Text files and large files

By Vimal, maker of Pagewide · Last reviewed 8 November 2026

Pagewide opens any text file, read-only. Markdown is rendered. Code, data, logs and plain text are shown exactly as written, in a monospace font, wrapped to the window. Large files show a "Loading…" spinner if they take a moment, and from 500 KB Pagewide asks before opening. Images, PDFs and other binary files stay in Finder.

Code, data and plain text

Files such as .py, .js, .swift, .json, .yml, .toml, .csv, .txt, .log, .html, .xml and .sql open as text. Pagewide shows them exactly as written, in a monospace font, wrapped to the window so nothing runs off the side. They live-reload like Markdown, so a log that grows keeps updating.

To open one, use File › Open… (⌘O), Finder's Open With › Pagewide, or a link in a Markdown file that points to it. The sidebar's folder tree lists Markdown files only.

Which files count as text

Pagewide reads the start of a file to decide. A file with a NUL byte in its first 8 KB is treated as binary, whatever its extension. For those, Pagewide says it shows text files and offers Show in Finder. Images, PDFs, office documents and design files always go to Finder.

Large files

A spinner, not a frozen window. If a file takes more than a moment to show, Pagewide shows "Loading…" until it is ready.
A question from 500 KB. For a file of 500 KB or more, Pagewide asks first, for example: "notes.md is 770 KB. Large files can take a few seconds to show." Tick Don't ask again for this file to skip the question next time.
No questions mid-reading. Pagewide never asks on a live reload, when switching tabs, or for a Smart Reference preview.
The old page stays up. A reload keeps the current page on screen until the new one is ready, so a big file doesn't flash blank.

Links in Markdown files

Web links open in your browser. Links to other text files open in a new tab, at the #anchor if there is one. Anything else is shown in Finder. Pagewide never launches a program from a link, and Markdown in a file can't run scripts, load frames or submit forms.

Questions

Can Pagewide edit a text file?

No. Pagewide is read-only for every kind of file. Keep editing in your editor; Pagewide reloads the page when the file is saved.

Does Pagewide colour code by language?

Code and data files are shown as plain monospace text, exactly as written. Pagewide does not add syntax colouring.

How big a file can Pagewide open?

There is no fixed limit. From 500 KB it asks first, because very large files can take a few seconds to show. Very large logs are often quicker to read in a terminal tool such as less.