IrfanView
IrfanView is a fast and compact image viewer/converterIt is trying to be simple for beginners and powerful for professionalsMany supported file formats and featuresFeatures include: multi-language support, Thumbnail option, Painting, slideshow, toolbar skins, fast directory browsing, batch conversion/editing, multipage editing, file search, change color depth, scanning, cut/crop, IPTC edit, capturing, lossless JPG operations, effects, ICC support, EXE/SCR creating, many hotkeys, command line options and plugins.
Numerous changes in version 4.23 include: Added History list for Random slideshow; New multipage images menu: Create Multipage PDF; Option to save changes on exit; Options to set start parameters for external editors; New Thumbnail option: Use full file path for sorting (if subfolders loaded).
This image viewer and editor is a longtime favorite among our staff, and with good reasonIrfanView is simple, fast, and free for individual useUpon installation, the app attempts to install two Google programs, but you can opt out
The program lets you open and edit images, as well as multiple media formatsYou can cut and crop images, apply batch conversions, add, sharpen, or blur effects, create panoramas, and change color modes easilyThe program continues to add support for an array of file formats and has plug-in support for most image, video, and sound formats, including MP3, AVI, audio CD, and WMAThe interface is far from fancy but should be easy enough for most users to figure outAn IrfanView Thumbnails shortcut on the desktop offers an Explorer-like file tree that quickly displays all images in a particular folderThe latest version includes a basic drawing palette made accessible by hitting F12It contains simple Erase, Draw, Fill, Rotate, Draw an Arrow, and Color Picker commands, perfect for grabbing screenshots and highlighting image specifics
IrfanView does what it does wellIt's not going to replace a major paint program, but why use a meat cleaver to cut a stick of butter?