Five programs for your image viewing pleasure

Jul 15, 2006 11:45 GMT  ·  By

Images and image viewers...these topics won't get cold soon, I am sure of that. Each one of us has at least few image files on the computer, and the need for a good image viewing application increases with the number of pictures that we own.

I will leave behind the commercial products from this family and I'll target the best free ones in the wild. The five applications in sight today are Irfanview, Fast Stone Image Viewer, Fresh View, Force Vision and XnView.

All these programs have been already reviewed here, so what I am going to do is to point out their best features and what makes them different from other programs in this family, before getting to the conclusions.

These being said, fasten your seat belts and prepare for the ride!

IrfanView 3.98

I don't know how I end up starting with my favorite program when I do these compared reviews, but the good thing is that I start writing the article with only one favorite program, sometimes none, and I finish discovering at least another outstanding application for the given purpose.

IrfanView is an excellent image viewer with mid-range image processing capabilities and even has a basic image browser, but this feature is useless for me, at this time. Why? This program loads so fast, that using its image browser is just one useless step, when you can associate it with the image files and browse through the folders using a file manager, or even the Windows Explorer.

File formats supported? Virtually, everything that you can think of, even music and text files or 3D models, with the help of additional plugins.

Special features? IrfanView can use external image processing plugins compatible with Adobe Photoshop, which is excellent. It has even a couple of basic built in filters of its own!

An excellent feature that I use a lot and it never failed is the batch processor/renamer, and since I told you about batch operations, you can also perform multiple image scans as a batch with IrfanView!

Image capture is also available here, activated by a hot key or a timer that you can set as you like, of course.

The feature list can go on for ages, but I am not here to tell you all there is. Just think how many World Cup stadiums you can fill with IrfanView users, and this says it all!

What don't I like? IrfanView has problems when saving images with transparent areas, and I don't recommend it for batch processing icons with transparency, for example. There are some functions that don't work until you download the plugins package (for free, of course), but once you do this, you will get absolute power!

What do I like? I love power, I love speed, and IrfanView gives me what I need. The available plugins can give you much more than you will ever need, and everything is for free!

Why use it? All programs here are free, so this is not IrfanView's advantage now. If you don't need image management features, than IrfanView is one of the best choices around, and the first two minutes spent using it will prove I'm right!

See IrfanView at work:

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FastStone Image Viewer 2.6 beta 4

With FastStone we step into another realm. While IrfanView had no management features and a standard Windows interface, this one has nice skinnable windows and image management features.

What file formats are supported by this program? The same thing as IrfanView, FastStone can view all major graphic formats, including different RAW file types.

Special features? Well, there's a lot to add here, like the excellent full screen view, the fact that a database with the image thumbnails is created to allow faster browsing (just like in ACD See), the good amount of image processing functions that include even red-eye removal or the opportunity to add favorite folders into the menu bearing the same name for faster access.

I was just about to forget an important feature - the batch processing tool is present here too, and I begin to love this program for this!

If you don't want to keep the thumbnail database in use, you can disable it from the Settings area without any problem. This is one of the things that I don't like with image viewers, to keep a thumbnail database that keeps getting bigger and bigger...

Should I say now how customizable is this program or leave this for you? Take your time and try it, the thousands of users using it already can't be wrong!

What don't I like? Displaying thumbnails for large pictures takes some time, and this can become a real problem when trying to open a folder with some thousands of them. It would be nice to add some plugins and to have a smaller Edit menu and a Filters menu dedicated to image processing functions.

What do I like? The full screen mode is great, there are a lot of file formats supported and, leaving aside the thumbnail loading problem, it's pretty fast.

Why use it? If you like IrfanView but want something better when talking about browsing and looks, then FastStone Image Viewer may be your choice. Only one warning: it's not the best choice for older computers!

Here's FastStone in action:

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Fresh View 6.30

Third stop today is Fresh View. After installing it, you should register it for free, the same as with the other programs from its producer.

FreshView is more an image browser and less an image viewer. I played with it for a while and I don't know what to say, because it's just another little big application!

How's that? Well, you can't call it an image viewer. The only way you can see images full screen is when starting a slide show, but browsing them is much faster than with FastStone, although FreshView has its own thumbnail database.

The interface is very easy to use and there's nothing hidden, and the strength of this program comes from its tools. Although you can't perform any image editing with FreshView, you can convert and resample pictures, create HTML albums and save file lists into different file formats, including XML and CSV.

There's nothing complicated about FreshView, since this program is so simple, like a fresh fruit - all you have to do is taste it!

What don't I like? You can't edit pictures and full screen view is only available when watching a slide show. There are no skins available and I think that this program is, maybe, just way too simple.

What I like? Speed is one of the attributes that make me forget about a lot of drawbacks with any program, and this one is fast. Fast and easy to use, the perfect recipe for a successful application for beginners, even though some extra features won't do any harm.

Why use it? If you're one of those who like to quickly browse thousands of pictures without watching closely, then this is your best choice!

Refresh yourselves with FreshView:

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ForceVision 3.35 Release Candidate 1

One more stop before I drop, and this one is called ForceVision. Let's see what makes it so special...

First of all, file support. ForceVision can handle over forty file formats, including some RAW files.

The interface of this program is nice and has the image viewer separated from the file browser and thumbnail views that are placed into the same window, along with the menu bar.

The greatest features of this program are its selection tools that include even magic wand and lasso, compared to the rigid selection mode that's available in IrfanView.

You can use a wide range of basic editing tools, including red eye removal and a bunch of image processing filters. All you have to do is write click inside the image viewer and then enter the Edit menu. The rest is up to you to discover, and I can assure you there is enough for you left.

What don't I like? Sometimes I lose the main window behind the image viewer, and I would like to have much more keyboard shortcuts available.

What I like? The same as usual, speed and ease of use, combined with a good amount of useful features.

Why use it? First you try, and then you buy...but, wait! This is free! Take your time with it, if you don't like IrfanView or FastStone, this may become your favorite!

Watch ForceVision's force at work:

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XnView 1.82.4

Final station, my friends! This is Feature-Feast City, and you can visit the Plugins Park and many other attractions!

XnView is a monster viewer, supporting over four hundreds file formats! It is also extremely customizable and has only one drawback - it's not free for commercial use.

I know it's unfair to treat this program lightly, but I just can't tell you stories about it. This is not something that you should try, this a program that you must try, at least!

Predefined layouts, support for Adobe Photoshop plugins, audio and video built in players, rich viewing and editing features, everything you want, you got it!

What don't I like? Oh, my, you have to pay to use this for commercial use! Even more, it doesn't have a favorites menu! This is nothing, compared to the goodies...

What do I like? The rest of it. Really, you have to like this program, at least!

Why use it? XnView is one of the most powerful image viewers out there and can compete without problems with CompuPic or ACD See.

At last, let XnView amaze you:

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Conclusions

Today I think we have a really close finish! To draw a quick line, I can say that XnView leads, followed by IrfanView, FastStone Viewer and Force Vision. Fresh View finishes last, but doesn't have anything to be ashamed of.

Enjoy your weekend and these fine image viewers!

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