AVI File Viewer

The variety of file formats isn’t there to confuse the end-user or create dependencies of specific applications. These are only evolved attempts to preserve quality and reduce disk space usage. AVI is a pretty popular type, which you might want to preview before opening, and is exactly the purpose of AVI File Viewer.

There’s one thing you need to know before rushing to grab this package. If you rely on the Windows built-in File Explorer for navigation, it is of no use to you, because it’s actually a component you need to enhance the functionality of File Navigator. It’s pretty lightweight, and you can store it on a flash drive to keep all components of this type in a database.

Although it’s not packed in an installer, you still need to go through a bit of effort in order to deploy it. Once done, File Navigator is able to provide video playback options for AVI files, given you have the proper codecs installed. There are also some instructions on how to deploy the file, although these can leave you scratching your head for a while.

In order to make it work, you need to go to the target application’s destination folder and create a new one called Viewers. Note that there’s another with a similar name, but it has nothing to do with this process. Once the DLL file is placed in the folder you create, some more commands need to be added inside the application’s interface.

The set of instructions is a little ambiguous and doesn’t quite specify where exactly to add the command, but it’s not quite hard to figure out. Locating the Viewers item in the Command menu gets you a step closer to enabling AVI compatibility.

Even though AVI is a pretty popular format and chances for it to work by default in whatever viewer you’re using, chances are it’s going to fail in this application. Sure, these can be compiled with different codecs and functions, but it’s a pity functionality is not guaranteed.

Bottom line is that AVI File Viewer was created with good intentions, saving you the effort and space of opening up other applications, but practicality is not the strongest point, given the high chance of compatibility issues. Even the deployment process itself can be a little frustrating, only to realize you’re better off with conventional ways.