Last month I blogged about “Ten Things You Can Do With IrfanView” (you should read my previous article on IrfanView before reading this). I covered basic image manipulation options offered by IrfanView in the previous article. This time I shall highlight some of the more advanced functionalities offered by IrfanView.

1. Screensaver/Slideshow with Music : IrfanView allows you to use create simple slideshows and screensavers using multiple images. Press W (or select “Slideshow” from File menu) to bring up the Slideshow/Screensaver tool. Now simple add images you wish to include in your Slideshow/Screensaver. If you want to add background music, add MP3 files into the slideshow file list, usually at the beginning or before an image. The MP3 file is played until it ends or until next MP3 is loaded from the file list. IrfanView Plugins should be also installed, at least the MP3 Plugin.

2. Panorama : IrfanView allows you to create panorama images by merging multiple images. You will find this option under “Image” menu.

3. Batch Resize/Convert/Compress/Rename : Batch Processing abilities is what makes IrfanView really powerful. Launch the Batch Processing tool by pressing B (you can also find it under “File” menu). You can resize, convert and rename a whole bunch of image files at a time. You can also use it to compress multiple images at a go. This is very useful if you are going to upload images to the web. In order to compress a JPG or GIF image just reduce the quality of image from “Options”. Normally a value between 60 and 70 works best. For PNG images also you get the option to choose compression level. For better results you use the PNGOUT plugin. You can even rotate images , adjust colours or add overlay text.

4. Thumbnails : IrfanView Thumbnail viewer can be launched from the “File” menu or by pressing T. To begin with place all the large images in a single folder and open it in IrfanView Thumbnail viewer. Now set the desired thumbnail size from from the “Options” menu. Finally, select the desired files and click on “Save selected thumbs as single images” option present under the File menu. You can also save the thumbnails as a single image file.

5. Image Gallery for The Web : Using IrfanView’s Thumbnail viewer (discussed above) you can create html image galleries. Repeat the steps mentioned above. But, instead of selecting “Save selected thumbs as single images” option (present under the File menu) select “Save selected thumbs as HTML file”.

6. Image Effect : Irfan View includes some simple yet nifty image effects like blur, emboss, oil paint, explosion, pixelize and 3d button. You can use 3D button option to create simple buttons for your website quickly.

7. Filter Galore : Irfan View even supports Adobe Photoshop filters (8BF Filters), filters created with Filter Factory and Filters Unlimited. Press Shift+J ( or select JPG Lossless Operations from Options Menu.

8. Delete EXIF Data : Before uploading images to the web you should remove the EXIF data to avoid revealing potentially sensitive information (remember Cat Schwartz?). Once again you can do it with IrfanView. Simplest way to do this is to save the image again with “Reset EXIF Orientation Tag” option selected.

However, re-saving an image can reduce image quality. If you want don’t want to compromise on image quality use “JPG Lossless Operations” tool by pressing Shift+J (also available under “Options” menu). Now select “Clean all APP markers” option and save the image to get rid of all metadata associated with the image.

9. Scan Images : IrfanView can also acquire images from your scanner or digital camera.

10. Extract Icons from EXE/DLL : I learned about this feature from Benedict Herold’s article on IrfanView. If you open an EXE or DLL file with IrfanView, it will automatically extract the icons present in it.

It is amazing that IrfanView is able to offer so many advanced functionalities without becoming a bloat. It is very modular hence even on older machines it loads almost instantly. I want to end by saying “Thank You” to Irfan Skiljan for creating such a wonderful software.

Download IrfanView (1.1 MB)
Download All IrfanView Plugins (5.69 MB)
Requirements : 98/NT/2k/Me/XP/95/2003/Vista
Cost : Free for Personal Use
Visit IrfanView’s Homepage

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