Differences Between Distributions - QL-Win/QuickLook GitHub Wiki

Different versions provide free choices for different users.

If you don’t understand or don’t want to know more, please just use the .msi installer.

  • The .msi installer version is most recommended (and also available via Chocolatey). It contains the full features of QuickLook, including previewing selected files in the Open- and Save-File Dialogs.

  • The .zip/.7z package is for those who want a clean and simple experience. However, one needs to unlock the .zip file manually before extraction, otherwise QuickLook will crash.

  • The .exe installer allows you to choose the installation directory — for example, %ProgramFiles% (e.g., C:\Program Files\QuickLook) — but administrator privileges are required.

  • The .appx installer is a sideload package which is similar to Microsoft Store one but uses unauthenticated signatures, and you need to manually install the signature .crt before installing. This package is generally not published to reduce user confusion.

  • The .msix installer or Microsoft Store package is for those who do not want to be bothered by manual upgrades. However, this version is being upgraded slower than other two (1 to 3 working days) and does not preview selected files in the Open-File and Save-File Dialogs.

  • The nightly builds contain the latest features, enhancements and bugfixes. These builds might not be stable. It usually takes several weeks before a nightly build is being published to stable channels.

User data location

  • MSI version: %APPDATA%\pooi.moe\QuickLook\.
  • Portable version: %APPDATA%\pooi.moe\QuickLook\ (up to v3.6.9) or UserData sub-folder in the QuickLook application folder (from v3.6.10).
  • Store version: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\21090PaddyXu.QuickLook_egxr34yet59cg\LocalCache\Roaming\pooi.moe\QuickLook\.