File viewer

Application form for viewing computer file contents

"Document viewer" redirects here. For the viewer included in GNOME, see Evince.

This article is about programs for looking inside files. For programs for looking at lists of files, see file browser.

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A file viewer is a utility application software on operating systems, such as Linux, macOS, or Windows. The file viewer is responsible for user access of files located on a data storage device. File viewers allow the user to open and view content[1] on a device, such as a Personal Computer (PC) or a mobile phone.

## Overview[edit]

File viewer applications can be split into the following categories:

* 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.
* 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.

The difference in file viewers' functionality initially resulted from how proprietary file formats were licensed. While all file formats can be read freely, some software licenses allow only the licensor to create and modify files. For example, the database software DBASE used a proprietary algorithm for creating .DBF files, but Norton Commander had a built-in viewer for .DBF files. A software application such as Adobe Photoshop, LibreOffice, or Microsoft Word is required to create .PDF files, but Acrobat Reader supports viewing of .PDF files.[2]

A file format must have structural information that allows a file viewer to handle different byte orders, code pages or newline styles. In contrast, media file viewers, such as video player applications, may initially support few, if any, file formats. Media file viewers instead rely on video codecs to play various media, allowing users to expand a media file viewer's capability to read and represent media file data.

However, some media editors, such as Audacity, allow you to open most files as "raw data."[3] This has been used by artists to make glitch art.[4]

Some file viewers are filters that translate binary files into plain text (e.g., antiword). However some information may be lost depending on the translating routines.

Image viewers display graphic files on screen. Some viewers, such as IrfanView, can read multiple 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 is a type of file viewer that renders HTML markup into a human-friendly presentation. Although HTML is stored in plain text files, viewing an HTML file in a browser and in a text editor produces significantly different results. Web browsers may also view multimedia files such as images, videos, preformatted documents, interactive environments, 3D models, augmented reality and virtual reality applets.

## Examples of File Viewers[edit]

### Plain text files[edit]

* Less (Unix)
* gedit (Unix)
* Most (Unix)
* pg (Unix)
* More (command)
* vi
* notepad

### Microsoft Office documents[edit]

* Microsoft Word Viewer
* Microsoft Excel Viewer
* PowerPoint Viewer
* Antiword

### PDF files[edit]

* Adobe Acrobat
* Atril
* Evince
* PDF.js
* see Category:PDF readers

### Image files[edit]

* Directory Opus
* IrfanView
* ACDSee
* XnView

### Video and audio files[edit]

* Media Player Classic
* Windows Media Player
* VLC

### Binary files[edit]

* Hiew
* UltraEdit
* Midnight Commander
* ExifTool

### Programming languages source code files[edit]

* Notepad++
* VS Code

### VRML and 3D models files[edit]

* VRML Viewer
* FreeWRL
* view3dscene
* Microsoft 3D viewer

### Microsoft Project plan files[edit]

* Microsoft Project
* Seavus Project Viewer (software)

## See also[edit]

* Binary file#Viewing binary files
* Electronic document
* Image viewer
* Media player
* Text editor
* Web browser
* Terminal pager

## References[edit]

1. ^ "What is a File Viewer?". www.computerhope.com. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
2. ^ "How to read PDF files on a PC: Read PDFs on PC | Adobe Acrobat". www.adobe.com. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
3. ^ "File Menu: Import - Audacity Manual". manual.audacityteam.org. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
4. ^ "Databending using Audacity Effects". Question Something. 2012-07-26. Retrieved 2024-03-08.

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Graphical control elements

Command input|

* Adjustment handle
* Button
* Context menu
* Drop-down list
* Hamburger button
* Menu
* Pie menu

Data input-output|

* Checkbox
* Color picker
* Combo box
* Cycle button
* Date picker
* Grid view
* Toggle switch
* List box
* List builder
* Radio button
* Scrollbar
* Search box
* Slider
* Spinner
* Text box

Informational|

* Balloon help
* Head-up display in computing
* HUD in video games
* Icon
* Infobar
* Label
* Loading screen
* Progress indicator
* Progress bar
* Splash screen
* Throbber
* Sidebar
* Status bar
* Toast
* Tooltip

Containers|

* Accordion
* Tree view
* Client-side decoration
* Disclosure widget
* Frame / Fieldset
* Menu bar
* Panel
* Popover
* Ribbon
* Tab
* Toolbar
* Window
* Window decoration
* Workspace

Navigational|

* Address bar
* Breadcrumb navigation
* Hyperlink
* Navigation bar
* Virtual desktop

Special windows|

* Alert dialog box
* Dialog box
* File dialog
* Inspector window
* Modal window
* Palette window

Related concepts|

* File viewer
* List of graphical user interface elements
* Layout manager
* Look and feel
* Mouseover
* Scrolling
* Widget toolkit
* WIMP
* Zoomable user interface

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