PES & DST Embroidery Viewer

See what is inside your embroidery designs. Open machine embroidery files on your PC — stitches, real size, thread colors and counts. Print at 100 % and convert between formats. Offline, for Windows.

Get it from Microsoft Store

A PES design open in the viewer: realistic stitches, size, stitch and color counts, the thread color list and the picture stored in the file. — A PES design with its size, counts and thread colors. Select the image to view it at a larger size.

Every common format

.pes (all versions we could find), .pec, .dst, .jef, .exp, .vp3, .xxx and .hus (.hus is marked beta: few test files). Drag a file or a whole folder on the window.

Real size, really

100 % on screen uses the size your monitor reports, and you can check it once with a ruler or a bank card. Printed pages and PDFs carry rulers and a 50 mm bar to measure.

Honest colors

DST and EXP files have no thread colors: the app says so and shows default colors. Color files next to the design (.edr, .inf, .col) are used.

A DST design marked "No color info", shown with default colors and a note that DST files store no thread colors. — DST files store no thread colors, so the app says so instead of guessing.

Know before you convert

The app converts in memory, reads the result back and lists what changes for that file. Converted files were not tested on real machines — stitch a test first.

The Convert dialog listing what changes when a PES design is saved as DST: needle positions, thread changes and trims, with a warning to stitch a test first. — Before saving, the app lists what changes in this file (Pro).

Your whole folder

A gallery with pictures of every design in a folder (and subfolders), sorted by name, size, stitches or colors and filtered by type. Pro adds a PNG and/or PDF for every design, a catalog PDF and an info CSV.

Folder gallery with pictures of embroidery designs, their size, stitch counts and colors, with sorting and a type filter. — The folder gallery. Double-click a design to open it.

Offline

No account, no upload, no tracking. The original file is never changed.

Free and Pro

Free	Pro ($14.99, one-time)
Open and view every format, zoom, jumps	Print and PDF at real size with rulers
Size, stitches, colors, trims, color list	Convert to PES, PEC, DST, JEF, EXP with a change list
Real size on screen, calibration	Batch PNG / PDF for a folder
Folder gallery, save one PNG	Catalog PDF and info CSV

Pro is a one-time purchase. No subscription.

Measured, not promised

795 test files in 8 formats: stitch by stitch the same result as pyembroidery, an open-source reference reader, for 789; the other 6 differ only because the app also reads the color file next to them.
6,360 conversions read back: every needle position and every thread change kept. Trims kept for 93 % (DST) and 48 % (JEF) of PES designs — see the format limits below.
Real-size PDF: the 50 mm bar measures 50.0 mm. Real printers were not tested — measure the bar on your first print.
4,770 deliberately damaged copies: none crashed or froze the app; 82 % were flagged as possibly damaged.

Honest about colors and limits

DST and EXP files store no thread colors. The app shows default colors, marks the file "No color info" and does not pretend to know them. A .edr, .inf or .col file with the same name is used when there is one (.rgb files are read but not checked yet).
Converted files were not tested on real embroidery machines. Stitch a test on scrap fabric first.
DST and JEF have no trim command: trims are written and read as runs of jumps; whether your machine cuts there depends on its settings.
Damaged files are not repaired. The app opens what it can read and tells you the file may be damaged.
No hoop checks for particular machines (we found no official hoop sizes); the size is shown so you can compare.

Guides

How to open a PES embroidery file on Windows (without embroidery software)
Convert PES to DST (and JEF, EXP) on Windows
How to open a DST embroidery file on Windows — why DST has no thread colors, and .edr, .inf and .col color files

Private by design

Design files are read on your PC and never uploaded. The app collects nothing; Microsoft Store handles the Pro purchase. Read the Privacy Policy.

Credits

File reading and writing is based on pyembroidery (MIT License). Sample designs in the screenshots: Emoji Embroidery Project by Daniel K. Schneider (University of Geneva), CC BY-SA 4.0.