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It's been over 10 years – don't think tone is a problem anymore

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{{Short description|Application form for viewing computer file contents}}
{{redirect|Document viewer|the viewer included in GNOME|Evince}}
{{about|programs for looking inside files|programs for looking at lists of files|file browser}}
{{More sources needed|date=September 2014}}

A '''file viewer''' is a utility [[application software]] on operating systems, such as [[Linux]], [[macOS]], or [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]. The file viewer is responsible for user access of files located on a [[Data storage|data storage device]]. File viewers allow the user to open and view content<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is a File Viewer? |url=https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/f/fileview.htm |access-date=2023-11-20 |website=computerhope.com |language=en}}</ref> on a device, such as a [[Personal computer|Personal Computer]] (PC) or a [[mobile phone]].

==Overview==
File viewer applications can be categorized based on their functionality:

* '''File Viewer Only''' applications do not allow the user to edit files.
* '''File Viewer and Converter''' applications allow viewing data, exporting data in a different [[file format]], and copying information to the [[clipboard (computing)|clipboard]].
* '''File Viewer and Editor''' applications allow the user to view existing files, modify an existing file's content, or create a new file of a specific type.
Differences in functionality are often due to software licensing and proprietary file formats. Some formats can be freely viewed but require specific software for creation or modification. For example, [[.dbf|.DBF]] files created in [[DBase|dBASE]] could be viewed in [[Norton Commander]], while [[PDF|.PDF]] files require software like [[Adobe Photoshop]], [[LibreOffice]], or [[Microsoft Word]] for editing, whereas [[Acrobat Reader]] supports only viewing.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to read PDF files on a PC: Read PDFs on PC |url=https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/hub/how-to-read-pdfs-on-pc.html |access-date=2024-04-21 |website=Adobe}}</ref>

To function correctly, a file viewer must interpret the structural information of a file format, such as [[byte order]], character encoding, and [[newline]] styles. Media file viewers, such as [[List of video player software|video players]], often rely on [[Video codecs|codecs]] rather than built-in [[File format|format]] support. This approach allows users to extend a media viewer’s compatibility with additional file types.

Some editors, such as [[Audacity (audio editor)|Audacity]], allow users to open files as raw data,<ref>{{Cite web |title=File Menu: Import - Audacity Manual |url=https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/file_menu_import.html |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=Audacity}}</ref> a feature sometimes used in [[glitch art]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-26 |title=Databending using Audacity Effects |url=https://questionsomething.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/databending-using-audacity-effects/ |access-date=2024-03-08 |website=Question Something |language=en}}</ref> Additionally, some file viewers act as [[filter (Unix)|filter]]s that convert binary files into text (e.g., [[antiword]]), though this may result in data loss.

[[Image viewer]]s display graphic files on screen. Some viewers, such as [[IrfanView]],<ref>[https://i.ntnu.no/wiki/-/wiki/English/IrfanView "IrfanView - Kunnskapsbasen"]. ''NTNU''. Retrieved 2025-03-05.</ref> can read multiple [[Image file format|graphic file formats]], while others, such as [[JPEGview]] only support a single format. Common image viewer features include [[thumbnail]] preview and creation, image zooming and rotation, color balance and gamma correction, resizing, etc.

A [[web browser]] functions as a file viewer for [[HTML]] and various other file types. While HTML files are stored as plain text, web browsers render them into a structured, human-readable format.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How the Web Browser Renders a Web Page |url=https://pdfguru.com/organize-pdf |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250305121515/https://codefinity.com/blog/How-the-Web-Browser-Renders-a-Web-Page |archive-date=2025-03-05 |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=Codefinity |language=en}}</ref> Additionally, web browsers can display [[multimedia]] files, including [[Image|images]], [[Video|videos]], preformatted documents, and interactive content such as [[3D modeling|3D models]], [[augmented reality]] and [[virtual reality]] elements.

==Examples of File Viewers==
===Plain text files===
*[[Less (Unix)]]
*[[Gedit|gedit (Unix)]]
*[[Most (Unix)]]
*[[pg (Unix)]]
*[[More (command)]]
*[[Vi (text editor)|vi]]
*[[Windows Notepad|notepad]]

===Microsoft Office documents===
*[[Microsoft Word Viewer]]
*[[Microsoft Excel Viewer]]
*[[PowerPoint Viewer]]

===PDF files===
*[[Adobe Acrobat]]
*[[Atril]]
*[[Evince]]
*[[PDF.js]]
*see [[:Category:PDF readers]]

=== Image files ===
*[[Directory Opus]]
*[[IrfanView]]
*[[ACDSee]]
*[[XnView]]

=== Video and audio files ===

* [[Media Player Classic]]
* [[Windows Media Player]]
* [[VLC media player|VLC]]

===Binary files===
*[[HIEW|Hiew]]
*[[UltraEdit]]
*[[Midnight Commander]]
*[[ExifTool]]

=== Programming languages source code files ===

* [[Notepad++]]
* [[Visual Studio Code|VS Code]]

=== VRML and 3D models files ===

* [[VRML Viewer]]
* [[FreeWRL]]
* [[view3dscene]]
* [[Microsoft 3D Viewer|Microsoft 3D viewer]]

===Microsoft Project plan files===
*[[Microsoft Project]]
*[[Seavus Project Viewer (software)]]

==See also==
*[[Binary file#Viewing binary files]]
*[[Electronic document]]
*[[Image viewer]]
*[[Media player (application software)|Media player]]
*[[Text editor]]
*[[Web browser]]
*[[Terminal pager]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{GUI widgets}}
[[Category:File managers]]
[[Category:Graphical user interfaces]]

File viewer - Revision history

imported>Newbzy: It's been over 10 years – don't think tone is a problem anymore