IrfanView 4.53 Image Viewer released
IrfanView is one of the most advanced image viewers that is available for Windows. IrfanView 4.53 was released last week; it is the first release of the program in 2019 and one that introduces several new features and options.
Just like the password manager KeePass, IrfanView belongs to a category of well designed powerful programs for Windows. The program's main feature is image viewing but it supports a large number of related functions such as image conversions, batch processing of images, filter and effects, image optimizations, or the creation of slideshows that makes it an universal program when it comes to working with images on Windows.
We have reviewed other great image viewers in the past such as Honeyview, XnView, or FastStone Image Viewer.
Tip: Add IrfanView options to Windows Explorer.
IrfanView 4.53 Update
IrfanView 4.53 is available as a free 32-bit and 64-bit download for the operating system. Users may download and install the new version to update existing installations or start from scratch.
The new version of IrfanView introduces new effects and options. As far as effects are concerned, it is now possible to insert speech bubbles using Image > Effects. Two additional groups of effects, "shadows, shapes, rounded corners, and snowflakes" and "Hexagon, Star, Spikes, Hearts", have been added to the Image menu directly. Last but not least, support for the new Radial Brighten effect is available now as well.
As far as options are concerned, the screen capture dialog features a new option to draw a red circle around the cursor, and there is a new advanced batch conversion option to set the maximum dimensions for resize operations.
The application's zooming functionality got a new feature as well. Hold down Ctrl-Shift while moving the mouse to move in the zoomed image; you may use the mouse wheel for zooming just like you do normally. A click returns to the previous view.
The Contact Sheet dialog has a new profiles option, and IrfanView can read 1 BPP images in RAW as well now.
The new version includes loading fixes for TIF, PCX and PSD files. Several plugins have been updated as well and users who use plugins need to install the new versions from the official plugins page of the extension.
Closing Words
IrfanView is a powerful feature rich image viewer for Windows that is really fast even on systems that are not uber-powerful. The new version adds several new features to the application; while minor in the grand scheme of things, they do improve the functionality of the application.
Now You: which image viewer do you use?
Setting up new computer. Still ok in 2020? Been a while since I last downloaded it.
CNET download by default, be careful.
still looking for viewer with similiar “main window UI”/fast/light as classic ACDsee 2.43->..
the only one with UI like that I have been able to find is Imagine (http://www.nyam.pe.kr/dev/imagine/) but for some reason it’s somwhat unstable for me… why the freak people don’t make that type of main window (even as option) in their programs when it’s clearly the best/fastest way to navigate between folders/pics just using arrow keys, PgUp/Down, Enter :-) :-(
Also how program so old can be so fast/faster for simple viewing folders with lot’s JPG pics than many more recent ones ???… maker really knew what he was doing ???
I’ve been a longtime Irfan user. I don’t usually use it for image editing, unless it’s a quick contrast enhancement, but one feature I do like is the ability to resize a bunch of images all at once. When I want to create a gallery in Facebook, I try to reduce the image size so the pictures upload faster, so I’ll switch to thumbnail view by pressing T, select the images I want to convert, hit B to batch, and I already have the settings set to reduce the image size to 2048 on the longest edge and to output to a different directory that I use for uploads.
Tried it way back, but always preferred & stuck with XnView by a long chalk.
“which image viewer do you use?”
In Windows, none (or, more accurately, whatever the default is in Windows — but I rarely view images at all in Windows). In Linux, I use Geeqie.
IrfanView has always been a clunky mess of an image viewer. I think it’s mainly been used by people who adopted early and never really knew any better. I guess you can get used to pretty much anything.
@Darren: “used by people who adopted early and never really knew any better.”
If a piece of software is meeting your needs well, then using it isn’t a matter of not knowing any better, it’s a matter of using what works for you.
Very convincing comment, Darren, brilliant argumentation and so eloquently and systematically put forward.
Let me translate: “people who use software I don’t like or can’t use are ignorant and don’t know what’s good software, but I do, and I know that because, well, I just know and the others are stupid people.”
I’ve been using IrfanView since ~2003.
It’s one of the 1st programs I install in my Windows installations.
Irfan is great, wish there was something similar for Linux Ubuntu.
Ristreto is crap and Nomacs is soso, can’t find the setting to change the background color which is by default is too bright and straining on the eyes.
This program is insanely small : 2,4 MB only ? Is there a catch ?
@Clairvaux:
Damn, I’m old. I can’t help measuring these things according to “old school” standards. 2.4 megs for an image viewer with those features sounds large to me, not “insanely small” at all! I’d expect something like that to come in under a meg.
Theres no catch. Its good old programming with a ton of features. None of that new age bloated garbage like Electron and UWP.
That’s what I thought. I downloaded both the new version and the add-ons, and the add-ons executable is actually ten times the size. So I mistook one for another.
I hope it adds saving as AVIF inside HEIC/HEIF container some day. AV1 image format guys seem to have adopted HEIC container as per Wikipedia? o_0 That is the future of image compression after JPEG since it’s patent-free, company-neutral and modern (unlike WebP, WDP/HDP/JXR, JPEG-2000, BPG).
I use Portable FastStone Image Viewer.
IrfanView is a great app, but FastStone Image Viewer is by far and away my favorite. I have a highly image intensive blog. I used to use Photoshop to do all the work but now I only use it for adding text and working with layers. FastStone does everything else – it is the workhorse app for my image needs.
I like what ifranview can do, what I don’t like about it is it’s attempts to take over every image thing with out giving you an option to disable it until after the install. About the only option during install is to add or disable explorer extensions. But setting itself as default handler for most other image functions it sets without asking and you have to change the behavior after you install it.
If you prefer, you can unpack the exe, as it’s an SFX archive (or whatever they’re called), and just copy the files over, instead of using the installer.
Really?
During the install, I always get a window asking what file extensions I want to associate with it.
So do I.
I do too. I uncheck all and still it tries to take over aspects of images (Not all just some.) It took over from my Canon connect app for one this last time I updates (Time before this current update.)
Faststone for everyday viewing and Affinity Photo for pro editing.
Affinity is photoshop quality software, can modify any portion of an image and produce spectacular results but is overkill for viewing and simple mods.
Faststone is great to view and do typical image mods. Only complaint is unless files are opened within Faststone, it can get confused opening a list of files with dissimilar names.
For Linux users the cross-platform XnViewMP (review, Martin?) is probably a good choice. However, they can use IrfanView if they want to, for IrfanView runs on Linux with Wine installed.
XnViewMP is great but it’s really slow to start(4-6 seconds). I hope the developer can make it faster like XnView
That must be due to your operating sytem and/or hardware. Or perhaps there is something wrong with your system settings.
XnViewMP starts instantaneously here.
Been using Irfanview since… er… 1996? Once you get used to it, it’s very powerful and doesn’t bother about daft things such as filename extensions. It even offers to rename files with the wrong extension. The OCR thing works at least as well as others that I’ve tried, too. Wouldn’t want to be without it, if truth be known.
I’ve nattered, with Irfan, a few times, and he seems a very decent chap, too. I don’t know if that’s relevant, to you, but there you have it!
I have been using Irfanview x32 for over 2 decades, and it remains my primary image application. I do use other programs for the unique capabilities they have, but most often Irfanview with plugins is still tops in my book.
I mean IrfanView is great, but the ui looks so dated, it’s hard to bear.
@rawr,
i love the dated ui of irfan view. im a sucker for that 98-2003 ui style and icons we had. i still have a pc with windows 7 and i use the classic theme because i can not because i cant use aero
i will get a new pc and will most likely be forced to use that garbo windwos 10 with its ugly ui but i guess i can tweak it to look more outdated like XP or someithing
@Lambo-san:
I’m with you 100%. I really dislike the modern user interfaces, primarily because they make it harder to use the software.
ImageGlass
Irfanview is a very nice image viewer, but it never appealed to me. As is often the case when using image viewing and editing software, these programs are excellent for one person, not appealing to another. I just could never get the grip on it. I understand that for other people it is a great piece of software.
Faststone Image Viewer is a powerful viewer and editor too, and my favorite choice. Versatile, with quite an array of functionalities, and very fast on my computer. Also offers batch converting names and resizing, although in that latter regard nothing beats BDSizer free imo.
It’s clone and noise removal features are quite good and so is it’s red eye removing tool. It’s zooming functions are excellent and very ease to use. It has some very useful shortcuts functions too.
For everyone having a Nikon camera and using raw, ViewNX-i is a very good image viewer. It is much better in organizing as Faststone and works seamlessly with Nikon’s raw editor CaptureNX-D.
Faststone is more versatile and probably more intuitive to use.