Preview (software)

Infobox Software
name = Preview



caption = Preview 4.0 running under Mac OS X 10.5.0
developer = Apple Inc.
latest_release_version = 4.1 (469.2.1)
latest_release_date = February 11, 2008
latest_preview_version =
latest_preview_date =
operating_system = Mac OS X
genre = Image viewer
license = Proprietary
website = [http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/300.html#preview Apple - Mac OS X Leopard - Features] |

Preview is Mac OS X's application for displaying images and Portable Document Format (PDF) documents. Like Mac OS X itself, it comes from NeXT's OPENSTEP operating system.

Preview employs Apple's implementation of Adobe's PDF specification, and makes significant use of Apple's Cocoa graphical user interface, Quartz graphics layer, and QuickTime image codec. Preview can open the following file types:

* AI - Adobe Illustrator Artwork files
* BMP – Windows Bitmap files
* DNG – Digital Negative files
* EPS – Encapsulated PostScript files
* FAX – faxes
* FPX – FlashPix files
* GIF – Graphics Interchange Format files
* HDR – High Dynamic Range Image files
* ICNS – Apple Icon Image files
* ICO – Windows icon files
* JPEG 2000 – JPEG 2000 files
* JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group files
* OpenEXR – OpenEXR files
* PS – Adobe PostScript files (after an automatic conversion to PDF)
* PSD – Adobe Photoshop files
* PICT – QuickDraw image files
* PDF – Portable Document Format files
* PNG – Portable Network Graphics files
* PNTG – MacPaint Bitmap Graphic files
* QTIF – QuickTime image files
* RAD – Radience Scene Description files
* RAW – Raw image files
* SGI – Silicon Graphics Image files
* TGA – TARGA image files
* TIF, TIFF – Tagged Image File Format files
* XBM – X BitMap files

This gives users the ability to open a wide variety of popular and rarer image files straight out of the box. Preview offers basic image correction tools, cropping and rotation tools and annotation tools for PDF and TIFF documents. In addition, it offers keyword tools for image and PDF files. Preview can also convert between image formats; it can export to BMP, JP2, JPEG, PDF, PICT, PNG, SGI, TGA, and TIFF.

=External links=
* [http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/300.html#preview Apple - Mac OS X - PDF]
* [http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=135 AppleInsider review] from 2003
*MacProNews article: [http://www.macpronews.com/2004/0722.html PDF and Panther: The Hidden Role of PDF in Mac OS X 10.3] from July 2004
*Sams Publishing [http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=169576&seqNum=4 sample chapter on Preview] from "Mac OS X Panther Applications and Utilities". Includes some instructions for use, with screenshots.