What is EPS file? How to view and edit EPS file in Windows 11

This post talks about what is an EPS file and how you can view and edit EPS files on Windows 11/10 PC. EPS stands for Encapsulated PostScript; it is a vector graphics format that contains drawings, designs, layouts, text, and more graphical content. It is developed by Adobe Systems and was released in 1992. EPS is a popular image format among graphic designers for saving their artwork.

Although EPS is a well-known image file format, it is not as widely supported as JPG or PNG by freeware programs. If you are wondering how you can view or edit EPS files in Windows 11/10 for free, here is a complete guide for you. In this article, we will discuss various freeware options for viewing and editing EPS images on Windows 11/10.

How can I open and view EPS files in Windows 11?

You can view EPS files in Windows 11/10 using free third-party software. If you want to use dedicated software to view EPS images, you can try EPS Viewer. It is free and is primarily designed to view EPS files. You can download it from epsviewer.org. Or, you can also use the FreeViewer EPS Viewer Tool to open PES images on Windows 11/10. Some more free programs that enable you to open and view an EPS image on your Windows 11/10 PC are:

• GIMP,
• IrfanView,
• XnViewMP,
• FastStone Image Viewer

and some other image viewers.

What software do I need to edit an EPS file?

Now, if you want to edit EPS files, how to do that? Well, you can use Adobe Photoshop to edit EPS files on Windows 11/10. However, it is a paid program. So, if you are looking for free software to edit EPS files, this article will help you out. Here, we are going to mention multiple freeware programs that allow you to edit EPS files in Windows 11/10 for free. Let check out!

How to edit EPS files in Windows 11/10?

Here are the methods using which you can view and edit EPS files on your Windows 11/10 PC:

1. Edit EPS files in GIMP.
2. View and edit dit EPS files in Paint.NET using an external plugin.
3. Use XnView MP to edit EPS images.
4. Use IrfanView to edit an EPS image.

Let us elaborate above-mentioned methods in detail!

1] Edit EPS files in GIMP

You can use GIMP to view as well as edit EPS files in Windows 11/10. GIMP is a well-known vector graphics editor and is popular among graphic designers. It is completely free and open source. You can import and view EPS files in it. Also, you can edit EPS images and then save them in their native or some other graphics format. Not just that, you can also create a new graphic in EPS format using it. Let us check out how.

How to edit EPS file in GIMP:

Here are the main steps to edit EPS file in GIMP on Windows 11/10:

1. Download and install GIMP on your PC.
2. Launch GIMP.
3. Import an EPS image.
4. View and modify the image using various editing tools.
5. Save the image in its original format or export it to another image format.

Let us discuss the above steps in detail now!

Firstly, you need to install GIMP on your PC. Download it from its official website and then follow the installation instructions. Start the software to use it.

Now, go to the File menu and use the Open function to import an EPS file into it. You will then be able to view the source EPS image in it. It allows you to open multiple EPS images, thanks to its multi-tab interface.

Next, you can edit the EPS files using the available tools, such as crop, flip, rotate, change the size, add watermark, add text, draw designs using painting tools, edit color profile, apply filters and effects, blur image, add noise to the image, etc. You can also outline a text, add a neon effect to text, and do much more in GIMP.

When you are done editing an EPS file, you can use the File > Overwrite option to save the edited image in its original EPS file. If you want to convert the edited EZPS image to another image format, use the File > Export As option.

GIMP is a great program to edit EPS images as it lets you export the edited image in its native format unlike other freeware listed in this article.

Read: How to Batch Resize Images in GIMP

2] View and Edit EPS files in Paint.NET using an external plugin

You can use Paint.NET to edit EPS files in Windows 11/10. To start with, I would like to mention that Paint.NET doesn’t support EPS file format natively. Hence, to be able to import, view, and edit an EPS image in it, you will need to use an external plugin. Let us have a look at the plugin and steps to open, view, and edit EPS images in Paint.NET.

How to open and edit EPS files in Paint.NET:

Here are the basic steps for editing an EPS file in Paint.NET:

1. Download and install Paint.NET.
2. Download and Install Ghostscript.
3. Download PostScript FileType Plugin.
4. Configure the plugin with Paint.NET.
5. Start the Paint.NET application.
6. Open an EPS file.
7. Edit the EPS image.
8. Save the image in a supported format.

Let us discuss the above steps in detail now!

Firstly, make sure you have Paint.NET installed on Windows 11/10. Also, you need to have Ghostscript installed on your PC to be able to work with EPS images in Paint.NET. You can download it from here.

Next, you need to download this Paint.NET plugin called ‘PostScript’ FileType Plugin. This plugin is mainly used to import, view, and edit EPS, PS, and AI files in Paint.NET.

After downloading the above plugin, extract the ZIP folder. Open the unzipped folder and then do the following:

• Copy the ImPS,EPS,AI.Open.FileType.dll and ImPS,EPS,AI.Open.FileType.dlc files and paste them to C:\Program Files\Paint.Net\FileTypes folder.
• Copy the OptionBasedLibrary v0.6.dlc and OptionBasedLibrary v0.6.dll files and paste them to C:\Program Files\Paint.Net\ folder.

Now, start the Paint.NET software and then import an EPS image using the File > Open option. You will now be able to view the EPS image in it.

To make edits to the image, you can use the available tools, such as resize, rotate, flip, color adjustment options, blur effects, artistic effects, noise effects, and distort effects. If you want, you can also make designs on the image using available drawing tools like rectangle, arrow, circle, line, pen, brush, paint bucket, text, and more.

After editing the EPS image, you can save the edited image. Do note that you can’t save the image in EPS format as it doesn’t support EPS as output format. So, you will have to save edited EPS images in formats like PNG, BMP, JPG, GIF, TIFF, etc.

If you are a regular user of Paint.NET, you can install this simple plugin to open, view, and edit EPS images in it.

Read: How to Split an Image in Paint.NET

3] Use XnView MP to import, view, and edit an EPS image

XnView MP is a free image viewer software that can be used for viewing as well as editing an EPS image file. Using it, you can edit existing EPS graphics, and here are the steps to edit an EPS image:

1. Download and install XnView MP.
2. Start the software.
3. Browse and select the source EPS image.
4. Edit the image as required.
5. Save the edited image in some other format.

Simply download and install XnView MP and then launch it on your PC. Next, browse EPS images using its built-in file explorer and then select and double-click on the EPS image that you want to edit.

The image will open in a new tab, where you can edit it. You can use tools like crop, resize, rotate, enhance colors, customize color curves, and more to make changes. It also provides a find a Draw feature that lets you insert text, watermark, line, rectangle, and circle to an EPS image.

You can save the final image in some other formats like PS, EMF, JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF, ICO, and some other graphics formats. It doesn’t support EPS as output format, so you won’t be able to save the edited EPS file in its native format.

See: How to open RW2 files in Windows.

4] Use IrfanView to edit EPS images

Another option to view and edit EPS images is IrfanView. It is an image viewer and editor software that also supports EPS format. You can open, view, and then edit EPS images. But, the edited EPS image can’t be saved in the native format. However, you can save the edited EPS image in other formats, including PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, PDF, and more.

Its editing features are accessible from the Image menu. You can find a lot of handy image editing options in it. Some of these features include rotate left, rotate right, resize, add text, add border/frame, add hexagon/star/heart, convert to grayscale, auto-adjust colors, color corrections, sharpen, red-eye removal, effects, and more. Using all these features, you can edit the EPS image in IrfanView.

When you are done editing an EPS image, go to the File menu and click the Save As option and choose the desired output format to save the EPS image.

Read: How to Check and Change Image DPI in IrfanView.