Revision 8
© 2023, 2024, 2026 by Zack Smith. All rights reserved.

My universal file viewer

zInspect is my C++ and Qt universal file viewer which will eventually allow some built-in editing as well.

It requires Qt 6 and can run on Linux and, in theory, any other platform that supports Qt and C++, such as Windows, MacOS or Haiku OS.

This app was inspired by my former macOS app NoteWrangler which was a viewer and editor for text files and various other file types.

Supported file types

Video files

I've added video file playback. In my testing with Qt 6.8, which uses ffmpeg as the backend, not all files play correctly. You may have better luck with a newer Qt, which word has it uses a gstreamer backend instead.

Image files

It is now possible to zoom into and pan image files. To zoom you use the scrolling feature of your mouse or touchpad e.g. two fingers up to zoom in.

PDF

I've added Qt's PDF viewer widget to zInspect and buttons to select various zoom levels.

Audio files

Thanks to the magic of Qt 6, zInspect can now play MP3 files, and I let you continue listening while you view other files.

HTML

zInspect has a built-in web viewer for HTML, because Qt includes an implementation of Webkit.

RTF

I've incorporated code from my other personal projects to allow viewing of basic RTF files.

GGUF

I've added my personal code for extracting metadata from GGUF AI models. However zInspect doesn't allow actually running models.

Safetensors

These AI model files contain a JSON header, which zInspect now extracts and displays.

JSON and XML

I've used Qt's built-in pretty printers for JSON and XML data.

Animated GIFs

These are playing using Qt's QMovie.

Executables

zInspect can identify and extract information from ELF and Mach-O programs.

Other file operations

Besides viewing, zInspect supports deleting and renaming files.

For editing, it can launch external editors for text files, RTF files, and others when you type Ctrl-E.

Download

This code is still in the alpha stage of development but I use it every day.

zInspect-0.22.tar.bz2

To do

There's a very long list of features I'd like to add, but a few are:

Add built-in support for CSV files using QTableWidget.
Add support for DNG RAW images using libraw.
Add support for X3F Sigma RAW files.
Add my MP4 metadata extractor code.

Screenshots

These are somewhat dated screenshots.

zs3.me			zInspect Qt app
Open source Bandwidth memory benchmark SwiftQt zInspect zBenchmark zSpreadsheet zOutline Randomizing drive verifier File fragment finder FrugalWidgets Eratosthenes prime generator Documentation Linux command-line quick ref Computer security tips FFMPEG quick ref ImageMagick quick ref Object-Oriented C (OOC) ADB shell tips x86 Instruction Set GPG quick ref MacOS command-line tips How to force dark mode Useful bashrc Closed source iOS apps			Revision 8 © 2023, 2024, 2026 by Zack Smith. All rights reserved. My universal file viewer zInspect is my C++ and Qt universal file viewer which will eventually allow some built-in editing as well. It requires Qt 6 and can run on Linux and, in theory, any other platform that supports Qt and C++, such as Windows, MacOS or Haiku OS. This app was inspired by my former macOS app `NoteWrangler` which was a viewer and editor for text files and various other file types. Supported file types Video files I've added video file playback. In my testing with Qt 6.8, which uses `ffmpeg` as the backend, not all files play correctly. You may have better luck with a newer Qt, which word has it uses a `gstreamer` backend instead. Image files It is now possible to zoom into and pan image files. To zoom you use the scrolling feature of your mouse or touchpad e.g. two fingers up to zoom in. PDF I've added Qt's PDF viewer widget to zInspect and buttons to select various zoom levels. Audio files Thanks to the magic of Qt 6, zInspect can now play MP3 files, and I let you continue listening while you view other files. HTML zInspect has a built-in web viewer for HTML, because Qt includes an implementation of Webkit. RTF I've incorporated code from my other personal projects to allow viewing of basic RTF files. GGUF I've added my personal code for extracting metadata from GGUF AI models. However zInspect doesn't allow actually running models. Safetensors These AI model files contain a JSON header, which zInspect now extracts and displays. JSON and XML I've used Qt's built-in pretty printers for JSON and XML data. Animated GIFs These are playing using Qt's QMovie. Archives zInspect lists the contents of: tar files zip files ar files ipsw files DMG files pkg files apk files And more. Executables zInspect can identify and extract information from `ELF` and `Mach-O` programs. Other file operations Besides viewing, zInspect supports deleting and renaming files. For editing, it can launch external editors for text files, RTF files, and others when you type Ctrl-E. Download This code is still in the alpha stage of development but I use it every day. zInspect-0.22.tar.bz2 To do There's a very long list of features I'd like to add, but a few are: Add built-in support for CSV files using QTableWidget. Add support for DNG RAW images using libraw. Add support for X3F Sigma RAW files. Add my MP4 metadata extractor code. Screenshots These are somewhat dated screenshots.

zs3.me