How can I make Finder display video file duration?

I have to open the files in VLC to see what the file duration is which frankly is ridiculous due to Finder not showing any information, even if I look in Get Info there is nothing

Is there a way to force it to calculate the duration for all the video files? avi, mp4, mkv etc..

adolf garlic

Posted 2016-01-11T20:19:10.223

Reputation: 1 618

Answers

Yes, you can do that. This tip comes from an Apple engineer and it works on list view too. Here we go:

create two directories and call them directory Pictures or Movies and put your pictures and movies on those directories.
if you look at the view options of the Pictures directory you see two new options: dimensions and resolution.
the Movies directory will show you four new options: dimensions, durations, title and codecs.

Enjoy!

SpaceDog

Posted 2016-01-11T20:19:10.223

Reputation: 1 318

4The folder name (e.g. Movies) needs to have a capital letter at the start. Afterwards you can change the name, once you have selected duration. – Paul – 2017-04-21T12:37:41.800

2This iOS design is really unintuitive! – MonsieurBeilto – 2018-09-17T20:39:29.080

3@MonsieurBeilto - MacOS is filled with hidden stuff. For some reason, Apple hates to inform users. – SpaceDog – 2018-09-19T14:20:39.803

You can get Finder to display video file durations by hitting Command+J and checking "Show item info". Some drawbacks though:

It is not available in the list mode for some reason
If you don't see the duration in Get Info, Finder probably does not know how to parse it. MP4 files should work though.

Krumelur

Posted 2016-01-11T20:19:10.223

Reputation: 587

In finder show the items in the list view > Right click the sorting categories title[where it says Name, Date Modified, and etc] and choose duration.

Aaron N

Posted 2016-01-11T20:19:10.223

Reputation: 1