PhotoView

PhotoView is a small-sized and portable software utility that enables you to explore disk directories and view images with a wide range of file types, including TIFF, GIF, SGI, TGA, Autodesk, EMF, WMF, PSD, PNG and JPEG. It features some basic editing options as well.

Since installation is not necessary, PhotoView can be saved anywhere on the disk or on a pen drive to always keep it with you when you're on the go and be able to access photos on any PC you access. An important factor worth keeping in mind is that, unlike most installers, this app doesn't change the Windows registry configuration.

Thanks to its clear-cut interface, PhotoView can be handled by first-time and experienced users alike. You can use an integrated file navigator to track down images, check out their thumbnail, and open them in a viewed embedded in the main frame.

The software tool lets you analyze the picture's histogram, find out its file type, size, resolution and timestamp, consult EXIF data in the case of JPEGs, as well as view GPS details and comments.

It's possible to zoom in and out, rotate or flip photographs, adjust the transparency level, invert or equalize colors, convert the image to grayscale, enable scale mode, go to the next or previous image in the current directory, or enter fullscreen mode. Modified images can be saved as new files with the BMP, JPEG, GIF, TIFF or PNG extension.

Concerning program preferences, Photo View lets you select another language for the interface, pick the preferred stretch filter (e.g. nearest, draft, linear, spline), and make file associations with any if of the supported extensions.

There were no stability issues throughout our evaluation, thanks to the fact that the utility didn't freeze, crash or prompt error dialogs. It left a small footprint on system resources consumption.

On the other hand, it didn't apply any changes when we attempted to edit the magnification, rotation and opacity levels. However, PhotoView hasn't been updated for a while, so compatibility issues with newer Windows should be expected. You can test it for yourself, though, since it's free to use and features some handy and intuitive options for viewing and editing pictures.