IrfanView

Introduction
IrfanView is one of the most popular image viewers out there. Not only does it recognize countless file formats but it is also very quick and efficient. With IfranView you can view, edit and convert images without having to worry about the details; IfranView carries out even the most complicated tasks in such a way that even a small kid can pull things through!

IrfanView Installation:
You can download IrfanView from the official website: http://www.irfanview.com . Let’s quickly go through the installation procedure now:

• Double click on the setup
• Unlike other setups, the IrfanView setup will immediately pop-up a window with lots of options; take some time to read them and possibly modify the default values. When you are done, click “Next”
• Once again, click “Next”
• Now you need to select what file types are going to be opened using IrfanView. As soon as you’re done with that, click “Next”
• You are presented with the option to either install Google desktop search or not. Make your choice (it doesn’t really affect IrfanView) and click “Next”.
• One more and you’re done; that’s it!

Now let’s see how we can use IrfanView

How to use IrfanView:

Apart from the fact that IrfanView will automatically launch itself when you open an image (if you have set it up to do so during the installation of course) you can always launch it manually:

Click on: Start->Programs->IrfanView-> IrfanView

Now when you open an image using IrfanView, this is what you should be looking at:

Don’t let the simple user interface fool you, IrfanView is a really powerful utility.

• If there are many images inside the folder where you are currently in, you can use the blue left/right arrows (highlighted in the image above) OR the spacebar/backspace keys in order to navigate through the images. If you have a mouse with a middle scroll button, you can use that too.
• You can use the Zoom In/Out function (highlighted in the image above) for any image and you will notice that the procedure is very fast too!
• The menus “Edit”, “Image” and “Options” include some very powerful features. You can apply effects, resize/resample, increase/decrease color depth, extract frames from an animation etc. You really need to spend several hours in order to explore the full potential of IrfanView.
• Finally, if you want to convert an image, all you have to do is to open it and then go to: File->Save As… As soon as you have done that, all you need to do is to choose the new file type and then press the “Save” button. IrfanView might present you with some extra options before the procedure is finished but that’s only to your advantage; if you feel confused, you can simply press the “OK” button and you’re done!

Conclusion
IrfanView is a really, really powerful utility. It is completely free but if you ask me, it is hundreds of times better than its commercial competitors. If you haven’t installed IrfanView on your PC yet, don’t loose any time, you will remember my words!