Pepakura Viewer for Windows

Pepakura Viewer is a free viewing tool for .PDO papercraft templates, designed specifically to complement its counterpart, Pepakura Designer. It lets you open, view, and print 3D models unfolded into 2D patterns. The interface displays a synchronized layout of the assembled model and its printable cutouts, aiding in step-by-step construction. 

You will also find other features, such as numerical edge IDs and arrows, which guide you on where each piece connects. Highlighting a pattern piece in Pepakura Viewer also illuminates its corresponding 3D section, aiding piece alignment. For creating, editing, or exporting designs, you'd use the companion software designer.

Utility for paper modeling

Dual-pane template navigation is the central mechanism of Pepakura Viewer. One side renders a rotatable 3D model, while the other shows its flattened template. You can select an edge or section on either side to locate the corresponding piece. Edge connection numbers and fold lines clarify how each segment contributes to the final form, helping hobbyists accurately print and assemble pre-designed models.

Print-ready template control allows you to prepare the layout for hardcopy output. The Viewer handles print formatting natively for .PDO files, letting you send full models directly to a printer. Though there's no export to PDF or image formats, the built-in print functionality serves its purpose. Paper orientation and scaling settings are minimal but functional for typical home printers. You can check the pattern distribution before committing to paper.

Highlighting and fold-trace features enable a deeper understanding of complex designs. Clicking a part on the 2D layout highlights the corresponding 3D shape, and vice versa. This cross-referencing helps track small or repetitive parts across the model. You can easily tell the difference between valley and mountain fold lines. It's useful for complex designs or ones that look the same on both sides, which can sometimes be confusing.

View, print, craft

Pepakura Viewer serves a narrow but clearly defined purpose: opening, viewing, and printing .PDO papercraft templates. It doesn’t allow template editing, model creation, or file exporting, and it deliberately avoids these functions. It complements Pepakura Designer by acting as the viewer-distributor in the workflow. This tool efficiently handles template visualization, part identification, and print preparation for pre-made designs, leaving advanced features to the paid version.

• Added support for dotted lines in templates
• Improved printing accuracy