How to Preview Images, Audio and Video Before You Download

TL;DR

Click a thumbnail to open the zoomable image viewer or play audio/video inside the extension. The details panel shows type, size, dimensions and the full address, with a Copy button. Pro adds resolution labels on the list.

The problem

A list of thirty thumbnails all called “Image 12”. Half are the same picture at different sizes, some are tiny, and you can’t tell which video is the right clip. Downloading everything and sorting later wastes time and disk space.

What you can check before saving

  • Thumbnails for images; the poster frame for videos when the page has one.
  • Image viewer. Click an image to open it full size in a new tab. Zoom with the buttons or mouse wheel, drag to move, reset zoom, download from there.
  • Player. Click an audio or video thumbnail to play it inside the extension, with Play, Pause and Stop.
  • Details panel (the (i) button): title, address, type, size, format and dimensions. There’s a Copy Address button if you want the URL itself.

Steps

  1. Scan the page and open the tab you care about.
  2. Click a thumbnail to look closely, or the (i) to read facts about the file.
  3. Back in the list, tick only what’s worth keeping.
  4. Download.

About size and dimensions

File size comes from a lightweight request for the file header. Some servers don’t answer it, in which case you’ll see “Unable to get size”, which doesn’t mean the file is broken. Dimensions for images are the file’s real pixel size; for CSS backgrounds they’re the size the element is drawn on screen, which can differ from the file.

Pro extras

With Pro, the list also shows the resolution beside each item and uses larger thumbnails, which helps when you’re triaging dozens of images quickly.

Privacy

Previews load straight from the site that hosts them, the same as when you view the page. Nothing passes through our servers.

FAQ

How do I see the real size of an image? Click the thumbnail to open the viewer, which shows its dimensions, or open the (i) details panel for type, size, format and address.

Can I zoom and drag? Yes. The image viewer supports zoom in/out with buttons or the mouse wheel, and dragging.

What does “Unable to get size” mean? The server didn’t return a file length, or blocked the request. The file may still download fine.

Is the preview free? Yes. Pro adds resolution labels and larger thumbnails in the list.

The app Media Resource Downloader →