Viewing and Browsing Images

Irfan View is designed for fast image browsing. There are several different ways to use it. Since it supports almost every file type, it is more powerful than Windows Explorer, and the images can be viewed at full size instead of in a small preview window. Below is the Irfan View toolbar using one of many available skin.

1. From the Irfan View Window

Open any supported file from Windows Explorer, or from Irfan View's File Open dialogue box. To browse all files in the current directory, use the left and right cursor keys, or click on the blue left and right arrows on the toolbar.

When the last or first file in the directory is reached, you will get a dialogue box asking if you want to jump to the first or last file. To jump automatically without being asked, go to Properties (P), Misc1, and check "Don't notify if the end/begin of directory is reached (during browsing)."

Normally, files will be displayed at 100%. To fit files to the current Irfan View window, go to the View menu and choose one or other of the Display Options. They are self explanatory.

To zoom in/zoom out, use the + and - keys on the numeric keypad, or click the maginifying glass icons on the toolbar. You can also drag a selection rectangle, and click inside it to zoom in. To return to 100% viewing, press Control H.

2. Full-screen Viewing

With any image open in Irfan View, press Enter or double-click to enter full-screen mode.

Use the cursor keys, the space bar, or click the mouse to browse all images in the current directory. Press the Enter key again, or the Escape key to return to normal viewing mode. When the end or beginning of the directory is reached, you will be notified or not depending on the setting in Properties, Misc1 (as noted above).

Fitting of images in full-screen mode can be changed from Properties (P), Viewing. Other options here include whether to display the filename and the mouse cursor, what zoom step percentage to use with the numpad + and - keys, and what background colour to use behind the picture.

3. Thumbnail Browsing

When you want to browse more than a single directory, it is more convenient to use the Thumbnail browsing mode, which is more like Windows Explorer, but much faster and more flexible.

To enter Thumbnail Mode, press T, or click the multi-coloured thumbnail icon on the toolbar. A new window will open with a folder pane on the left, and a thumbnail pane on the right. If you select any folder in the left pane that contains supported file types, Irfan View will immediately start generating thumbnails to display in the right-hand pane. This process is very fast, but if your images are large it will take some minutes. To pause the process, you can select stop from the menu bar.

To change the size of the thumbnails, and therefore the number of columns that will fit in the thumbnail pane, select the options menu, and "Set thumbnail options."