PP format

[CCIroniesPP]

Does this read PP format ?
Presumably not as I can’t attach one as an example.

[cday]

Does this read PP format ?
Presumably not as I can’t attach one as an example.

You should be able to attach any file if you place it in a ZIP or similar archive, current forum attachment size limit is 2MiB, otherwise you could provide a link to the file on a file hosting service.

But is PP an image format or a text file, as seems to be suggested online? XnView software can normally only open and display bitmap and a small number of vector graphic image formats.

[CCIroniesPP]

I used PP as an image format many years ago - are you saying XnView is mainly for text ?

[cday]

I used PP as an image format many years ago - are you saying XnView is mainly for text ?

No, the opposite, only for images!

When I searched online for the PP format, the immediate references seemed to be for a special text format, although it seemed that the format could possibly contain some form of image data.

Best to provide an example file as above if you are able to, if Pierre the developer of xnview software is not already familiar with the format, he would likely be interested in seeing an example to consider whether support could be added.

[zarlan]

All information I'm able to find, concerning a PP-format, is a file format for meteorological data, made by the Met Office. (the UK national weather service)

[CCIroniesPP]

Thanks for all your comments
Attached is a ZIP of the PP format images I have on file. They were made when I was setting up a web-site in 1998.
Can't remember what computer I had at that time - it might even have been one of those keyboards you could use with your TV screen as the display.
I obviously didn’t have any graphics software, and I have no memory of how I got these images onto my computer.

[CCIroniesPP]

I have also have a couple of these figures in .gif format - realise they might help in identifying how PP format works.
Originals drawn before 1972, PP format versions used in 1998.
Obviously drawn by an amateur not a draughtsman, long before there were even word processors, let alone drawing or graphing software !
There's also one in .pict that I've converted to a .pdf.

[XnTriq]

Opening the sample files provided by CCIroniesPP in a text editor reveals that they start with “ViGCj”.

Nuance PaperPort Image file format

• Extension: max
• Company: Nuance Communications
• Samples: http://www.google.com.au/search?q=vigcj+filetype:max (google "vigcj" and find files with a .max extension)

This format is undiscovered, but has ViGCj as the first 5 bytes of the format. It has the ability to store both text and images for a document.

http://zenkov.freeforums.org/viewtopic. ... ef108d1f2c

Apparently uses leadtools image format to store the image in the file. Format partially reverse engineered here: http://maxview.cvs.sourceforge.net/maxv ... iew=markup

PaperPort (MAX) is a proprietary image format used in early versions of the PaperPort document scanning and management software originally from Visioneer, then ScanSoft then Nuance Communications. In version 14 they switched to MAX files being read-only and to using the PDF format instead, making it possible to use standard tools with the files instead of being locked into proprietary tools from the original vendor.

Paperport MAX files begin with three bytes in ascii “ViG”

• PaperPort 2 files begin with ViGAe or ViGBe
• PaperPort 3-4 files begin with ViGCj
• PaperPort 5-7 files begin with ViGEm
• PaperPort 8-12 files begin with ViGFk

In order to migrate from version 2 to 5-7 you need to first convert to version 3-4 using the utility included with the install.

The MAX file format has been the proprietary image item format of PaperPort for many years. Since the introduction of the MAX format, the PDF file format has since become the standard for exchanging digital files. For that reason, there is no longer a need to preserve the proprietary format of MAX in PaperPort. In PaperPort 14, MAX files retain limited functionality and are now read only.
[…]
After installing PaperPort 14, the MAX to PDF Converter utility is available from the Windows Start Menu. This program automatically creates PDF Image or PDF Searchable files from existing MAX files, and can automatically detect all MAX files that are located on the computer. This utility can also transfer annotations from the original MAX file to the resulting PDF file.

XnView doesn't support this format, but Visioneer and Xerox provide a free viewer.

The PaperPort Viewer enables you to share PaperPort items with others who do not have PaperPort on their computer. It allows them to view and print PaperPort image items (.max files) that you send to them via e-mail.

The PaperPort Viewer enables you to share PaperPort items with others who do not have PaperPort on their computer. It allows them to view and print PaperPort image items (.max files) that you send to them via e-mail.

.MAX was the native format for Nuance PaperPort. I use this myself.
You will need PaperPort in order to stack / manipulate them.
Nuance did have a viewer, but that was back in XP days and the link I have no longer works. These days, PaperPort saves in PDF by default, but will still open MAX files.

Not sure if this helps, but I had issues opening some of her old PP .MAX files a few years ago and came across a similar issue trying to view them.

I’ve used PaperPort Viewer 7.0 on my Win7Pro and now Win10Pro to view my wife’s years old scans in .MAX from early versions and most recent PP files. I can open them easily and see the scans/files. She still uses PP 8.0 and set it to run in Compatibility Mode with XP. It suits her fine, she hates change.

I can open her PP 8.0, open a .MAX scan file and then save it as a .png (and several other extensions) but not .pdf. So, if you can view them and save them as another file extension that you can use, that’s the only way I know. Kind of a PITB, but an option.

Both systems are running Win10Pro 64bit

• YouTube: How to convert Paperport max files to pdf
  “If you were an early user of Paperport / Visioneer then you may have a lot of files on your computer in the proprietary .max format which cannot be read by your current software. The single-file converter that used to be in the public domain no longer works. There is a batch converter in the current Paperport release which you can download for free (for 15 days) but it is less than perfect so I show you how to get the most out of it.”
• SourceForge: Maxview Document Management (Linux)
  “This is a document management program similar to PaperPort in aim. It allows scanning of paper into directories quickly and easily with a thumbnail/desktop view. Maxview decodes .max files and can convert them to PDF.”
• GitHub: max2pdf (Linux)
  “A hacked version of Simon Glass' paperman which exposes only a very simple command line interface for converting a max file to a PDF file”
• Macintosh Repository: PaperPort Viewer 2.0 for Mac

Dead download links:

Code: Select all

ftp://ftp.scansoft.com/pub/program/paperport/setupex.exe
ftp://ftp.scansoft.com/pub/program/paperport/PaperPort_5_0_Viewer_Installer.bin
http://support.visioneer.com/utilities/viewer.exe
http://www.xeroxscanners.com/help/utilities/viewer.exe

[CCIroniesPP]

Many thanks for doing this and finding so much interesting information.
What I hadn’t made clear and is apparently important is that I am using a Mac.
You evidently all love computer efficiency and go for Windows, while in my working life I'm more concerned about help for the user, so go for Macs.
The only link you give which includes a Mac version is so old it no longer works !
Ah well. . . Thanks for trying

[XnTriq]

The only link you give which includes a Mac version is so old it no longer works !

Let's not give up just yet. It may well be that Pierre will find a way to enable XnView to read the PaperPort format(s).

PS: Are you sure that PaperPort Viewer 2.0 for Mac won't run in Classic Environment?

[CCIroniesPP]

The PaperPort viewer site says :
This software dates back to 1994 so if you plan to run this on modern hardware, you'll need an emulator

The 'classic environment’ only runs on up to Mac OS 10.4, and I’m on OS 11.6.
Presumably that is something do with the change to 64 bit.

Thanks for taking so much trouble to try to help.
I have found enough of the figures in other formats to be able to manage without the PP ones.
And this has all been interesting to know

[XnTriq]

Thank you for reporting back, CCIroniesPP! I learned a thing or two.
And again: Hopefully, Pierre will be able to decipher this proprietary format.

[XnTriq]

For the record: The samples provided by CCIroniesPP can be opened and converted with Nuance PaperPort 14 SE (Windows) if renamed from .pp to .max.

[CCIroniesPP]

Thanks XnTriq - that's good to know for Windows users, but I'm on a Mac !

[XnTriq]

Thanks XnTriq - that's good to know for Windows users, but I'm on a Mac !

Have you given GraphicConverter a try?