This software does not require much introduction. It is one of the most popular image viewing software with over 1 Million downloads every month. Packed with such a large set of features and tagged as a freeware, it is a must for any computer. I was started using IrfanView around six years back. After that, I have never found another image viewing software with such feature pack and simplicity.
IrfanView is created by Irfan Skilijan. It has always been popular for it’s speed and simplicity. At first look, it is just like any other image viewing software. Just the basic set of toolbar icons. The menu also appears to be very normal: the usual File, Edit, etc. All the power is actually packaged in to the menus.
File Opening, Saving and Converting
IrfanView natively supports around 20 popular image/video formats natively. These include the popular jpg, gif, png, psd, tif, ico etc. Apart from these, it also support around 45 other formats using plug-ins. Although the viewing of video files are quiet limited, it can still be considered as a simple video player. It also supports opening Macromedia Flash Format (swf) using plug-in.
It has to be noted that saving of images can only be done in 21 formats. Video cannot be saved, and it cannot be converted to images. Also, incompatible formats like flash cannot be converted to images.
Batch Conversion options are also available to convert a set of files to a different format using any required image processing.
Image Editing & Enhancement
Although it is not a full-fledged image editor, it still supports lots of good image manipulation options. Starting with the basic option of cropping, resizing, rotation, flip, grayscale, sharpen etc., it also supports some special enhancement options including 3D button, blur, emboss, edge detection, explosion, sepia, negative etc.
Shell Integration
IrfanView supports advanced shell integration for all the formats it support. Although, by default, it shows the same icon for all files (in any format) that has been associated with this app, it has an advanced option to show different icon based on the format. For example, jpg files will have JPG inscribed under the icon.
You can also associate IrfanView with USB events of scanner, digital cameras, webcams, etc. For example, if your webcam has a button to take picture, if the button is pressed, you can configure IrfanView to show up the taken picture.
Screenshot capturing section is also available where you can specify which areas to be take, the hot key that will activate screenshot, etc.
Conclusion
I might have mentioned only less than 1/4th of the options available with IrfanView. The options available is so diverse and complex that the configuration page itself contains 12 tabs. Overall, this app is a must have. If you have any other image viewing software, you can still keep a copy of IrfanView on your system. After all, it’s free and quiet light-weight.
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