# Open and peek

> Open a capture to read it, open it beside the library, or peek at it without leaving the grid.

- Page: https://resurf.so/guides/peek
- Section: Browse and read
- Works on: Mac, iPhone, iPad
- Last checked against the app: 2026-10-17
- Peek: `Space` on Mac
- Open beside: `⌥↩` on Mac

## Open a capture

On Mac:

1. Click a card to open it in the main pane. Or select it and press `↩`.
2. To close it, press `Esc` or click back in the header.

On iPhone and iPad:

1. Tap a card to open its capture page.
2. Swipe from the left edge, or tap **Back**, to return to the library.

On Mac, you can make one click select and a double click open: choose **Double click** under **Settings → Appearance → Library interaction → Open captures**.

## Open beside the library

On Mac:

1. `⌥`-click a card, or select it and press `⌥↩`. Or right-click it and choose **Open beside**.
2. Click another card to show it beside the list instead.
3. Press `Esc` to close it.

Opening beside needs room for a reading column. In a narrow window, the capture opens in place instead.

## Peek

On Mac, a peek shows the capture in a large card over the library: the live page for a link, the pages of a PDF, a note as a page to read. Videos play muted on a loop. Audio and voice notes show a waveform but don't play.

On Mac:

1. Select a card and press `Space`. With nothing selected, hover a card and press `Space`, or click **Peek** at its top right.
2. Press `←` and `→` to move to the previous and next capture, or click one in the filmstrip at the bottom.
3. Click the card to open the capture.
4. Press `Space` or `Esc` to close the peek.

Video: [Peeking a capture and stepping through the filmstrip, then opening a capture with its inspector, then opening one beside the list.](https://resurf.so/guides/clips/clip-peek.mp4)

In a peek, `Space` closes it, even on a video. Hover the video for **Play** and **Pause**, or open the capture.

## Questions

### Space peeks the wrong card.

Space peeks the selected card first. Press Esc or click an empty spot to clear the selection, then hover a card and press Space.

### Option-click opened the capture full width.

The window was too narrow for a side column, so it opened in place. Widen the window and try again.

### Can I peek on iPhone or iPad?

No, peek is on Mac only. Tap a card to open its capture page, then use Previous capture and Next capture to move along.

## More guides

- Previous: [Covers and appearance](https://resurf.so/guides/appearance.md)
- Next: [Move between captures and zoom](https://resurf.so/guides/next-and-previous.md)
- [Layouts and sorting](https://resurf.so/guides/layouts.md): Choose how the library shows your captures, how big the tiles are, and what order they come in.
- [Covers and appearance](https://resurf.so/guides/appearance.md): Set the theme, the window color and how cards look, and choose what a link's cover shows.
- [Move between captures and zoom](https://resurf.so/guides/next-and-previous.md): Step to the next or previous capture without going back to the library, and zoom the whole window on Mac.
- [Read links](https://resurf.so/guides/reader.md): A saved link opens as the live page, and the reader shows the article as clean text at a size you like.
- [PDFs and highlights](https://resurf.so/guides/pdfs.md): Read PDFs on every device, and on Mac, find words, highlight passages and comment on them.
- [Write notes](https://resurf.so/guides/notes-and-highlights.md): Write and format notes in a markdown editor, and on Mac, highlight passages and comment on them.
- [Video and audio](https://resurf.so/guides/video-and-audio.md): Play videos, audio files, voice notes and YouTube links right inside the capture.
- [Comments](https://resurf.so/guides/comments.md): Every capture has a comment thread in Info, and your highlights from notes and PDFs land there too.
- [Command bar](https://resurf.so/guides/command-bar.md): Search your library and run commands from the keyboard: go somewhere, add a filter, switch the theme or open a setting.
- [Every guide](https://resurf.so/llms.txt)