IrfanView

What Irfanview does is simple, but it does that one simple thing well. IrfanView allows you to look at any images in your library, and it manages to accomplish that with a lightning fast interface that's also exceedingly compact. And if that was all that IrfanView accomplished, it would be an admirable accomplishment that placed it at the head of the pack for image viewers supported on Windows. But there's a complex selection of features built around this simple premise that turns IrfanView into something significantly greater and makes it a critical piece of software for practically anyone who owns a computer. IrfanView's interface is a bit anachronistic, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. As software design starts to move towards highly stylized and equally minimalist designs, IrfanView's squared off and dully colored windows and dense menus stand out from the pack. It's hardly the prettiest thing to look at, but its classic design means practically any experience can jump right in and figure out how it works. That's a good thing too, as the features and options available to users are both deep and broad. If you don't like the default interface, you aren't stuck with it. IrfanView is open source, and creators have made countless skins that you can use to create a look and design that's uniquely suited to your preferences. But the skins aren't the only thing that can be customized. The enthusiastic community built around this product have created a number of plug-ins that you can use to get extra mileage out of the software. Some of these are exceedingly created. While plugins that allow users to read and convert files into more esoteric formats are to be expected, a plugin that transforms the image viewer into a full blown media player is a pleasant. if a bit unnecessary, surprise. More useful are plugins that let users send images as files directly through the app or those that allow you to import Adobe PhotoShop filters into IrfanView. The ability to change the file type of an image is an expected standard when dealing with an image viewer, but the batch conversion offered in this software is worth noting for its strength. It runs quickly and offers a whole host of settings on how the process takes. Options are the name of the game throughout the interface. While IrfanView isn't a full photo editing suite on the scale of Gimp or PhotoShop, it does come with a respectable amount of photo editing tools. A scanner interface is also included with IrfanView. Photos can be viewed at their regular size, expanded into full screen mode, or stitched together to create compellng slideshows. IrfanView is supported on all modern Windows platforms and it's completely free to use for all non-commercial owners.