How To Open an .eps Files In Linux and Windows
By blackmarx
EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) files. These are self-contained PostScript files which contain the same mathematical descriptions as the vector files they are made from. Even bitmaps can be saved in the EPS file format. EPS files are supported by most all graphics applications. It is the most portable format for this reason. It is best to use EPS files for all line art and illustrations because they can be reproduced at any size or resolution and still display exactly as they were drawn. Use them wherever native vector files cannot be used.
 | Amazon Price: $23.82 List Price: $39.99 |
Eps files are generally only used by graphic professionals, as a result any professional graphic illustrating software can open these files.
CorelDraw - Windows
Adobe Illustrator - Windows/Mac
Inkscape - Linux free open soruce/Windows *download free
Xara Xtreme - Linux free open source/Windows *least expensive
Gimp and Adobe Photoshop old versions can convert EPS files from vector to raster graphics.
If however you just want to view the contents of the file with out editing, I believe Adobe Acrobat Reader can do the trick.
Open Acrobat, on the file menu choose file/open. Set 'files of type' to 'All files', then browse to and select your EPS file. this should work.
Also I just found that 3m has an online EPS file view ( not sure why ). here is the link http://promote.3m.com/eps_viewer/index.jsp
Aslo See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encapsulated_PostScript
Hub Poll
Was this Hub Helpful?
See results without votingComments
Little J - thanks for pointing out my mistake. I was just assuming a vector based program would be able to handle a common vector file format. I have edited the article. Inkscape might want to add that ability in the future.
Little J - EPS file functionality has been added to the newest version of Inkscape for Linux at least for the newest Ubuntu. Still waiting for the windows version to catch up which I am sure will happen soon.
curious why you didn't put down ghostview (cmd: gv) or ghostsript (cmd: gs), the standard (encapsulated)postscript viewers?
Regards!
Thanks for the comment. Actually I have never heard of Ghostview as I am fairly new to linux. That is why I did not mention it. This Article is targeted to the beginner or novice computer user. I assume it is run from the terminal. Users like these tend to not work well with command terminals and prefer a simpler point and click.
Little J 17 months ago
Inkscape for Linux does not allow you to open .eps files. At least not the latest version on my flavor of Linux.