Look at a photo up close
Open a photo full screen, move between photos, and download the original.
Double-click any photo on your Timeline to open it full screen. A single click selects it. On a phone or tablet, tap it. The viewer is always dark, so your photos look their best whatever theme you use.
Move between photos
- Use the arrows on the left and right of the photo to go to the Previous photo or Next photo.
- The counter at the top shows where you are, for example “12 of 240”.
- Click Close (the × in the top corner) to go back to your timeline.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| Left arrow | Previous photo |
| Right arrow | Next photo |
| E | Edit the photo (editors only) |
| Delete or Backspace | Move the photo to the trash (editors only) |
| Esc | Close the viewer |
What you see under the photo
Along the bottom, the viewer shows what we know about the photo:
- The date and local time it was taken, with the time zone when the camera recorded one.
- Date uncertain, if we couldn’t find a reliable date. See Find your way around the timeline.
- The caption, when there is one, labelled Written by AI, with any keywords AI suggested. See AI captions and keywords.
- The title and the camera, when the photo has them.
- The place, when the photo has one. Click it to see your timeline with only the photos from that place. See People, places and things. In an album that belongs to another library, the place is plain text.
- Who uploaded it and when, for example “Uploaded by you”.
- A badge such as 2 copies, when the photo has other copies. Click it to compare them. See Duplicate copies of a photo.
Edit a photo
If you can edit in this library, click Edit to fix colour, light, sharpness and red eyes. Edited photos show an Edited badge. See Edit your photos.
Move a photo to the trash
If you can edit in this library, click Move to trash to remove the photo. It waits in the trash for 30 days, and you can bring it back. See Delete and restore photos.
Videos and RAW files
If a video or RAW camera file has no preview yet, the viewer shows the same placeholder as the timeline: an icon labelled Video or RAW file, with the file name. Download original is still offered, so you can save the file. See Upload photos and videos.
RAW+JPEG photos
When you shoot RAW+JPEG, the camera saves two files of the same shot. We show them as one photo with a RAW+JPEG badge, on the tile and in the viewer. Hover over the badge in the viewer to read what it means.
The photo you see is the JPEG. The RAW file is kept with it and still counts toward your storage. In an album, both files show as separate photos.
To download either file, use the two links next to the download icon: JPEG saves the JPEG, and RAW (for example RAW (.CR2)) saves the RAW file. A photo with only one file has a single Download original link.
If you move the photo to the trash, only the JPEG goes. The RAW file stays in your timeline on its own, without the badge. See Delete and restore photos.
Place names come from GeoNames (https://www.geonames.org/), used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence (CC BY 4.0).
Download the original
If you’re allowed to download from the library, click Download original to save the file exactly as it was uploaded, at full quality. To download many photos at once, see Download photos.