IrfanView

2025-10-09T15:25:29Z

2A02:8070:487:2120:3957:81D5:4807:3BEE:

{{Short description|Image viewer, editor and converter program}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox software
| name = IrfanView
| logo = IrfanView Logo2.svg
| logo size = 48px
| screenshot = IrfanView.png
| caption = IrfanView version 4.33 showing a photo of [[Schloss Ort]]
| developer = Irfan Škiljan
| released = {{Start date and age|1996|06|01|df=yes/no}}<ref name="old-history">[http://www.irfanview.com/history_old.htm History of changes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824033449/https://www.irfanview.com/history_old.htm |date=24 August 2023 }} for older versions of IrfanView</ref>
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|reference|P348}}
| latest release date = {{start date and age|{{wikidata|qualifier|P348|P577}}}}
| operating system = [[Microsoft Windows]]
| size = 3.57 [[Megabyte|MB]] ''(IrfanView 64-bit)''<br />26.02 [[Megabyte|MB]] ''(Plugins 64-bit)''<ref name="irfanview-plugins">[https://www.irfanview.com/64bit.htm IrfanView 64-bit version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819111212/https://www.irfanview.com/64bit.htm |date=19 August 2023 }} Irfanview.com. Retrieved 1 December 2021.</ref>
| language = English, German <br />Other languages available as download.
| language footnote = <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.irfanview.com/languages.htm |title=Additional languages for IrfanView |access-date=27 March 2008 |archive-date=6 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106143210/http://www.irfanview.com./languages.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
| genre = [[Image viewer]]
| license = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]], free for non-commercial use
| website = {{URL|https://www.irfanview.com/}}
}}

'''IrfanView''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪər|f|æ|n|v|j|uː}}) is an [[image viewer]], editor, organizer and converter program for [[Microsoft Windows]].<ref name="pcworld">{{cite magazine | url = http://www.pcworld.com/article/231723/irfanview.html | access-date = 11 March 2016 | first = Preston | last = Gralla | magazine = [[PC World]] | title = IrfanView | archive-date = 12 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160312074526/http://www.pcworld.com/article/231723/irfanview.html | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="lifehacker">{{cite web | url = http://lifehacker.com/205801/download-of-the-day-irfanview-windows | date = 6 October 2006 | access-date = 11 March 2016 | first = Adam | last = Pash | publisher = [[Lifehacker]] | title = Download of the Day: IrfanView (Windows) | archive-date = 12 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160312061129/http://lifehacker.com/205801/download-of-the-day-irfanview-windows | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="techrepublic">{{cite magazine | url = http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/web-designer/irfanview-a-robust-and-free-image-editor-for-your-toolkit/ | date = 23 August 2011 | access-date = 11 March 2016 | first = Ryan | last = Boudreaux | magazine = [[TechRepublic]] | title = IrfanView: A robust (and free) image editor for your toolkit | archive-date = 12 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160312063822/http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/web-designer/irfanview-a-robust-and-free-image-editor-for-your-toolkit/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> It can also play video and audio files, and has some image creation and painting capabilities. IrfanView is free for non-commercial use; commercial use requires paid registration.<ref name="pcworld" /> It is noted for its small size,<ref name="lifehacker" /> speed,<ref name="lifehacker" /> ease of use, and ability to handle a wide variety of graphic file formats. It was first released in 1996.<ref name="techrepublic" />

IrfanView is named after its creator, Irfan Škiljan, from [[Jajce]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], living in [[Vienna]].<ref name="about">{{Cite web |url=http://www.irfanview.com/main_about.htm |title=About the author |first=Irfan |last=Skiljan |publisher=Irfanview.com |access-date=27 September 2015 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924040203/http://www.irfanview.com/main_about.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The current version of IrfanView, 4.72, works under all versions of Windows from [[Windows XP]] to [[Windows 11]]. Version 4.44 and older versions were compatible with [[Windows 95]]/[[Windows 98|98]]/[[Windows Me|Me]]<ref name="techrepublic" /><ref name="MStest">{{Cite web |url=http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/CompatCenter/ProductDetailsViewer?Type=Software&Name=IrfanView&ModelOrVersion=4&Vendor=irfan+skiljan&Locale=1033&LastSearchTerm=&BreadcrumbPath=irfanview&TempOsid=Windows+10 |title=Windows 10 Compatibility for IrfanView by Irfan Skiljan: Compatible |work=Windows Compatibility Center |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |access-date=4 August 2015 |archive-date=24 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224224545/http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/CompatCenter/ProductDetailsViewer?Type=Software&Name=IrfanView&ModelOrVersion=4&Vendor=irfan+skiljan&Locale=1033&LastSearchTerm=&BreadcrumbPath=irfanview&TempOsid=Windows+10 |url-status=live }}</ref> and can also be run in [[Linux]] under [[Wine (software)|Wine]]<ref name="techrepublic" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=163 |title=IrfanView 3.x, 4.x (test results) |publisher=WineHQ.org |access-date=14 May 2011 |archive-date=8 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308170910/http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=163 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in [[macOS]] using [[Wine (software)|WineBottler]].<ref name="techrepublic" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2524633?threadID=2524633 |title=Irfanview for Mac: Apple Support Communities |access-date=26 May 2011 |archive-date=28 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328112317/https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2524633?threadID=2524633 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

==Features==
IrfanView is specifically optimized for fast image display and loading times. It supports viewing and saving of numerous file types including image formats such as [[BMP file format|BMP]], [[GIF]], [[JPEG]], [[JPEG 2000|JP2 & JPM]] (JPEG2000), [[Portable Network Graphics|PNG]] (includes the optimizer [[OptiPNG]]; [[APNG]] can be read), [[TIFF]], [[Raw image format|raw photo formats]] from digital cameras, [[ECW (file format)|ECW]] (Enhanced Compressed Wavelet), [[Windows Metafile|EMF]] (Enhanced Windows Metafile), FSH (EA Sports format), [[ICO (file format)|ICO]] (Windows icon), [[PCX]] (Zsoft Paintbrush), [[Netpbm|PBM]] (Portable BitMap), [[PDF]] (Portable Document Format), [[Portable graymap|PGM]] (Portable GrayMap), [[Netpbm format|PPM]] (Portable PixelMap), [[Truevision TGA|TGA]] (Truevision Targa), [[WebP]], [[Free_Lossless_Image_Format|FLIF]] (Free Lossless Image Format) and viewing of media files such as [[Adobe Flash|Flash]], [[Ogg]], [[Vorbis]], [[MPEG]], [[MP3]], [[MIDI]], and [[text file]]s.<ref>[http://www.irfanview.com/main_formats.htm "List of supported formats"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230827003711/https://www.irfanview.com/main_formats.htm |date=27 August 2023 }}. Irfanview.com. Retrieved 12 July 2010.</ref><ref name="Harris">{{Cite book| title=HTML, XHTML, and CSS All-in-One For Dummies |author=Harris, Andy| publisher=[[For Dummies]] |edition=2nd |page=107| isbn=978-0-470-53755-8 |year=2010 |access-date=9 September 2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-LdlRI0fT_UC&q=irfanview&pg=PA107}}</ref>

Image editing includes crop, resize, and rotate. Images can be adjusted by modifying their [[brightness]], [[Contrast (vision)|contrast]], [[Tint, shade and tone|tint]], and [[Gamma correction|gamma]] level<ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EKblq5NS4AAC&q=irfanview&pg=PA289 |title=Google Earth for Dummies |pages=289–290|last=Crowder |first=David A.| publisher=[[Wiley Publishing]] |location=Indianapolis |isbn=978-0-470-09528-7 |year=2007| access-date=23 June 2010}}</ref> manually or automatically, and by converting them between file formats. Many of these changes can be applied to multiple images in one operation using [[batch processing]].<ref name="TechRadar">{{cite web |last1=Ellis |first1=Cat |last2=Marshall |first2=Carrie |title=IrfanView review |url=https://www.techradar.com/uk/reviews/irfanview |website=TechRadar |access-date=4 May 2020 |language=en |date=5 May 2017 |archive-date=28 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328112105/https://www.techradar.com/uk/reviews/irfanview |url-status=live }}</ref>

A [[#Plugins|plugin]] allows IrfanView to support [[JPEG#Lossless_editing|lossless JPG operations]]: horizontal or vertical flip, [[Image_editing#Image_orientation|rotation]] by 90° increments, and [[Image_editing#Cropping_an_image|cropping]].<ref>[https://www.irfanview.com/plugins.htm "IrfanView Plugins"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110023217/https://www.irfanview.com/plugins.htm |date=10 January 2021 }}. Irfanview.com. Retrieved 1 September 2019.</ref><ref>[https://jpegclub.org/losslessapps.html "Lossless ''jpegtran'' applications"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819223613/http://jpegclub.org/losslessapps.html |date=19 August 2023 }}. JPEGclub.org. Retrieved 1 September 2019.</ref>

===Plugins===
IrfanView uses plugins to handle several additional images, video, and sound formats and to add optional functionality such as filter processing or other program features.<ref name="irfanview-plugins" /><ref name="techrepublic" /> With its diverse set of format plugins, the program has been recommended for viewing obscure image formats, or corrupted files, which commercial photo editing software cannot read.<ref name="Brundage">{{Cite book|title=Photoshop Elements 8 for Windows: The Missing Manual| author=Brundage, Barbara |page=73 |publisher=[[O'Reilly Media]] / Pogue Press| year=2009| isbn=9781449379520 |access-date=23 June 2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uB5H3R_VvFwC&q=irfanview&pg=PA73}}</ref><ref name="Nelson">{{Cite book |last1=Nelson |first1=Sharon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1VX3G8lasuwC&pg=PA104 |title=The 2009 Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide |last2=Simek |first2=John W. |last3=Maschke |first3=Michael C. |publisher=[[American Bar Association]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-60442-321-1 |page=104}}</ref>

===Search engine toolbar===
Prior to version 4.41 installer versions of IrfanView supported a number of [[browser toolbar]]s. Version 4.40 optionally installed the Amazon 1Button App (formerly the Amazon Browser bar).<ref name="old-history" />

==Reception==
Irfanview has been positively reviewed as "really good" for easily and rapidly viewing and manipulating images, with its editing and drawing tools.<ref name="Harris2">{{Cite book |title=HTML, XHTML, and CSS All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies |last1=Harris |first1=Andy |last2=McCulloh |first2=Chris |publisher=[[Wiley Publishing]] |page=97| isbn=978-0-470-18627-5 |year=2008 |access-date=23 June 2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9kLLI-0exgC&pg=PA97}} Features extensive introduction and opinion.</ref> Other writers have focused on its ability to open a wide variety of image formats.<ref name="Brundage"/><ref name="Nelson"/> In a series of image quality tests conducted in 2004, compared with commercial image compressors and [[Adobe Photoshop]] 7, Irfanview 3.91 produced "consistently better images than the Adobe Photoshop JPEG encoder at the same data rate", and its JPEG2000 compression quality "closely followed" the best codec, [[JasPer]]."<ref>{{cite book |chapter=JPEG vs. JPEG2000: An Objective Comparison of Image Encoding Quality |last1=Ebrahimi |first1=Farzad |last2=Chamik |first2=Matthieu |last3=Winkler |first3=Stefan |title=Applications of Digital Image Processing XXVII. Proceedings of the SPIE |volume= 5558 |pages=300–308 |date=November 2004 |editor-last=Tescher |editor-first=Andrew G. |doi=10.1117/12.564835 |citeseerx = 10.1.1.65.5495|s2cid=6393903}}</ref> According to IrfanView's official website, since 2003, IrfanView has been downloaded over 1 million times per month. One independent review in 2017 described Irfanview, as "the [[Swiss Army knife|Swiss Army Knife]] of image viewers".<ref name=TechRadar/>

==Author==
Irfan Škiljan graduated from the [[Vienna University of Technology]]. In a 2006 interview, then 32-year-old Škiljan said that he was able to more or less live off the software, generating income with the sale of licenses for commercial users and of special versions for different customers.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://wolf-hosbach.de/computer/irfan.html |author=Hosbach, Wolf |title=Hat es sich gelohnt? |number=6 |year=2006 |publisher=PC Magazin |language=de |access-date=28 October 2008 |archive-date=6 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306032650/http://wolf-hosbach.de/computer/irfan.html |url-status=live }} [https://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://wolf-hosbach.de/computer/irfan.html&hl=en&langpair=auto|en&tbb=1&ie=UTF-8 (English tr.)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514224448/http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://wolf-hosbach.de/computer/irfan.html&hl=en&langpair=auto%7Cen&tbb=1&ie=UTF-8 |date=14 May 2015 }}</ref>

=== Pronunciation ===
The author claims that the software is pronounced as "EarfanView"; it is named after himself and is an Islamic Arabic name, [[Irfan]].<ref name="about" />

===Logo/mascot===
According to Škiljan, the IrfanView logo and mascot is a "[[roadkill|road cat]]" (there is a tire track across the smallest and the biggest icon for Windows Explorer, as well as the version for Microsoft Store)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.irfanview.com/faq.htm#Q76 |title=IrfanView Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=Irfanview.com |access-date=27 September 2015 |archive-date=18 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230818232656/https://www.irfanview.com/faq.htm#Q76 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/irfanview/9nl0r0jnnzm0 |title=Get IrfanView - Microsoft Store |publisher=Microsoft |access-date=21 January 2021 |archive-date=28 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328112218/https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/irfanview/9nl0r0jnnzm0 |url-status=live }}</ref> but that he "likes cats", and the icon is "a joke" – the IrfanView website pictures him holding a white domestic cat.<ref name="about"/>

==See also==
* [[Comparison of image viewers]]
* [[Comparison of raster graphics editors]]
* {{annotated link|Computer graphics}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website|1=https://www.irfanview.com/}}

{{raster graphics editors}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irfanview}}
[[Category:image viewers]]
[[Category:photo software]]
[[Category:Proprietary raster graphics editors]]
[[Category:raw image processing software]]
[[Category:screenshot software]]
[[Category:Windows-only freeware]]

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IrfanView