View - Check the Contents of a

Software by Mike Robinson

File View
Check the Contents of a File

FileView is a FREE program. Donation of $10 is requested but not required. All features are enabled. No time limit. No advertising. No spyware. No nag screens.

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If you are in Windows Explorer just select the and right click and use the "Send To" and then select "FileView" as shown here:

It pops up the information screen shown at the top of this page. It does this without leaving Windows Explorer.

You can also run FileView as a stand-alone program from the FileView desktop shortcut. In this mode it pops up a menu to select the to view.

FileView can read the basic information such as size and date of any type. If you click the "Get Extra Info" checkbox the program will display all of the unique extra information in the header for that particular type. It can read extra information for these types:

ANI -- Animated Cursor (Shown Animated)
ARJ -- ARJ Compressed Archive
AVI -- AVI Video
BMP -- BMP Image
CAB -- Microsoft Cabinet (Compressed Archive)
CUR -- Cursor Image
EXE -- Executable Program
GIF -- GIF Image or Animated GIF Image
ICO -- Icon Image
JPG -- JPG Image (including EXIF extended info)
JPEG - JPG Image (including EXIF extended info)
MP3 -- MP3 Audio
PCX -- PCX Image
PNG -- PNG Image
SCR -- Windows Screensaver
TTF -- TrueType Font
TXT -- Text
WAV -- WAV Audio
ZIP -- ZIP Compressed Archive

Image files are displayed on the far right if Show Picture box is checked. Animated GIF files are shown animated, such as this cheetah:

This is a 32 bit program and will run on Windows ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8, 10, and Windows 11. It also runs fine on 64-bit systems.

See the bottom of this page if you would like to donate $10.00 (Ten US Dollars). Donation is requested but not required. This free program is fully functional. No features have been removed. No time limit. It contains no spyware, no advertising, no nag screens.

Windows Explorer Mode

The first time FileView runs it places a link to itself in your Windows "Send To" folder. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the and then right click and select "Send To" menu item then select "FileView" menu item. This sends the to FileView.

StandAlone Desktop Mode

Double-click on the FileView shortcut on the desktop and the program opens in StandAlone Mode. Click the "Select File" button and a window pops up to navigate to the files you want to View. You can also View files using the "File" menu at the top of the screen.

Operations

Once you have selected a file, you can perform a number of different operations on the file.
These are available using the "Actions" main menu item:

Or use the identical "Actions" button drop-down menu:

Open - Opens the using the default program defined in your Windows setup for this type. For example, if it is a Microsoft PowerPoint it will open PowerPoint and show the file.

Properties - Opens the standard Microsoft properties screen for the file. This is the same screen you see in Windows Explorer if you right click on a and select properties. This screen allows you to change the attributes of the such as "Read-only" and "Hidden" attributes. If also shows the Digital Signatures if the has been signed.

Data to File - Allows you to save all of the information to a text that looks like this:

Data to Clipboard - Sends all of the information shown above to the Windows clipboard.

Name to Clipboard - Sends the full path and name to the Windows clipboard.

File to Clipboard - Sends the entire file to the Windows clipboard.

Copy File - Allows you to make a copy of the in a folder.

View (Hex) - Opens the Viewer to examine the detailed contents inside the file:

The Hex (hexadecimal) view is show above. Using the "Options" menu item on the top you can change the view to Hex Filtered Mode that filters out all of the non-text characters, or Text Mode that shows the as if it were all text.

On the first line of the above you can see the text "Exif" that means the contains extended Exif information typical of JPG files produced by digital cameras. This Exif info often contains much additional information such as the camera model, exposure settings, and date the photo was taken.

Using the menu at the top of the viewer you can also search for text, go to a line number, copy some or all of the contents, or change the character font of the display. All of these functions are read-only so the contents of the will not be changed.

Get Extra Info Checkbox

If you check this box, you will get all of the available information. If you do not check this box, you will get just the basic information: name, size, date/time (modified, created, accessed), attributes, and type.

The extra info includes a value called the CRC32 (Cyclic Redundancy Check). This is an 8 digit hexadecimal value that is unique to that particular file. If just one byte in the is changed the CRC will change. This is a good way to detect tampering. If you look inside of a ZIP compressed archive you will see that the ZIP program saves the CRC of each in the ZIP so that it can be sure the has not been altered.

In order to compute the CRC the program must read the entire file. If this takes too long for a large you may want to uncheck the "Get Extra Info" checkbox.

Show Picture Checkbox

If you check this box, and the is an image file, a small copy of the image will be shown on the right. If you click on the image, a window will open with a full-size view of the image.

View Digests Button

Digests are Cryptographic Hash Functions named SHA-1, SHA-256, and MD5. These are the calculated strings of letters and numbers that are unique to that file. Theoretically, no two files can have the same digest. If the digest of a has not changed, that is good evidence that the has not been altered.

To check a digest, copy the expected digest text to the Windows Clipboard. Then press this button, and the value in the clipboard will be compared to all of the digests, and will show a match if it exists.

Options Menu

The options menu contains the following options:

Save on Exit - Check this menu item and the current settings will be saved and remembered the next time you run the program.

Stay on Top - Check this menu item and FileView will stay on top of your other windows.

Install

The first time you run FileView it will automatically put a shortcut to itself in your SendTo folder.

As an Administrator run the program fileview-setup.exe to install the program. The install program will overwrite any previous version so you are not required to uninstall older versions. The install program will create a folder, copy all the files to the folder, and create shortcuts on the desktop and the start menu. This is a 32-bit program designed for Windows 98, ME, 2000, NT, XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8, 10, and Windows 11, It also runs fine on 64-bit systems. The program saves its settings in the Windows Registry when you exit from the program.

An alternate install method is to download the executable fileview.exe and then just run the program. You can create your own Desktop Shortcut or other shortcut links.

UnInstall

Open Windows Control Panel, select Programs and Features, select the program in the list of programs, and click the uninstall button, or right click on the program and select Uninstall in the menu. The Windows uninstall system will then run and remove the program. These steps are for Windows 10 and Windows 11 and may be slightly different in other Windows versions.

If you installed the program manually then delete the files to uninstall the program, and also delete any Desktop Shortcut or other shortcut links.

Then delete this entire key in the Windows Registry :

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Michael_Robinson\FileView

Saved Settings

When the program closes it remembers all of its settings by saving them in the Windows registry. It saves the size and location of the program on your desktop, Get Extra Info checkbox, Stay on Top setting, Save on Exit setting, viewer hex/text mode, and viewer filter setting. The next time you use the program it will open the same folder used in the last view.

Support

Send your questions and comments to: ElegantPie@HotMail.com

I fully support this program and will usually answer within 24 hours.

The latest version is always available on my Home Page:

https://elegantpie.com

Legal Stuff

This program is Copyright © 2021 Michael Robinson. All Rights Reserved. Use this program at your own risk. You may give this away free, but you may not sell it. It must be distributed as a package along with all files. Modification of the files is prohibited.

Revision History

1.0.0 Oct 6, 2021 Initial Public Release

Digital Signature

I purchased a Code Signing Certificate from Certificate Authority (CA) company Sectigo and used it to digitally sign (and timestamp) program executable fileview.exe and install program fileview-setup.exe. The signature says it was signed by MICHAEL ROBINSON. Code Signing proves that the program actually came from me and has not been modified by a hacker since it was signed.

Run Windows Explorer (explorer.exe) right click on the and select Properties:

Then click on the tab Digital Signatures, and click the Details button:

Then click the View Certificate button to see my certificate:

If even one byte is changed, either in the or in the signature, the signature will show as invalid in the properties.

Donate

This FREE program is fully functional. Donation of $10 is requested but not required. All features are enabled. No time limit. No advertising. No spyware. No nag screens.

The requested donation is $10.00 US Dollars. I accept major credit cards, PayPal , or personal checks. Press one of the links below and your browser will open and go to PayPal with all the purchase information already filled out. You can use PayPal to pay by credit card even if you do not have a PayPal account. The total cost to you is $10.00. No fees. Use your Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover card. PayPal also allows you to pay directly from your bank account. PayPal is a very secure and reliable payment system used by millions of people around the world.

Use your Credit Card.

Or send payment by PayPal payable to: elegantpie@hotmail.com

Or send personal check or money order payable to Michael Robinson

Michael Robinson
PO Box 95
Shelton, CT 06484

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I am PayPal Verified. My Account Creation Date is May 30, 2000. Yes, I have been using this PayPal account for over TWENTY years.

The Official PayPal Verified Seal above means that I have provided PayPal with proof that I have a bank account and that my address is valid. Banks are required by law to screen account holders so PayPal's verification process increases security when you pay parties you do not know. My bank has my address and Social Security number on file. I have been using PayPal for over 20 years.

I use PayPal because the fees are low. If you send me $10.00 PayPal only takes about $0.59 so I net $9.41. All other payment services take several dollars so I would have to charge around $15 for my program to gain the same net. This lowers the cost to you. PayPal does not charge you any fees. PayPal is also free for me for most purchases, such as Ebay auction payments, but as a seller I am required to have a Premier Account with fees. If you do not have a PayPal account, you can still use PayPal to make a payment using your credit card. PayPal does not charge you any fees for this. PayPal is a very secure and reliable payment system used by millions of people around the world.

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elegantpie@hotmail.com

https://elegantpie.com