File previews

StitchMotion helps your system recognise embroidery files, so you can see a design without opening the app.

macOS

Thumbnails

In Finder, embroidery files show a thumbnail of the actual design instead of a generic icon — handy when a folder is full of .dst or .pes files.

Quick Look

Select a file in Finder and press the Space bar to get a Quick Look preview that shows a rendering of the design, its stitch count, the colors used (with swatches), and the size in millimeters.

Windows

Thumbnails

In File Explorer, embroidery files show a thumbnail of the actual design instead of a generic icon — handy when a folder is full of .dst or .pes files.

Preview pane

Switch on Explorer's preview pane (View → Preview pane) and selecting a file renders the design right there, without opening the app.

Preview in the Open dialog

The same preview appears in the Open dialog when you open a file from inside StitchMotion — so you can see the motif before you actually open it.

This works for all nine supported formats (DST, PES, JEF, EXP, HUS, SEW, VP3, VP4 and .hoop). For .exp files, a matching .inf file next to it adds the thread colors to the preview.