Supported Preview Types

MakerVault renders as many file types as possible natively in the preview, without needing to open external applications.

Native rendering

These file types render directly in the preview:

Type	How it renders
SVG	Full vector rendering via native `<img>` element
PNG, JPG, WebP, BMP, GIF	Native image rendering
TIFF	Converted to PNG via macOS `sips`
PDF	First page rendered via macOS `sips` conversion
AI, EPS	Rendered via Ghostscript (requires `brew install ghostscript`)
TTF, OTF, WOFF, WOFF2	Font sample showing uppercase, lowercase, numbers, pangram at multiple sizes
G-code, NC, TAP	Plain text preview of the first 200 lines

LightBurn files

LightBurn files (.lbrn and .lbrn2) have two preview modes available via a toggle:

Canvas — An interactive SVG canvas that renders the actual cut layers, shapes, and text from the file. Supports pan (click and drag) and zoom (scroll wheel).
PNG — The embedded thumbnail image baked into the file by LightBurn. Falls back gracefully if no thumbnail is present.

When a custom photo has been uploaded, a Photo tab is added to the toggle.

The metadata panel shows cut settings (layer name, type, speed, power, kerf), material thickness when non-zero, and an objects breakdown with chip-style counts by shape type (e.g. “531 Path · 3 Text”).

3D files

STL and 3MF files render in an interactive 3D viewer with orbit controls. Click and drag to rotate, scroll to zoom. The model auto-fits to fill the preview area on load.

EPS and AI files

EPS and AI previews are generated via Ghostscript. If Ghostscript is not installed, MakerVault shows a clean “not supported” message with instructions to install it (brew install ghostscript). There is no error — the file is still fully indexed and searchable.

Custom photo

Any file can have a custom photo (JPEG or PNG) uploaded via the right sidebar. Once uploaded, a Photo tab appears in the preview toggle, and the photo becomes the primary thumbnail in grid view.

ZIP archives

ZIP files open a built-in browser instead of the standard preview overlay. The browser shows a collapsible file tree of the archive’s contents. Clicking any file inside the ZIP previews it inline — images, SVGs, text files, and fonts all render natively. The preview area appears above the file list within the browser.

xTool files

.xcs files (xTool Creative Space) display the embedded cover PNG thumbnail that xTool Creative Space bakes into the project file. The preview supports pan and zoom. In gallery view, the same cover thumbnail is used.

When a custom photo has been uploaded, a toggle appears in the right sidebar: Photo | PNG.

The metadata panel shows the machine name (e.g. “F2”), machine ID, app version, layer details (color, name, order), and per-shape details including type, dimensions, layer, processing type, power percentage, speed in mm/s, and DPI.

DXF files

.dxf files (AutoCAD Drawing Exchange Format) are rendered as an SVG canvas built from the file’s geometry. MakerVault parses LINE, CIRCLE, ARC, LWPOLYLINE, POLYLINE, and SPLINE entities and colors them by layer. The preview supports pan (click and drag) and zoom (scroll wheel).

When a custom photo has been uploaded, a toggle appears in the right sidebar: Photo | DXF.

The metadata panel shows the DXF version (e.g. “R2018”), units (Inches, mm, etc.), overall dimensions (W × H), a breakdown of entity types, layer names, and any text content found in the file.

Placeholder preview

File types without native preview support (CDR, OBJ, RDWorks, VCarve Pro) show a placeholder icon with the file type label. You can still see all metadata and use the “Open in [App]” button to view the file in its native application.

Selecting a file shows a preview in the right sidebar. Double-click the sidebar preview to open the full-screen overlay. The sidebar preview supports the same preview mode toggle (Canvas, PNG, Photo) as the full-screen view.