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CNET Editors' review
So you've come across a file that you need to open but can't? Maybe you just want to open it but can't. Either way, the defining word here is "can't." Open Freely can shorten it to "can" and also shorten the time and effort it takes to open over 100 different file types, including common types, of course, but also a whole lot of uncommon ones, from AMR to ZIP. It can display nearly any kind of media, edit documents and images, extract files, and perform other functions.
Open Freely's installation includes the free K-Lite Codec Pack, which contains dozens of codecs for opening media files and other formats. Open Freely's main interface has an attractive, muted gray color scheme with contrasting highlights and icons that turn from dull to colorful when active. The only active icon that appears when you first open Open Freely is the Open File icon. We browsed to a folder we keep with various file types for just such an occasion, but we failed to seriously challenge the tool. PDFs appeared clearly; XML files displayed coded text; music files opened in an embedded player with a spectral display; a saved YouTube video played normally; you get the picture (we sure did, in any image format).
We could also edit files with the built-in Hex Editor; copy, save, and print files; open and make changes to Word documents; and zoom in and out. On editable documents, the program opened a toolbar with a suite of formatting and editing controls typical of a lightweight word processor. Since it uses downloadable codec packs like K-Lite, we'd imagine it's easy to upgrade and update, too.
There's no shortage of frustrations when it comes to software, so why add to them by making it difficult to open files? Open Freely's got you covered and then some.
Publisher's Description
From Download Freely:
Open over 100 different file extensions including DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, PDF and more. A free, fully functional media viewer, document editor, file extractor and image editor for Windows. Features many powerful features like image cropping/resizing, document editing with full capabilities and converting and file extraction of several compression formats. All supported formats include: 3GP, 7z, AMR, ARW, ASP, ASPX, AVI, BAT, BMP, C, CF2, CFG, CR2, CRW, CS, CSS, CSV, DEB, DNG, DOC, DOCX, DOT, DOTX, EML, ERF, FLAC, FLV, GIF, GZ, HTM, HTML, ICA, ICO, INI, JAR, JAVA, JPEG, JPG, JS, JSP, KML, LOG, MEF, MID, MKV, MOV, MP3, MP4, MPEG, MPG, MRW, MSG, NEF, ODT, ORF, PAGES, PDF, PEF, PHP,PNG, PPS, PPT, PPTX, PSD, QIF,RAF, RAR, RAW, REG, RESX, RTF, SQL, SR2, SRT, SVG, SWF, TAR, TGZ, TIF, TIFF, TORRENT, TXT, VB, VCF, WAV, WMV, WPS, X3F, XFDL, XLS, XLSM, XLSX, XML, XPI, XPS, ZIP
What's new in this version: Version 2.0 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.
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All versions:
2.0 starsout of 9 votes
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Current version:
2.1 starsout of 8 votes
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My rating:
Write review
Results 1-8 of 8
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"It works but..."
Version: Open Freely 2.0
Pros
I received a wps. file and it opened perfectly. It's not a converter but should open listed files well enough to read them and copy them to another app.
Cons
It tries to install all kinds of crap-ware including tool-bars. I'm an experienced user but had trouble installing it without the crap. That aggravated me to the point where I uninstalled it immediately after its initial use.
Summary
If you want to put up with it's shortcomings it can be useful.
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"DON'T OPEN my xlsm AS TOLD (2012-04-27)"
Version: Open Freely 2.0
Pros
(not tested enough to say any)
Cons
DON'T OPEN my xlsm AS TOLD (2012-04-27)
Summary
DON'T OPEN my xlsm AS TOLD (2012-04-27)
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"Worked Fast"
Version: Open Freely 2.0
Pros
Opened every file I could find.
Cons
None yet. Didn't mess with my associations as far as I can tell. All my photoes open with old programs as default.
I'm going to put this on my netbook becasue the view has a clen interface for pdf.s and lately I've been printing web pages to .xps files to view offline. Works great for that too.Summary
Highly recommended. Maybe they've upgraded it from before.
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"Horrible. Couldn't open very first .SVG file. SAD"
Version: Open Freely 2.0
Pros
NONE to speak of.
Cons
Tried one file, it failed, I uninstalled. End of Story.
Summary
Looks like CNET is becoming irrelevant and selling out.
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"will not open .pages doc -fuzzy image of the first page"
Version: Open Freely 2.0
Pros
almost none, view fuzzy image of first page
Cons
will not open .pages doc displays a fuzzy image of the first page and any edit zoom save functionality results in errors
waste of space, time, etcSummary
don't bother
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"more junkware"
Version: Open Freely 2.0
Pros
nothing to say
Cons
another miscategorized program
Summary
was passed off as a file conversion from PDF to DOC but it doesn't. i already have good programs to open all these formats I was searching for one to convert for editing but it doesn't do that.
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"Interferes with other programs"
Version: Open Freely 2.0
Pros
It opened a couple of .rar files that other rar zippers wouldn't
Cons
It defaulted ALL downloads to it as the primary program. Now I can't open other downloads, even after deleting this program. Maybe I'll have better luck after a reboot.
Summary
If it would ONLY operate on programs manually selected, then it would deserve a 5 star rating. I searched for this option, and couldn't find it. If they make this change, then it is, without a doubt, a 5 star program.
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"Fast, Simple, AWESOME."
Version: Open Freely 2.0
Pros
Unbelieveably 1-step easy to use, opened everything it listed that it would...in a split second. Beautiful clear view. Couldn't be happier. Now I can get rid of that whole pile of assorted file opening programs! This is a piece of software done right. Rare.
Cons
Not really a con: it doesn't open file types that it doesn't say that it will. As a test, I tried to open a file type that wasn't listed and Surprise! it said it doesn't currently support that extension.
Summary
Brilliantly simple tool that does exactly what it's supposed to. The fact that when I tested a file type it didn't claim to support, it said it doesn't CURRENTLY support that file type leads to me to believe that updates with even more file extensions added will come in the future. Great tool.
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