diff --git a/frontend/src/__tests__/unitTests/fileTypes.test.ts b/frontend/src/__tests__/unitTests/fileTypes.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9b95d8a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/__tests__/unitTests/fileTypes.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import { describe, test, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { getBrowserRenderableType } from '@/utils/fileTypes';
+
+describe('getBrowserRenderableType', () => {
+  test('returns "image" for image extensions', () => {
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('photo.png')).toBe('image');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('photo.jpg')).toBe('image');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('photo.jpeg')).toBe('image');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('photo.gif')).toBe('image');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('photo.webp')).toBe('image');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('icon.svg')).toBe('image');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('icon.ico')).toBe('image');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('photo.bmp')).toBe('image');
+  });
+
+  test('returns "video" for video extensions', () => {
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('clip.mp4')).toBe('video');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('clip.webm')).toBe('video');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('clip.ogv')).toBe('video');
+  });
+
+  test('returns "audio" for audio extensions', () => {
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('track.mp3')).toBe('audio');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('track.wav')).toBe('audio');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('track.ogg')).toBe('audio');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('track.aac')).toBe('audio');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('track.flac')).toBe('audio');
+  });
+
+  test('returns "pdf" for PDF files', () => {
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('doc.pdf')).toBe('pdf');
+  });
+
+  test('returns null for non-renderable extensions', () => {
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('file.txt')).toBeNull();
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('data.csv')).toBeNull();
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('archive.zip')).toBeNull();
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('script.py')).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test('is case-insensitive', () => {
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('FILE.PNG')).toBe('image');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('video.MP4')).toBe('video');
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('Doc.PDF')).toBe('pdf');
+  });
+
+  test('returns null for files without extensions', () => {
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('Makefile')).toBeNull();
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('README')).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test('returns null for files ending with a dot', () => {
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('file.')).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  test('uses the last extension for multi-dot filenames', () => {
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('archive.tar.gz')).toBeNull();
+    expect(getBrowserRenderableType('image.backup.png')).toBe('image');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ui/BrowsePage/FileBrowser.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ui/BrowsePage/FileBrowser.tsx
index 3bf6760a..cab32248 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ui/BrowsePage/FileBrowser.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ui/BrowsePage/FileBrowser.tsx
@@ -20,7 +20,9 @@ import { useFileBrowserContext } from '@/contexts/FileBrowserContext';
 import { usePreferencesContext } from '@/contexts/PreferencesContext';
 import useHideDotFiles from '@/hooks/useHideDotFiles';
 import { useHandleDownload } from '@/hooks/useHandleDownload';
+import { useHandleView } from '@/hooks/useHandleView';
 import { detectZarrVersions } from '@/queries/zarrQueries';
+import { getBrowserRenderableType } from '@/utils/fileTypes';
 import { detectN5, getN5DetectionSignals } from '@/queries/n5Queries';
 import { makeMapKey } from '@/utils';
 import type { FileOrFolder } from '@/shared.types';
@@ -61,6 +63,7 @@ export default function FileBrowser({
     usePreferencesContext();
   const { displayFiles } = useHideDotFiles();
   const { handleDownload } = useHandleDownload();
+  const { handleView } = useHandleView();
 
   const {
     contextMenuCoords,
@@ -138,6 +141,19 @@ export default function FileBrowser({
         },
         shouldShow: !showPropertiesDrawer
       },
+      {
+        name: 'View',
+        action: () => {
+          const result = handleView();
+          if (!result.success) {
+            toast.error(`Error viewing file: ${result.error}`);
+          }
+        },
+        shouldShow:
+          !propertiesTarget.is_dir &&
+          !propertiesTarget.is_symlink &&
+          getBrowserRenderableType(propertiesTarget.name) !== null
+      },
       {
         name: 'Download',
         action: () => {
diff --git a/frontend/src/hooks/useHandleView.ts b/frontend/src/hooks/useHandleView.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0868bb7c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/hooks/useHandleView.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import { useFileBrowserContext } from '@/contexts/FileBrowserContext';
+import type { Result } from '@/shared.types';
+import { createSuccess, handleError } from '@/utils/errorHandling';
+import { getFileURL } from '@/utils/index';
+
+export function useHandleView() {
+  const { fileBrowserState, fileQuery } = useFileBrowserContext();
+
+  const handleView = (): Result<void> => {
+    if (
+      !fileQuery.data?.currentFileSharePath ||
+      !fileBrowserState.propertiesTarget
+    ) {
+      return handleError(new Error('No file selected for viewing'));
+    }
+    try {
+      const url = getFileURL(
+        fileQuery.data.currentFileSharePath.name,
+        fileBrowserState.propertiesTarget.path
+      );
+      window.open(url, '_blank', 'noopener,noreferrer');
+      return createSuccess(undefined);
+    } catch (error) {
+      return handleError(error);
+    }
+  };
+
+  return { handleView };
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/utils/fileTypes.ts b/frontend/src/utils/fileTypes.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..922565fe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/utils/fileTypes.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+const BROWSER_RENDERABLE_EXTENSIONS: Record<
+  string,
+  'image' | 'video' | 'audio' | 'pdf'
+> = {
+  // Images
+  png: 'image',
+  jpg: 'image',
+  jpeg: 'image',
+  gif: 'image',
+  webp: 'image',
+  svg: 'image',
+  ico: 'image',
+  bmp: 'image',
+  // Video
+  mp4: 'video',
+  webm: 'video',
+  ogv: 'video',
+  // Audio
+  mp3: 'audio',
+  wav: 'audio',
+  ogg: 'audio',
+  aac: 'audio',
+  flac: 'audio',
+  // Documents
+  pdf: 'pdf'
+};
+
+/**
+ * Returns the browser-renderable media type for a filename, or null if the
+ * browser cannot render it natively. Used to gate the "View" menu item and
+ * (in future) to select the appropriate inline preview renderer.
+ */
+export function getBrowserRenderableType(
+  filename: string
+): 'image' | 'video' | 'audio' | 'pdf' | null {
+  const ext = filename.toLowerCase().split('.').pop() ?? '';
+  return BROWSER_RENDERABLE_EXTENSIONS[ext] ?? null;
+}