t fix the problem. The problem is when Preview freezes like that, it’s hanging in midair because the duplicate photo does not reside on your computer. It’s in nowhere land. I can’t believe I figured this out myself.

You can fix the Preview freeze by saving the duplicated photo to your desktop immediately after duplication. Every time you make a change to that photo, hit Apple S before proceeding. That simple action will stop Preview freezes because it gives the photo a place to live.

For me, I open the photo, then duplicate it. I save the duplicated photo. Then I resize the duplicated photo and save. Then I rename the duplicated photo and save. No more Preview freezes.

I hope you enjoyed this little tale. If you need a Sacramento Realtor who is always solving problems and looking forward to new challenges, give me a jingle. You can call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.