Free software to view lpr files

Hello sikadmin

Have you tried Windows Notepad?
Place a SHORTCUT to notepad.exe in the same folder as your *.LPR files then drag and drop one of the files onto the shortcut.
There MAY be enough text-based data in the files for Notepad to display enough for your needs, but I would suspect that the data will be binary or some kind of printer instruction code.

I always try Notepad (or other text editor) before looking for any utilities that promise to open files of a particular type.

You have to be very careful when following Google links when searching for an "xyz file viewer".  There are dozens of sites that will simply take the 3 character file extension you searched for and dynamically inject those characters into their web pages so that it looks as though you have found a utility that was written specifically to open that kind of file.

Usually these sites will end up offering a universal file viewer that is only capable of recognising about 100 or 150 file extensions and/or formats and (obviously depending on the file type) displaying no more than Windows Notepad could show.  In some instances these sites will fool many people into downloading some kind of "PC Optimizer" type of program that promises to fix (amongst other bogus claims) erroneous "file association errors".

Let me give you a couple of examples:

You search Google for a "Tmp File Viewer" and it gives a link to;
http://www.fileviewpro.com/en/file-extension-tmp
In actual fact you can use any one of 150 or more file extensions in their (Solvusoft's) database and it will inject that 3 character extension into exactly the same page in the same 12 places, for example:
http://www.fileviewpro.com/en/file-extension-ass
and will tell you that "FileViewPro opens any .xxx file quickly and easily".

Given that a *.tmp file can be created by any number of applications or processes, and that it can therefore be in any format from the complete and original contents of another file through to a fragment of a file or even memory dump in some proprietary binary encoding), it is a false promise to say that "FileViewPro opens any .tmp file quickly and easily".

If you use a file extension that is not in their database, for example:
http://www.fileviewpro.com/en/file-extension-dumbass
it will just show you the generic page without injecting the extension specified and make the following promise:
"Open Your File Now!  FileViewPro opens any file quickly and easily".
It does mess up in one place in this event tough.  Where it would normally show "The Solution (.tmp file)" that would link to: http://www.solvusoft.com/en/file-extensions/file-extension-tmp  cannot be populated, so it just shows: "The Solution (  file)" and this links to the generic page http://www.solvusoft.com/en/file-extensions/file-extension-
It looks amateurish and stupid.

Nowhere on their website (www.fileviewpro.com, www.solvusoft.com, or other domains) can I find a definitive list of file extensions and formats for which this seemingly magic file viewer has import filters that will actually render the specified files with any kind of accuracy or respectable similarity to how it would be viewed by the application it was intended to be viewed by.

The user manual (https://support.solvusoft.com/attachments/token/qcjnb8ad43exnem/?name=FileViewPro_User_Manual.pdf) makes a big issue of cost and convenience right at the start with this statement:

Crap!  Loads of free image editing applications will open *.PSD files.  Some allow you to edit and resave them also.  OpenOffice and LibreOffice are absolutely free and will open most MS Office applications, but there are also the free Microsoft Office Viewers for those who just wish to view the files.

I would be VERY curious to see whether FileViewer Pro by Solvusoft can open and display the content of *.LPR files in any more detail than Windows Notepad, but I won't be installing it for two reasons:
1. It is likely to also install trial versions of other Solvusoft utilities
2. In case it associates itself will loads of loads of file extensions for which I already have viewers and editors associated, and in case uninstalling the program doesn't restore those file type associations.

Amongst the hits for a search for a specific file extension is bound to be to the Solvusoft site.  For example the *.tmp extension:
http://www.solvusoft.com/en/file-extensions/file-extension-tmp/
Right amongst all the crap purportedly created by their "Chief Technology Writer" is a yellow box bearing the following "TIP":

"Incorrect TMP file association errors can be a symptom of other underlying issues within your Windows operating system. These invalid entries can also produce associated symptoms such as slow Windows startups, computer freezes, and other PC performance issues. Therefore, it highly recommended that you scan your Windows registry for invalid file associations and other issues related to a fragmented registry."

What a load of generic hogwash.  In Windows the *.tmp file extension isn't associated with any programs by default because they are temporary files and the programs or operating system that creates them d0n't intend that you go poking around trying to open them.  The same is true of, and the same Tip is offered for, *.DAT files:
http://www.solvusoft.com/en/file-extensions/file-extension-dat/

Further down each of their pages you will see a "xxx File Analysis Tool" through which you can submit files.  If you "Click here" on the text below that states "† TMP File Analysis Tool utilizes third-party software components. Click here to read the legal disclaimer", you will see that this tool uses:
EXIFTOOL by Phil Harvey for metadata analysis (really for digital images) http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/
TrID by Marco Pontello for file type identification - http://mark0.net/soft-trid-e.html

TrID uses a database of 6087 file types (http://mark0.net/soft-trid-deflist.html), as opposed to the 150+ or 200+ claimed by most free and retail universal file viewers.  It is a standalone program along with the downloadable definition file, and also has an online analysis tool (http://mark0.net/onlinetrid.aspx).  If the current TrID definition file does not recognise *.LPR (http://mark0.net/soft-trid-deflist-l.html), then I am pretty sure that none of the universal viewers will be able to make it any more viewable than Windows Notepad can.

They are simply trying to bamboozle people into thinking that something is wrong with their computers and that the "fix-all optimizer" utility (http://www.solvusoft.com/en/download/winthruster/) will sort it all out for them.

It is a cheap trick and unethical tactic, and the Internet is riddled with such tactics, for example another site that might come up in a google search for a particular file extension:
http://file.org/extension/lpr

On this site we see an avatar for the white-haired Einstein type scientist named By Prof. Jones (Chief Content Editor and File Expert) who has seemingly typed out a page for hundreds of different file extensions containing an explanation of what programs these files are commonly associated with and suggested viewing applications, in the above example the *.LPR extension.

There is a link to a Free File Viewer" (a universal viewer that can open over 200 different types of files), and would take you to a page to download the Free File Viewer by Bitberry Software.  The Professor states:  "I would suggest that you try a universal file viewer like Free File Viewer. It can open over 200 different types of files - and very likely yours too".  No it doesn't:
http://www.freefileviewer.com/formats.html
If you had to count all the common file extensions for files that are really just text files (eg. txt, reg, xml, ini, inf, and so on), you have probably already reached 35 of the 200 files that this program can "view", so 200 file types won't really cover more unusual ones.  At least the FreeFile Viewer page is honest and shows the supported file types, but the page that sent you there isn't - it just wants affiliate revenue streams.

The page also lists 5 user-submitted viewing applications (note: none "verified"), and the only one with a download link is "Lazarus".  Unfortunately this leads to http://urlp.it/3un which shows "Lazarus Homepage" in the browser tag.  This page offers some explanation about what "Lazarus" is, but offers a link to download "K9-PCFixer" that people may be inclined to click on without thinking while the page counts down and then shows a "Continue" button that DOES actually go to the lazarus homepage (http://www.lazarus-ide.org/).

It is yet another cheap trick, and entering some other bogus file extension in the URL, eg;
http://file.org/extension/duh
just creates another dynamic page with "DUH" injected in 8 places to make you believe that the professor has written a genuine page all about this file type.  Of course, it also offers links to the same Free File Viewer and also (in case the *.DUH file type is screwing up your PC) "RegClean Pro".

There are an awful lot of other similar sites where you can actually add a very long hyphenated series of swear words tothe URL in place of a traditional 3 caracter file extension, and the resultant page will inject that throughout and promise to offer software that can open your ".asswipe-@#~!" file type.  It is all very misleading to people who aren't very technical with computers.

We all know better, however.