Avangardo ShapeView

Avangardo ShapeView is a lightweight and portable piece of software that enables you to open ShapeView and MapInfo files with the .shp, .mif and .dxf format to view their content. It also lets you export the CAD drawings as bitmap images.
The app doesn't implement complicated options or customization properties, making it accessible to all types of users, even those inexperienced with such apps.

Portability conveniences

Since installation is not necessary, you can save the program files anywhere on the disk or on a removable storage unit and directly launch Avangardo ShapeView on any computer without having to set up anything. Plus, it doesn't change Windows registry settings.

Clear-cut interface and options

The user-friendly GUI is represented by a regular window with a plain and simple layout, where you can use the file browser to track down and open a CAD drawing.
You can zoom in and out, select nodes and save the selection to a file with the .csv extension, enable mirror and anti-aliasing mode, check for software updates, as well as export the drawing to .bmp format. There are no other noteworthy settings provided by this app.

Evaluation and conclusion

The tool worked smoothly in our tests, without triggering the OS to hang, crash or show error notifications. As we expected, it had minimal impact on the overall performance of the machine, thanks to the fact that it needed low CPU and RAM to function normally.
Although it doesn't integrate rich options and customization preferences, Avangardo ShapeView offers a simple solution to viewing .shp, .mif and .dxf files.