View images with ease - Quarterdeck's HiJaak Pro 4.0 graphics utility - Software Review - Evaluation

Home Office Computing, May, 1997 by Jonathan Karl Matzkin

HiJaak Pro 4.0

RATING: ***

Computers have more than one way to format a picture, so it's a world crowded with image file types: A Web image can be either a JPEG or a GIF; your Windows wallpaper is saved as a bitmap; and your assistant working on a Macintosh uses TIFF and PICT files.

If you're scratching your head trying to open, view, and catalog all these different images, HiJaak Pro 4.0 has arrived with the solution. This latest version of HiJaak Pro has added a ton of new features, and the program integrates itself so smoothly into the Windows 95 environment that it virtually becomes part of the operating system.

In Windows Explorer, HiJaak Pro displays resizable thumbnails of graphic images rather than the meaningless Paint icons that Windows 95 normally displays. Right-click on a thumbnail, and its menu lets you print, view, or convert the image without launching the program itself.

HiJaak Pro now supports formats for 30 image types such as Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) files and 3D Studio (3DS) files. In addition, AutoCAD users can convert two- and three-dimensional DXF and DWG files to almost any of HiJaak Pro's more than 85 file formats. PostScript files are also supported. Just about the only thing missing is an HTML document viewing capability.

If your hard disk is bursting with graphic images, HiJaak Pro offers tremendous flexibility in cataloging and managing all the different types. Its catalogs include large thumbnail views along with technical details of each file. You can set up as many catalogs as you like and either add files manually or have the program do it automatically. Auto-updates can be handled dynamically in the background, either at scheduled times or whenever your system is idle.

The new version of HiJaak Pro isn't cheap, but it gives you the tools you need to manage countless computer images with a minimum of time and effort.

HiJaak Pro 4.0

Publisher: Quarterdeck, 310-309-3700, 800-354-3222, www.quarterdeck.com

Est. Street Price: $279; upgrade $149

Requirements: Windows 95, 16MB of RAM (32MB recommended for high-end 2D and 3D format support), 25MB of hard-disk space, CD-ROM drive