File viewer
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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
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
A file format must have structural information that allows a file viewer to handle different
Some media editors, such as Audacity, allow users to open most files as "raw data."[3] This has been used by artists to make glitch art.[4]
Some file viewers are
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
Plain text files
Microsoft Office documents
- Microsoft Word Viewer
- Microsoft Excel Viewer
- PowerPoint Viewer
- Antiword
PDF files
- Adobe Acrobat
- Atril
- Evince
- PDF.js
- see Category:PDF readers
Image files
Video and audio files
Binary files
Programming languages source code files
VRML and 3D models files
Microsoft Project plan files
- Microsoft Project
- Seavus Project Viewer (software)
See also
- Binary file#Viewing binary files
- Electronic document
- Image viewer
- Media player
- Text editor
- Web browser
- Terminal pager
References
- ^ "What is a File Viewer?". www.computerhope.com. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
- ^ "How to read PDF files on a PC: Read PDFs on PC | Adobe Acrobat". www.adobe.com. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ^ "File Menu: Import - Audacity Manual". manual.audacityteam.org. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ "Databending using Audacity Effects". Question Something. 2012-07-26. Retrieved 2024-03-08.