by Donna Milano
Published in April 2002 Edition of microCHIP
Quick View Plus (QVP) is the program you need to view files when you don't have the application that created the file. There are over 250 file types that you can view including DOS programs (anyone remember IBM Writing Assistant?), MAC programs such as MacWrite, spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft Excel and Lotus 1-2-3, Freelance and PowerPoint presentations, graphics files and even dll files. There is a cross-section of new and old versions of many programs that are supported. As for database programs, only Access through version 2.0 is covered. There are way too many file types to list. If you receive e-mail attachments that you sometimes can't read, QVP would probably be your solution.
The program took about five minutes to install and print a "readme" file. There were no problems whatsoever during the installation. System Requirements as stated on the box are Windows 2000/98/95/NT 4 and 16 MB of hard drive space; 17 MB are required for a full installation.
Documentation is much more than adequate. There is a 95 page book that probably answers any question you might have about installation, use and configurations. The online help appears to be the same exact information.
The user interface looks just like Windows. The navigation pane can be set up on the left or at the top of the view window. Just click once on a filename and the file is displayed in the view window.
If you are used to Windows Explorer you can use QVP without any learning curve. In Windows Explorer, just right-click on a file and a shortcut menu will appear. Then select Quick View Plus from the shortcut menu to view the file.
The shortcut menu also includes "quick print" and "quick compress" options. "Quick print" sends the file to the printer; "quick compress" creates a zip file which can be viewed or "decompressed" using QVP.
There is a long distance help number as well as help on the Web. List price is about $50.
There are many good reasons to get Quick View Plus. It is perfect for people who have files that were created by older versions of programs that are now difficult to read with newer versions of the program; it is perfect for people who no longer have the original program that created a file; it is perfect for the typical computer user who can't resist trying to find out what a file does. With QVP you may not be able to find out what the file does, but at least you can "see" what the file looks like.
I'd say Quick View Plus is a worthy investment.