Hey guys I am getting so frustrated with apple's Mac operating system compared with windows which is so simple and useful. I want to edit my photos directly from the finder/external hard drive. I don't have time to fuss about importing these into the 'Photo App'. I just want to click on the photo and edit it there and then just like on a windows computer. How can I do this?
iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.12
Go to the App Store and do a search for "Image Editor" and "Photo Editor". You'll get a number of options ranging from free to $50 or more.
Since you're coming over from a PC environment DO NOT install and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac. They are not necessary.
Note: unless you're using a true VPN tunnel, such as between you and your employer's, school's or bank's servers, they provide false security from a privacy standpoint.
It’s not the same… windows is built in. You just double click on the file and edit and save. I basically need it to open like it would if it was imported into the photo app… but I just organize my photos within the hard drive in folders. I have adobe lightroom for more serious editing, but that takes a while to import and organize etc. I just want something simple like in windows.
Yes the photos by default open up in preview but I wasn’t aware there was any editing options. That’s basically what I’m looking for. If the preview app had the basic editing options that would be perfect for quick edits.
This article describes what the editing tools in Preview do.
Annotate an image in Preview on Mac - Apple Support
It talks about way more than "Annotate an image."
Exactly the same as Windows. Install a photo editor and use the open command on that app.
You don't have to use Photos. You can, for instance, use Preview, a limited editor, but there is no requirement to use the Photos app at all.
I guess I don't understand why or how you're using Lightroom, as it is designed to be your Photo manager...
How to edit photos from hard drive directly
