Most viewers are capable of reading multiple graphics file formats but some such as JPEGview are dedicated to a single format. Image viewers display graphics files onscreen. However, depending on the competence of the translating routines, some information may be lost. Some file viewer may be classified as filters that translate binary files into plain text (one example antiword).
Instead, it is used only to display or print the content.įile viewers have to have sufficient knowledge about the file format to be viewed in order to handle different byte orders, code pages or newline styles. A file viewer is limited-functionality software in the sense that it does not have a capability to create a file, or modify the content of an existing one. File viewers do not edit files, yet it is common for them to be able to export data in a different file format, or to copy information from the viewed to the system-wide clipboard.
