Fetch Help > Commands > View as Text

The View as Text command lets you view files from the server as plain text without leaving Fetch.

This command is available as:

- The View as Text command in the Remote menu
- The View as Text button in the transfer window toolbar, if you've added it
- The View as Text command in the file list contextual menu
- The View as Text command in the shortcut list window contextual menu

Select a file in a file list, then choose View as Text. Fetch will download the file and display it in a new text window.

View as Text is an alternative to the Quick Look command. Normally, Quick Look displays certain kinds of text files, such as HTML or RTF files, as formatted text instead of the raw plain text. You can use View as Text to force Fetch to display those files as plain text instead (so that you see the raw HTML and RTF codes instead). It is also useful if you want to look at the contents of a text file with a filename extension that Quick Look does not recognize as a text file.

You can also use View as Text to view the contents of multiple files at once, and while Fetch is in the background. Quick Look is limited to displaying one file at a time, and the Quick Look window is only displayed when Fetch is in the foreground.

To view media files such as images, movies, or sounds, use the Quick Look command instead.