SafeViewer

1. Unlocking

When SafeViewer starts, enter your password and click Unlock (or press Enter). This starts a secure session — the panel at the bottom-left shows the session is active and how long it has been running.

The unlock screen shows this warning, along with an expandable “Understanding AES-256 encryption” panel that explains the essentials, including that your original files are never deleted by SafeViewer.

2. The explorer

After unlocking you get a three-part window:

• Left — a location dropdown plus a tree of your drives and common folders (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures). Below it is Quick Access (Favorites and Recent Files), and the secure-session panel.
• Center — the current folder's contents: encrypted files and sub-folders, with Type, Date Modified and Size. There's a clickable breadcrumb path bar, an Up button, list / grid view buttons, and a search box.
• Right — a preview of the selected file and its details.

Across the top: Add Files, Add Folder, Remove, and on the right Settings, About and Logout.

3. File types it shows

The explorer intentionally lists only folders and encrypted files:

• .es260 — files encrypted by this version of SafeViewer.
• .es256 — files encrypted by the older version (still fully supported).

Ordinary, un-encrypted files are hidden from the list — you add them through Add Files.

By default SafeViewer encrypts only images and known document types (images, PDF, text / code, and Office files) — the things the in-app viewer can open. You can switch to Encrypt all files in Settings → Files to encrypt to include every type.

4. Encrypting files (Add Files)

1. Click Add Files.
2. Drag & drop files into the window, or click Select Files….
3. Choose where the encrypted copies go: Encrypt in same folder (next to each original) or Encrypt and move to current folder.
4. Click Start Encryption. A progress bar and elapsed time are shown.

Each file becomes a new .es260 file. Your original files are not deleted — remove them yourself afterwards if you want only the encrypted copies. When the run finishes, a summary shows how many files were encrypted, how many were skipped because they were already encrypted, and how many failed.

5. Encrypting a folder (Add Folder)

1. Click Add Folder and Browse… to a folder.
2. Optionally keep Include subfolders ticked. A summary shows total files, size and sub-folder count.
3. Choose Encrypt in same folder or Copy folder structure to current folder.
4. Click Start Encryption.

As with Add Files, originals are never deleted.

6. Previewing and viewing

• Single-click a file to preview it on the right (images show a thumbnail; other types show their details and a hint).
• Double-click the preview (or the file) to open it in a full viewer window, which you can maximize.

Supported viewers: images, PDF, text / code, Excel, Word and PowerPoint — all rendered in memory. For images and PDFs you can zoom with the mouse wheel and pan by dragging.

7. File actions & removing files

Right-click any encrypted file for quick actions:

• View — open it in the viewer (same as double-clicking).
• Export un-encrypted… — save a decrypted copy to a location you choose. The exported copy is a normal, unprotected file — keep it somewhere safe.
• Delete — permanently delete the encrypted file (with confirmation).

You can also select a file and click Remove in the toolbar to permanently delete it. This deletes only the encrypted file you selected.

8. Opening older files

Files from the previous SafeViewer version (.es256) appear in the list automatically. Open them just like any other file — SafeViewer detects the older format and decrypts it using your session password. If an old file was encrypted with a different password, SafeViewer will prompt you for that password and then open it.

9. Quick Access (Favorites & Recent)

The Quick Access area on the left keeps your common items one click away:

• Favorites — click the star button (top-right of Quick Access) to pin the folder you're currently in. Click a favorite to jump back to it; use the × to remove it.
• Recent Files — the files you've opened most recently. Click one to open it again.

Both lists are remembered between sessions.

10. Settings, About, Logout

• Settings
  • Appearance: the theme (System / Light / Dark).
  • Files to encrypt: Encrypt images and known document types (default) or Encrypt all files.
  • Starts In: the folder the explorer opens in each time you unlock. Click Choose… to pick a folder, or Reset to go back to the default.
• About — app information, including the version and build number.
• Logout — ends the secure session and returns to the unlock screen.

11. Security notes

• Encryption: files are protected with AES-256, using a key derived from your session password. Every file gets its own unique encryption data, and SafeViewer detects if an encrypted file has been tampered with when you open it.
• In-memory only: decrypted content exists only in memory while you view it; it is never written to disk.
• Originals: SafeViewer never deletes your un-encrypted originals — that's up to you.
• System files: SafeViewer never deletes files in protected OS locations (Windows, System32, Program Files), even if one somehow ends up in the list.
• No password recovery: your password is the only key to your files.