Rating of free photo viewing programs

Almost everyone has their own archive of photographs taken with a professional camera, a smartphone, and scanned children’s photographs. Therefore, sooner or later the question arises not only of storing photos, but also of viewing them comfortably, since in most cases the functionality of standard utilities Windows и MacOS clearly not enough. Many programs have been developed specifically in order to view photos with maximum convenience, each of which has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. We offer a short rating of free utilities designed for viewing photos and graphic files.

FastStone Image Viewer

This is a fairly useful program with which you can view and edit a large number of graphic files. This utility combines the functionality of a full-fledged viewer, editor and converter of graphic formats, which is why it is popular.

Features: format conversions, editing, creating effects/transitions, adding a watermark

Advantages: wide functionality, intuitive interface

Disadvantages: limited ability to work with RAW-files

Download FastStone Image Viewer https://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

IrfanView

IrfanView is a compact, functional program that works even on very weak PCs. It’s nice to be able to view almost all graphics formats, as well as audio and video files. It is characterized by high performance, even with large files. Has a built-in editor.

Features: ability to batch convert, create simple web pages and screenshots

Advantages: high speed of opening large files, working with files in a window and in full screen mode

Disadvantages: to expand the functionality, it is necessary to connect a large number of additional plugins

Download IrfanView

https://www.irfanview.com/

ACDSee

ACDSee Photo Manager is one of the most popular utilities with which you can sort, edit, record and transfer graphic files. The program has a fairly good built-in editor, with which you can do basic graphics editing. It is possible to record data on DVD/CD media.

Features: file conversion, Russian-language customizable interface, library organization

Advantages: work with RAW-files, viewing photos in archives, support for a large number of devices (scanners, printers, smartphones)

Disadvantages: a large number of settings and plugins that are not easy to understand

Download ACDSee Photo Manager 

https://www.acdsee.com/ru/products/photo-studio-home/#dam

 Picasa

Picasa is a convenient program for viewing and slightly editing digital photos with a large arsenal of tools and effects. The utility was developed in Google, so it often integrates with other services, such as Gmail, Google Plus, Blogger and YouTube. The editor is simple, but it's great for solving simple problems. If necessary, you can create collages and presentations.

Features: sending photos/pictures by mail, uploading to a blog, recording geodata, printing photos, creating copies of files and storing them in hidden folders

Advantages: simple and intuitive editor, a large number of effects, sorting albums by topics and keywords

Disadvantages: inconvenient history management, photos cannot be compressed without changing the size and format, support from Google is no longer available

Download Picasa https://picasa2.ru/

 XnView

XnView - can work on any OS, a viewer with a built-in editor, capable of working with more than 50 graphic formats. In addition to the standard viewing and editing functions, you can create websites-pages, burn to disks, process photos in batches.

Features: functional editor, multi-page support TIFF-files, ability to watch videos, create slide shows

Advantages: displaying full information about the photo, preview, high speed

Disadvantages: Large files open slowly in some versions Windows Mouse wheel scrolling doesn't work

Download XnView https://www.xnview.com/en/xnview/

STDU Viewer

STDU Viewer – a utility that allows you to view and read various formats, as well as convert them into graphic files. The program is capable of opening a wide variety of text files. When working with graphic files, it corrects errors in texts that were previously scanned. Restores the session after rebooting the PC.

Features: You can simultaneously view multiple documents and print them, advanced document search, convert text documents into graphics

Advantages: document printing PDF, which are protected from printing

Disadvantages: not a full-fledged viewer, but can be used as a complement to existing programs

Download STDU Viewer http://www.stdutility.com/stduviewer.html

Movavi PhotoManager

Movavi Photo Manager is a program that allows you to create albums and manage archives. The main purpose is the automatic creation of catalogs of photographs and graphic files of any format. Photo content is sorted manually and automatically; the built-in editor allows for professional editing.

Features: adding geolocation, inscriptions, tags to photos, the ability to batch process photos, search and delete duplicates and similar photos

Advantages: work with most graphic file formats, import data from Adobe Photoshop, a large number of filters and effects

Disadvantages: complex controls, a large number of settings that are difficult to figure out quickly, short period of free use

Download Movavi Photo Manager https://www.movavi.ru/photo-organizer/?asrc=main_menu

Universal viewer

Universal Viewer is a universal utility with which you can view text, graphic, audio, video files. Supports more than 50 graphic and 250 multimedia file types. The program allows you not only to view files, but also their code (for advanced users).

Features: has a convenient help system, the ability to configure hotkeys and additional plugins, and the ability to add a program to the context menu Windows

Advantages: user-friendly interface, extensive functionality, convenient navigation panel

Disadvantages: to view the entire list of files you need to install several additional plugins

Download Universal Viewer http://uvviewsoft.com/uviewer/download.htm

 Simply Slideshow

Simply Slideshow – a program used to display photos and graphics files in the form of a slide show. It is often used to create original screensavers, and graphic files can be located in different folders, with a set speed and position of the picture.

Features: selection of low-quality images, adjusting display speed, scaling, working in full screen and windowed mode

Advantages: You can return the original file parameters at any time; to create a slide show, simply drag and drop the file

Disadvantages: lack of Russian language, but the interface is simple and intuitive, availability is required Net Framework 4.5.1

Download Simply Slideshow https://simply-slideshow.softok.info/

Which program to use is up to the user to choose, since each of them is unique and functional in its own way. Therefore, in order to decide which program is optimal for you, it makes sense to try each one. Install, see the functionality, evaluate the ease of use, and then leave the one you like best.