XnView

XnView is a free, extremely fast and versatile multimedia viewer, organizer, and manager. With its support for over 500 image formats, you don’t have to wonder whether you can open a certain file using XnView. Vector and raster graphics formats, raw images made by various cameras, internal formats of multiple graphics editing applications, and many exotic formats few have heard about – all of these smoothly open in the program.

The interface is absolutely intuitive and isn’t overloaded by unnecessary functions. Most frequently used actions reside on the toolbar, while others are packed into the menu. And the amount of functions the app offers is really impressive. Here is merely the very top of XnView’s capability iceberg: Viewing photos and images including thumbnail view for easy navigation, fullscreen display, and slideshows; image adjustments including rotating, resizing, color and brightness leveling, filtering, and format conversion. In addition, the program contains image categorization and filtering capabilities which allow you to better organize your digital photo library and quickly find desired photos by tag, or by assigned rating (“best”, “good”, “bad”, etc.).

For experienced users, XnView includes a duplicate image finder, batch processing of images (like multi-resize or batch rename), graphical filters and effects, and a slideshow creator. Modified photos can be exported into one of 70 supported formats.

What’s really outstanding in XnView is its operation speed. Folders with images are read momentarily, and you can start watching thumbnails immediately after you open a folder. Image adjustments are also notably fast. Another important thing about XnView is that it is free. And unlike other “free” software, this one is really free, meaning it doesn’t contain any adware, spyware, or toolbars that a user is forced to install in order to use the application.

While not displaying a fashionable interface or much in the way of social capabilities, XnView is an all-sufficient multimedia viewer, editor, and organizer working perfectly for both rookie and experienced users alike.