New features in the latest releases make QuickView Plus even more impressive. The current edition, version 8, comes courtesy of a new company, Avantstar, which purchased the rights to distribute and continue development of QuickView Plus from Jasc Software.
Version 8 offers new support for Office 2003 and Corel WordPerfect Office 11 files (including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2003 files and WordPerfect, Presentations, and Quattro Pro 11 files), native support for AutoCAD files, and text-only support for Microsoft Project 2002 and 2000. The new release also offers integration capabilities with Outlook 2003 and Outlook Express, AOL browsers (versions 7+), Eudora Pro 6, and Netscape 7.
An enhanced file navigator, Acrobat 6 plug-in support, enhanced spreadsheet viewing and printing capabilities, and the ability to print full path names on documents round out Quick View Plus 8's impressive collection of enhancements.
Perhaps the best sign of change from its new ownership? The price of QuickView Plus has dropped from $49 to $35 for the downloadable version ($39 for the packaged edition).
Releases prior to version 8 integrated Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing PDF files and also featured new additions such as font scaling and aliasing, greater spreadsheet control, enhanced browser visibility in IE and a dynamic toolbar in Netscape, and support for several new formats, including PowerPoint, Lotus WordPro, vCard, and Microsoft RTF (Rich Text Format).
Overall, while it doesn't handle every imaginable file format, QuickView Plus does cover a vast majority of the most commonly used file types. Couple that with outstanding access time and an equally impressive set of features, and you get an app that you won't want to live without.
Pros: Offers quick access to viewing, printing, and managing 225+ types of files from within your Web browser; perfect, must-have utility for working with a file when you lack the native application for that file; new company, new lower price tag ($35 compared to $49 under Jasc)
Cons: Although darn close, it's not an all-in-one plug-in — QVP lacks support for some formats such as Shockwave and Flash. QVP doesn't always offer the performance and/or management capabilities of some standalone applications, especially in terms of viewing/managing images.
