Embroidery Reader

Embroidery Reader is a program with a pretty self-explanatory name - it allows you to view the contents of Embroidery files. PES items contain stitching data and they are used by home embroidery machines.

Hassle-free setup and simple-to-handle interface

You are required to go through an installation process, yet you should know that this does not come with any unpleasant surprises and does not last longer than a few moments.
The interface can only be described as plain and simple, as it only encloses a menu bar and a panel in which to display the uploaded item. This means that all types of users can easily find their way around it, including those less experienced with the IT world.

Uploading files and rotating them

This tool lets you import PES items only by using the file browser, seeing that the "drag and drop" functionality is not included. Unfortunately, you cannot import multiple items at the same time.
By using Embroidery Reader it is possible to save the PES files as images, copy them and rotate them left or right, as well as reset them to their original position with just a few clicks.

Options you can tweak

In the "Preferences" panel you can configure various settings. To be more precise, you can change the background color or restore it to default, specify the number of pixels for the thread thickness, as well as set the program to remove "ugly" stitches (the length can be established in pixels).

Performance and conclusion

This utility requires a low-to-moderate amount of CPU and system memory, and has a good response time. We have not come across any difficulties throughout our testing; Embroidery Reader did not freeze, crash or pop up error dialogs. The images have good quality, yet you should know that the app has not been updated in quite some time.