Touch Gestures and the Action Bar
In the grid, tap to select. Leave selection mode and double-tap a thumbnail to open Full View; use its back button to return. The grid’s action bar edits the selection; Full View edits the focused photo.
Review and Compare
- Move and inspect: swipe left/right or tap the left/right edge. Pinch to zoom and drag to pan. When zoomed, a drag can pan instead of navigating; use the filmstrip to choose another photo directly.
- Review aids: open More > View Options for Filmstrip, Histogram, Exposure Warning, Focus Peaking, and Info Overlay.
- Compare: tap Side-by-Side Compare in the toolbar. iPad also offers Four-Way Compare; iPhone does not. Tap a pane to focus it before rating or changing its photo. Swipe left/right with two fingers to replace the comparison set. More > View Options > Sync Zoom & Pan links the panes’ zoom and pan.
- Subjects: tap Subject Panel for detected faces, supported pets, and other subjects. On iPhone, tap a subject thumbnail to enlarge it. An orange eye-slash badge suggests a closed eye; check the image yourself.
- Video and Live Photos: use the playback controls for video. Touch and hold a Live Photo to play its motion. Settings > Full View > Display > Autoplay videos starts playback automatically when enabled. Available playback depends on the source and file; copy locally if direct playback is unavailable.
On iPad, an active Group By mode can show group and member filmstrips. The Grouped navigation toolbar button switches to/from one flat filmstrip. iPhone always has the flat filmstrip. See Grouping and Similar Scenes.
Crop a photo
- In single-photo Full View, tap Crop Photo. Leave comparison first; crop is unavailable for video-only items.
- Drag the crop edges/corners, choose an aspect ratio and orientation, and adjust rotation if needed.
- Tap the checkmark to apply or the X to cancel. The trash button clears a saved crop; it does not delete the photo.
A crop saves framing metadata, not a newly cropped image file. In Apple Photos it does not create a native Photos edit, and on a connected camera it does not rewrite the card. To deliver cropped pixels, include crop processing in your export workflow.
Full View Gestures
Open More > App > Settings > Full View > Gestures. Choose an action for each trigger; changes save automatically. Reset to Defaults restores these assignments:
| Gesture | Default action |
|---|---|
| Swipe Left | Next photo |
| Swipe Right | Previous photo |
| Tap Left Side | Previous photo |
| Tap Right Side | Next photo |
| Left Side Swipe Up | Toggle flag |
| Right Side Swipe Up | Toggle flag |
| Left Side Swipe Down | Toggle reject |
| Right Side Swipe Down | Toggle reject |
| Two-Finger Swipe Left | Next comparison set |
| Two-Finger Swipe Right | Previous comparison set |
| Two-Finger Swipe Up | None |
| Two-Finger Swipe Down | None |
| Two-Finger Tap | Toggle favorite |
Choices include next/previous photo or set, dismissing Full View, flag/reject/favorite, setting or toggling ratings and labels, clearing a rating/label, and None. Left/right variants let each screen half do something different. For example, assign a label to the left upward swipe and flagging to the right.
Pinch-to-zoom, zoomed panning, and video playback controls are not remapped here. Crop and playback controls can take priority over culling gestures.
The Culling Action Bar
Open More > View Options > Action Bar Position and choose Bottom, Left, or Right, in either the grid or Full View. Position is remembered separately for portrait and landscape, so rotate the device before setting up the other orientation.
On a narrow screen the bar condenses. Tap the rating or label control to open its choices, then choose a value. Check the grid selection before applying a batch change; in comparison, check which pane is focused.
Keyboard and Controller
Open More > App > Settings:
- Keyboard Shortcuts: choose a keyboard preset, then customize an assignment. With the PhotoCuller preset, 1–5 set ratings, F flags, and R rejects. Browser keys affect the selection; Full View keys affect the focused photo. Mac window/tab commands are not mobile commands.
- Controller: first pair a compatible gamepad with the device through Bluetooth or connect it by USB. Check that it appears connected, choose actions for its buttons, adjust Stick Sensitivity, and close Settings to try it. Reset to Defaults restores the mappings. Controllers work in the browser and Full View; return from text editing, dialogs, or crop if input is blocked.
Under iCloud Sync, Keyboard Shortcuts & Presets shares keyboard setup and Controller Mapping shares button assignments/sensitivity. Enable the options on each device with the same Apple Account. Pair the controller separately with each device.