Combine similar items into a stack

A stack shows related items as one pile. Use stacks to tidy a list that has many similar images. You can expand a stack at any time to see each item.

Combine items into a stack

1. Select the items you want to combine.
2. Choose Item > Stacking > Stack. The selected items collapse into one.

You can also drag an item onto another item to make a stack of the two. The item you drop onto becomes the cover.

To expand a stack, select it and choose Item > Stacking > Expand Stack. To fold it again, choose Collapse Stack. The right-click menu has a Stacking submenu with the same items. Expand All Stacks and Collapse All Stacks open and close every stack at once.

To dissolve a stack, select it and choose Item > Stacking > Unstack. To take out just one item, choose Remove from Stack.

Find similar items

1. Select an image item.
2. Choose Item > Find Similar Items. Items that look similar appear in a list.
3. To combine them with the one you chose, right-click an item in the list and choose Stack These with Original.

Images are compared on your Mac.

Auto-stack similar items

This stacks all similar items in the list you’re viewing.

1. Show the list you want to tidy. You can select a collection to stack only what it contains.
2. Choose Item > Stacking > Auto-Stack Similar….
3. In the confirmation, click Stack.

You can’t undo an auto-stack in one step with Edit > Undo, and the undo history is cleared. Use Unstack one stack at a time instead. If there is nothing to combine, you’ll see “No similar items were close enough to stack.”