The Plaid Studio / Weaving software / WIF viewer
WIF viewer
Drop a .wif file here and see the cloth it describes: the drawdown in its real warp and weft colours, with the threading, tie-up and treadling (or liftplan) it was built from. It runs in your browser — the file never leaves your computer.
What a WIF file is
WIF — the Weaving Information File — is the plain-text format weaving programs use to swap drafts. It lists the shafts and treadles, which shaft each warp end is threaded on, which shafts each treadle lifts (the tie-up), which treadle each pick uses (the treadling, or a liftplan for a dobby loom), and the colour of every end and pick. From those, the drawdown follows: at each crossing, the warp shows if its shaft is lifted and the weft shows if it is not.
The Plaid Studio exports a WIF for every woven design on the paid plans, alongside an A4 spec sheet with a centimetre ruler, so a check you design on screen can go straight to a loom. Read what a WIF file is for the format in detail, or the yarn count calculator to turn a thread count into centimetres.
Questions
How do I open a WIF file without weaving software?
Drop it on the viewer above. It reads the threading, tie-up, treadling or liftplan and colours from the file and draws the cloth in your browser; nothing is installed and nothing is uploaded.
Why does my drawdown look inverted?
Some drafts are written for a sinking shed, where the tie-up marks the shafts that go down rather than up. The viewer follows the file's Rising Shed setting and assumes a rising shed when the file does not say.
Does it read liftplan drafts?
Yes. If the file has a [LIFTPLAN] section the viewer uses it pick by pick; otherwise it combines the tie-up with the treadling.
Can I turn a WIF into a printable pattern?
Design the check in The Plaid Studio and export it as a seamless PNG for print, or as SVG, an A4 spec sheet and a WIF on the paid plans — the same cloth for the printer and for the loom.