ACDSee

If you've ever used the default photo viewer app in just about any operating system, you've probably realized one thing about all of them. They generally run too slowly, and that is often because those default viewers come with a few too many functions for them to be optimized for utility. That may sound strange, but what that basically means is that those apps sacrifice speed for extraneous functions that most users never need. ACDSee doesn't have this problem because the software was designed to forgo those additional functions in favor of optimal speed. Just like every other variety of software, image viewers come in a range of qualities, and those qualities are generally related to the number of features in the software. However, each user is different, so what works best for one might not work at all for another. For example, the industry standard for image viewing apps is certainly Adobe Lightroom, but that app is expensive, packed full of professional features, and heavy on system resources. It works well for professionals, but daily users have no need for such extravagance. Your system will not be slowed by any degree when you take advantage of the slim yet powerful size and functionality of ACDSee. There is never any delay between your commands being issued and carried out, and the convenient list of tools contains various implements that you'll find quite useful. Zooming in and out of the current image is as easy as pressing the '-' and '+' symbols, and you can set that same image as the desktop background with a single click. Printing is no issue with ACDSee either. It has several printing options that help you translate your images into physical representations. While browsing your images, you can select an image to print, set the paper size and image format, and change various other options to personalize your printed image. Toying around with the available options is a great way to find out what the tool can really do. There are more advanced versions of ACDSee that have expanded functions, but the free basic version is what most users will end up wanting. The free version might be limited in advanced functions, but it is fast, efficient, and it costs nothing. The software is particularly useful if you regularly deal with batches of images since it can handle large volumes of data with no lag. Since the basic version of ACDSee is free, you might as well try it and find out if its feature set and speed are ideal for you. If all you need is an image viewer, this software is an excellent option. When compared side by side with default photo viewers, it easily holds its own.

It is slow in 2019 (maybe it refers to a Pro version)... It leaves over 20GB cache file on your system disk (speaking of so-called small footprint). It's just not what it used to be. On the plus side, it does have a host of features that is enough for most people to edit a photo or a bunch and I like it. But using it is a bit of a pain lately.