AstroThumbs

The icons of all our XISF and FITS files display their image’s thumbnails, and the preview area shows the larger image plus additional astronomical data contained in the images.

This is AstroThumbs

AstroThumbs is a must-have tool for anyone working with .XISF (PixInsight) and .FITS files on Windows. AstroThumbs teaches Windows Explorer to understand these astronomical image files. Once installed, it works everywhere Explorer does, with no extra program to run and no other software required:

Thumbnails: every .xisf, .fits, .fit and .fts file shows a real image instead of a blank icon, in every icon view and size.
Preview pane: selecting a file shows a large preview together with the essentials of the image (coordinates, dimensions, format). Enable the pane with View > Preview pane or Alt+P.
Metadata columns: Details view can show and sort by the data inside the files: object, filter, exposure, sensor temperature, session date and many more.

Linear (unprocessed) data is displayed with the same automatic screen stretch PixInsight uses, so a raw subframe looks in Explorer like it does on your processing screen, not like a black rectangle. Already-stretched images are shown as they are. One-shot-color mosaics can be rendered in color, and multi-image XISF files show their main image.

We can add many astro-related columns to the Explorer’s detailed file list, to see this additional information about all files at once, and to sort the file list just like we would do with any other column.

Try it for free!

AstroThumbs is not free, but you can try it for 15 days for evaluation purposes, with no feature restrictions.

If you want to use AstroThumbs after the trial period, you can choose to license it forever for a one-time payment of 4.99 US$ (No subscription fees: your copy is yours to keep and use forever).

To download and try AstroThumbs just click on the link below to download the installer, then run it.

AstroThumbs 1.0 for Windows (x64)
(SHA256 20B5278F8E3A0290CC735B61BF3CABD0C234699871E0A8F02BDB65749B7AB16E)

NOTE: Windows may warn you the first time you run the installer. You may see a blue or red “Windows protected your PC” window. Click More info, then Run anyway. There is nothing wrong. The installer is signed by Deep Sky Colors and you can see that before continuing. The warning appears because the signing certificate is only a few months old, not because there is anything wrong with the file. It will stop appearing as more people install it.

Pay once, use it forever

AstroThumbs can be registered for personal use under a paid license. If you wish to use AstroThumbs in a work environment, or for commercial, business, or organizational purposes, please contact us to discuss appropriate licensing options.

No subscriptions, all free v1.xx updates. Your copy is yours and once registered, it will never be deactivated. You can install and use it on any machine, as long as they are for your own personal, non-commercial use.

DeepParallax Studio owners: A licensed copy of DeepParallax Studio licenses AstroThumbs automatically, on the same computer. You do not need to register AstroThumbs.

$4.99

NOTE: After you make your purchase, you should receive an email from us, usually within 15 minutes. If, after 15 minutes (but not before that) you still haven’t received our message, please check your spam folder. If still nothing, contact us.

AstroThumbs Documentation

AstroThumbs’s full documentation is accessible from within AstroThumbs itself – we just need to open the AstroThumbs Settings window, click on the Help button, and it will open in your default browser. We have also made the same documentation available online, here, so you can see everything AstroThumbs has to offer:

AstroThumbs Official Documentation