Preview pane

config.h.meson.in

@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 #mesondefine HAVE_EXEMPI
 // Define to enable EXIF support
 #mesondefine HAVE_EXIF
+// Define to enable audio/video preview (GStreamer)
+#mesondefine HAVE_GSTREAMER
 // Define if libselinux is available
 #mesondefine HAVE_SELINUX
 // Define to use gtk-layer-shell

data/icons/meson.build

@@ -22,6 +22,10 @@ publicIcons = [
   'hicolor/actions/scalable/nemo-sidebar-hide-symbolic-rtl.svg',
   'hicolor/actions/scalable/nemo-sidebar-show-symbolic.svg',
   'hicolor/actions/scalable/nemo-sidebar-show-symbolic-rtl.svg',
+  'hicolor/actions/scalable/nemo-preview-hide-symbolic.svg',
+  'hicolor/actions/scalable/nemo-preview-hide-symbolic-rtl.svg',
+  'hicolor/actions/scalable/nemo-preview-show-symbolic.svg',
+  'hicolor/actions/scalable/nemo-preview-show-symbolic-rtl.svg',
   'hicolor/actions/scalable/nemo-sidebar-tree-symbolic.svg',
   'hicolor/actions/scalable/nemo-sidebar-tree-symbolic-rtl.svg',
   'hicolor/actions/scalable/nemo-sidebar-places-symbolic.svg',

debian/control

@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ Build-Depends:
  libglib2.0-dev (>= 2.45.7),
  libglib2.0-doc,
  libgsf-1-dev,
+ libgstreamer1.0-dev,
+ libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-dev,
  libgtk-3-dev (>= 3.10),
  libgtk-3-doc,
  libgtk-layer-shell-dev,
@@ -85,6 +87,8 @@ Depends:
  cinnamon-l10n,
  desktop-file-utils (>= 0.7),
  gsettings-desktop-schemas,
+ gstreamer1.0-gtk3,
+ gstreamer1.0-plugins-base,
  gvfs (>= 1.3.2),
  libglib2.0-data,
  libnemo-extension1 (= ${binary:Version}),
@@ -101,6 +105,7 @@ Depends:
  ${misc:Depends},
  ${shlibs:Depends},
 Recommends:
+ gstreamer1.0-plugins-good,
  gvfs-backends,
  gvfs-fuse,
  librsvg2-common,

gresources/nemo-shell-ui.xml

@@ -72,7 +72,8 @@
             <menuitem name="Show Hide Menubar" action="Show Hide Menubar"/>
 			<menuitem name="Show Hide Statusbar" action="Show Hide Statusbar"/>
             <separator/>
-			<menuitem name="Show Hide Extra Pane" action="Show Hide Extra Pane"/>
+            <menuitem name="Show Hide Extra Pane" action="Show Hide Extra Pane"/>
+            <menuitem name="Show Hide Preview Pane" action="Show Hide Preview Pane"/>
             <menuitem name="Edit Location" action="Edit Location"/>
 		</placeholder>
 		<separator/>

gresources/nemo-shortcuts.ui

@@ -302,6 +302,13 @@
                 <property name="accelerator">F9</property>
               </object>
             </child>
+            <child>
+              <object class="GtkShortcutsShortcut">
+                <property name="visible">True</property>
+                <property name="title" translatable="yes" context="shortcut window">Show/hide preview pane</property>
+                <property name="accelerator">F7</property>
+              </object>
+            </child>
             <child>
               <object class="GtkShortcutsShortcut">
                 <property name="visible">True</property>

libnemo-private/meson.build

@@ -59,6 +59,10 @@ nemo_private_sources = [
   'nemo-mount-operation.c',
   'nemo-placement-grid.c',
   'nemo-places-tree-view.c',
+  'nemo-preview-details.c',
+  'nemo-preview-image.c',
+  'nemo-preview-image-info.c',
+  'nemo-preview-info.c',
   'nemo-program-choosing.c',
   'nemo-progress-info-manager.c',
   'nemo-progress-info.c',
@@ -90,6 +94,7 @@ nemo_private_deps = [
 ]
 
 if libexif_enabled
+  nemo_private_sources += 'nemo-exif-utils.c'
   nemo_private_deps += libexif
 endif
 
@@ -102,6 +107,11 @@ if libselinux_enabled
   nemo_private_deps += libselinux
 endif
 
+if video_preview_enabled
+  nemo_private_sources += ['nemo-preview-media-info.c', 'nemo-preview-video.c']
+  nemo_private_deps += [gstreamer, gst_pbutils, gst_app, gst_video]
+endif
+
 if gtk_layer_shell_enabled
   nemo_private_deps += gtk_layer_shell
 endif

libnemo-private/nemo-debug.c

@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ static GDebugKey keys[] = {
   { "Thumbnails", NEMO_DEBUG_THUMBNAILS },
   { "Search", NEMO_DEBUG_SEARCH },
   { "Preferences", NEMO_DEBUG_PREFERENCES },
+  { "PreviewPane", NEMO_DEBUG_PREVIEW_PANE },
   { 0, }
 };
 

libnemo-private/nemo-debug.h

@@ -51,7 +51,8 @@ typedef enum {
   NEMO_DEBUG_DESKTOP = 1 << 16,
   NEMO_DEBUG_THUMBNAILS = 1 << 17,
   NEMO_DEBUG_SEARCH = 1 << 18,
-  NEMO_DEBUG_PREFERENCES = 1 << 19
+  NEMO_DEBUG_PREFERENCES = 1 << 19,
+  NEMO_DEBUG_PREVIEW_PANE = 1 << 20
 } DebugFlags;
 
 void nemo_debug_set_flags (DebugFlags flags);

libnemo-private/nemo-exif-utils.c

@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+/* -*- Mode: C; indent-tabs-mode: nil; c-basic-offset: 4; tab-width: 4 -*- */
+
+/*
+ * nemo-exif-utils.c - EXIF string helpers shared by the properties page and preview pane
+ *
+ * Copyright (C) 2026 Linux Mint
+ *
+ * Nemo is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the
+ * License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * Nemo is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public
+ * License along with this program; see the file COPYING.  If not,
+ * write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street - Suite 500,
+ * Boston, MA 02110-1335, USA.
+ */
+
+#include <config.h>
+#include "nemo-exif-utils.h"
+#include <eel/eel-vfs-extensions.h>
+
+gchar *
+nemo_exif_string_to_utf8 (const gchar *exif_str)
+{
+    gchar *utf8_str;
+
+    if (g_utf8_validate (exif_str, -1, NULL)) {
+        return g_strdup (exif_str);
+    }
+
+    utf8_str = g_locale_to_utf8 (exif_str, -1, NULL, NULL, NULL);
+
+    if (utf8_str != NULL) {
+        return utf8_str;
+    }
+
+    return eel_make_valid_utf8 (exif_str);
+}
+
+gchar *
+nemo_exif_get_tag_value_utf8 (ExifData *data,
+                              ExifTag   tag)
+{
+    ExifEntry *entry;
+    gchar buffer[1024];
+
+    entry = exif_data_get_entry (data, tag);
+
+    if (entry == NULL || exif_entry_get_value (entry, buffer, sizeof (buffer)) == NULL) {
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    return nemo_exif_string_to_utf8 (buffer);
+}

libnemo-private/nemo-exif-utils.h

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+/* -*- Mode: C; indent-tabs-mode: nil; c-basic-offset: 4; tab-width: 4 -*- */
+
+/*
+ * nemo-exif-utils.h - EXIF string helpers shared by the properties page and preview pane
+ *
+ * Copyright (C) 2026 Linux Mint
+ *
+ * Nemo is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the
+ * License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * Nemo is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public
+ * License along with this program; see the file COPYING.  If not,
+ * write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street - Suite 500,
+ * Boston, MA 02110-1335, USA.
+ */
+
+#ifndef NEMO_EXIF_UTILS_H
+#define NEMO_EXIF_UTILS_H
+
+#include <glib.h>
+#include <libexif/exif-data.h>
+
+gchar *nemo_exif_string_to_utf8        (const gchar *exif_str);
+gchar *nemo_exif_get_tag_value_utf8    (ExifData    *data,
+                                        ExifTag      tag);
+
+#endif /* NEMO_EXIF_UTILS_H */

libnemo-private/nemo-file.c

@@ -4314,6 +4314,18 @@ nemo_file_get_activation_location (NemoFile *file)
 	return nemo_file_get_location (file);
 }
 
+char *
+nemo_file_get_activation_path (NemoFile *file)
+{
+    g_autoptr(GFile) location = NULL;
+
+    g_return_val_if_fail (NEMO_IS_FILE (file), NULL);
+
+    location = nemo_file_get_activation_location (file);
+
+    return g_file_get_path (location);
+}
+
 
 char *
 nemo_file_get_drop_target_uri (NemoFile *file)
@@ -4646,6 +4658,18 @@ nemo_file_has_loaded_thumbnail (NemoFile *file)
     return file->details->thumbnail_is_up_to_date;
 }
 
+char *
+nemo_file_get_thumbnail_path (NemoFile *file)
+{
+    g_return_val_if_fail (NEMO_IS_FILE (file), NULL);
+
+    if (file->details->thumbnail_path != NULL) {
+        return g_strdup (file->details->thumbnail_path);
+    }
+
+    return NULL;
+}
+
 static void
 prepend_icon_name (const char *name,
 		   GThemedIcon *icon)
@@ -5192,56 +5216,25 @@ nemo_date_type_to_string (NemoDateType type)
     return "(unknown)";
 }
 
-/**
- * nemo_file_get_date_as_string:
- *
- * Get a user-displayable string representing a file modification date.
- * The caller is responsible for g_free-ing this string.
- * @file: NemoFile representing the file in question.
- *
- * Returns: Newly allocated string ready to display to the user.
- *
- **/
 static char *
-nemo_file_get_date_as_string (NemoFile       *file,
-                              NemoDateType    date_type,
-                              NemoDateCompactFormat  date_format)
+format_date_time (GDateTime             *file_date_time,
+                  NemoDateCompactFormat  date_format)
 {
-	time_t file_time_raw;
-    GDateTime *file_date_time, *file_date_time_utc;
     GDateTime *today_midnight, *now;
     GTimeZone *current_timezone;
 	gint days_ago;
 	gboolean use_24;
 	const gchar *format;
-	gchar *result;
     int date_format_pref;
 
-  	if (!nemo_file_get_date (file, date_type, &file_time_raw))
-		return NULL;
-
     current_timezone = prefs_current_timezone;
 
-    file_date_time_utc = g_date_time_new_from_unix_utc (file_time_raw);
-
-    if (!file_date_time_utc) {
-        DEBUG ("File '%s' has invalid time for %s",
-               nemo_file_peek_name (file),
-               nemo_date_type_to_string (date_type));
-        return NULL;
-    }
-
-    file_date_time = g_date_time_to_timezone (file_date_time_utc, current_timezone);
-    g_date_time_unref (file_date_time_utc);
-
     date_format_pref = prefs_current_date_format;
 
 	if (date_format_pref == NEMO_DATE_FORMAT_LOCALE) {
-		result = g_date_time_format (file_date_time, "%c");
-		goto out;
+		return g_date_time_format (file_date_time, "%c");
 	} else if (date_format_pref == NEMO_DATE_FORMAT_ISO) {
-		result = g_date_time_format (file_date_time, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S");
-		goto out;
+		return g_date_time_format (file_date_time, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S");
 	}
 
     if (date_format != NEMO_DATE_FORMAT_FULL) {
@@ -5364,12 +5357,54 @@ nemo_file_get_date_as_string (NemoFile       *file,
 		format = _("%c");
 	}
 
-	result = g_date_time_format (file_date_time, format);
+	return g_date_time_format (file_date_time, format);
+}
 
- out:
-	g_date_time_unref (file_date_time);
+char *
+nemo_date_time_to_display_string (GDateTime *date_time)
+{
+    return format_date_time (date_time, NEMO_DATE_FORMAT_REGULAR_WITH_TIME);
+}
 
-	return result;
+/**
+ * nemo_file_get_date_as_string:
+ * @file: NemoFile representing the file in question.
+ * @date_type: which of the file's dates to use.
+ * @date_format: how compactly to format it.
+ *
+ * Get a user-displayable string for the given date of @file.
+ *
+ * Returns: Newly allocated string ready to display to the user, or NULL.
+ *
+ **/
+static char *
+nemo_file_get_date_as_string (NemoFile       *file,
+                              NemoDateType    date_type,
+                              NemoDateCompactFormat  date_format)
+{
+    time_t file_time_raw;
+    GDateTime *file_date_time, *file_date_time_utc;
+    gchar *result;
+
+    if (!nemo_file_get_date (file, date_type, &file_time_raw))
+        return NULL;
+
+    file_date_time_utc = g_date_time_new_from_unix_utc (file_time_raw);
+
+    if (!file_date_time_utc) {
+        DEBUG ("File '%s' has invalid time for %s",
+               nemo_file_peek_name (file),
+               nemo_date_type_to_string (date_type));
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    file_date_time = g_date_time_to_timezone (file_date_time_utc, prefs_current_timezone);
+    g_date_time_unref (file_date_time_utc);
+
+    result = format_date_time (file_date_time, date_format);
+    g_date_time_unref (file_date_time);
+
+    return result;
 }
 
 static NemoSpeedTradeoffValue show_directory_item_count;