IrfanViewfor Windows

Sometimes, you just need a straightforward and simple tool to enhance an image. IrfanView (pronounced as EarfanView) is a light yet feature-rich tool that touches up any digital image. Discover more about this nifty editor below.

Photo editing tool with premium capabilities

IrfanView's fast but compact form makes it the go-to editor for casual editors and advanced users.

IrfanView's developer, Irfan Skilijan, has launched over seventy versions and revision updates since the editor was launched in 1996.  Its tool kit boasts a competitive set of features. 

Whenever you use the program to open an image, you'll immediately notice the bottom status bar. It provides important information about the file, such as pixel dimension, bits per pixel (BPP), percent zoom, disk size, and current memory size. If you want more details about the image, you can open the 'i' button. Short for 'image information', this sheet provides you with info like file's name, path, directory index compression method, DPI resolution, colors in BPP, number of unique colors per image, and so much more. These details help you see any revisions you made to the file, making it handy when you want to batch process image files. Open the image information feature whenever you want to fix a batch's brightness, contrast, tint, gamma level, etc.

Now that you have your photos ready for display, why not set them up in a slideshow? Irfanview lets you gather individual images into one collection. It offers several unique features to customize your slideshows, such as continuous looping, MP3 embedding, and load .txt files. Whether you're using it in a business setting, family gatherings, or personal use, always make sure to save it as a stand-alone executable file. Doing so will ensure that you can run the slideshow on any multimedia player.

Unmatched file support

IrfanView is one of the first programs to support multiple GIF, TIFF, and ICO files. It has expanded to read and save over 130 graphic, video, and audio file formats. One file support that stands out is the TWAIN format. Retrieve images from scanners, digital cameras, and even video graphics cards attached to your PC. If that wasn't enough, browse and select certain plugins to view other file types, extensions, and formats on the IrfanView website. With the right OS, installation will be a breeze.

Where can you run this program?

IrfanVew exclusively runs on Windows PCs, be it 9X, 2000, XP, 2008, Vista, or Windows 10.

This freeware unfortunately is not compatible with mac OS X and Linux devices.

Is there a better alternative?

Among IrfanView's competitors, XnView stands out. This free file explorer allows you to view and convert a wide variety of graphic files. Thanks to its built-in preview engine, XnView offers native support to 400 different image file formats. It can also play multimedia formats like AVI or MP3. If you have lots of different files you want to organize, convert or even browse, XnView is definitely worth checking out.

Our take

By letting you view all sorts of different formats - be it a native-supported file or plug-in - you don't have to download more third-party apps. It is fact and compact, and makes it ideal for on-the-go editing.

Should you download it?

Of course! It’s a great addition to your selection of apps for work or for personal use.