We all have little things that help us get through the day: coffee, donuts, Facebook or picture viewing software! Yup, bet that’s at the top of your list. Eventually we end up having to look at co-workers baby pictures and say “Aw, how cute” even if the kid looks like a shriveled alien lizard.
The default picture viewing software that comes with windows can really…wait…I’m not supposed to speak ill of the master…so let me rephrase…there are more efficient ways of zipping through large numbers of pictures than what ships with the basis of civilization as we know it. Particularly if your computer is old enough to vote.
IrFanview is a cute little image viewing program (actually the icon somewhat resembles your co-workers baby). You can get Irfanview from a number of download sites including http://www.irfanview.com It’s a small download, only 1.33mb, it could even fit on a floppy disk for nostalgia purposes.
Installation is everything that your procedures manual isn’t. It’s fast, light and easy to use. Just don’t blow through the installation or you’ll end up with another attack of the Yahoo toolbar.
The best part is the price, it’s free, and there is no spam, updates, pestering, cripplewear or advertisements.
During the install process by default, it will associate itself to all the standard types of picture files faster than a presidential candidate learns to love corn in Iowa. After, you can just double click the image and have it pop up. Once up and running it has a minimal interface, which like the file size dates back to an era when songs about mediocrity were all the rage.
Most of the program is about viewing your images. If you look up to the top of the menu bar the business end is pretty clear.
There are arrow buttons on the toolbar or you can use the arrows on your keyboard to flip through images as fast as you can punch them. There is also a counter that tells you how many more pictures you have to endure before getting back to your TPS reports.
If you wish to zoom in there is a magnifying glass, the +/- keys or many options under the View>Display Options menu to fit it to your desktop.
The program has limited image processing ability to do common tasks like Rotating and resizing. Most options are under the Image menu.
Why use it?
It is fast, free and does not gobble up resources. I keep a copy on my memory stick so that I can easily install it on someone else’s computer so I don’t have to suffer the default picture viewer. You can quickly crop and resize images, which is what most people need to do instead of strangling someone’s inbox with 200 megabytes worth of cell phone pictures. Sure it’s kind of dated, but its small, has over a decade of stability and free. Not many apps can say that.
Tom Tweedle
Sr. Customer Support Analyst
Sage Nonprofit
Abila blog 