Anyone else using IrfanView?

[Vin DSL]

As you may (or may not) know, my primary PC got hit by a trojan (or whatever) a week or so ago, and it really did a number on it. Catastropies aren't necessarily such a bad thing, however, since out of catastrophy comes change.

Having said that, I was thinking about updating Paint Shop Pro 7. I switched from Adobe Photoshop to Paint Shop Pro in the mid 90's, 'cause all my buds were talking it up - been using version 7 since '03 - and was thinking about going to version 8 or 9, but after doing a little research, the jury is still out on which version is the best. Many, many, ppl still prefer version 7, so I'm not so sure I want to 'move up' to a newer version. I can get version 8 on eBay for 20 bones - version 9 for about 35 - so cost isn't an issue. I just don't want to go through a steep learning curve, with everything else that's going on right now. It'll probably take me months to get this machine back to the functionality I enjoyed before 'the crash', blah, blah, blah...

Anyway, while researching this, I ran across a proggie called IrfanView:

http://www.irfanview.com/

I downloaded it because of all the glowing reviews and accolades I read from 'trade' ppl, computer magazine editors, nerds, hackers, et cetera, and I'll have to say that I'm V impressed with it so far. I have a feeling I won't even need PSP for most common things. I can work just as fast in IrfanView as PSP, and I've only had it for a few hours...

Any thoughts on PSP 8/9 vs 7?

Also, anyone else using IrfanView here, or have I 'discovered' another jewel in the rough?

[Vin DSL]

Er... point of order...

I know IrfanView is a viewer, not a graphic program, and will not directly replace PSP, in the long run. However, it will definitely replace ACDSEE on my system[s], from here on out - which I've also used since the 90's.

I just wanted to see if anyone else was using it, and what the general consensus is on PSP 8/9 compared to PSP 7...

[Buya]

I've used IrfanView. The company I work for was looking for a "free" image editing tool to recommend to our clients. After some testing we decided apon IrfanView or as we like to call it IronMan. It's a handy little app.

You say that you abandoned Photoshop for Paint Shop Pro. I don't understand how anyone could do that but I guess it's your prerogative.

Since you're not into Photoshop should I assume you are also not interested in The Gimp?

[Sara]

One word. Scripting (Python) and the ability to automate a lot of repeated tasks. But why don't you download the trials from Corel (sick) and give it a test for yourself.

[Vin DSL]

You say that you abandoned Photoshop for Paint Shop Pro. I don't understand how anyone could do that... Since you're not into Photoshop should I assume you are also not interested in The Gimp?

Yes, no Gimp for me...

All I can tell you is, I used to love Photoshop and hate PSP. All the webmasters I 'hung with' used PSP, and I thought they were crazy. Everytime PSP came up with a new version, I'd download the trial version, use it for 5 minutes, then delete it off my drive. I didn't get it either...

The turning point for me was when PSP made it possible to start using Photoshop plugins, like Bryce, Eye Candy, and so forth. PSP finally caught my attention, and I jumped ship.

I suppose I got tired of all the Photoshop prima donnas too (of which I was one). I got tired of scanning 1500-page books, trying to figure out how to make a transparency, tubes, et cetera - having it take up half my valuable hard drive space (at the time) - run slow as molassis on my two-generations-behind CPU, and so forth.

I want to get into a program, do my business, and get out. "Evaluate, medicate, and evacuate", you know?

[Vin DSL]

...why don't you download the trials from Corel (sick) and give it a test for yourself...

Good idea! Why didn't I think of that?

See? I'm stressed...

[Spathiphyllum]

Vin,

I used IrfanView years ago, intermittently, but made a switch to ACDSee about 5 years ago and never went back. I have IrfanView still but never use it - it is a great utility but serves as redundancy now. I should purge it.

Also, I don't use PSP though I've thought about it... steep learning curve and all. I'm still using Photoshop (95%), the GIMP (4.99%), and Other (0.01%) for my graphics. Photoshop is a remnant of my scientific / film|scan imaging of years ago. The idea of familiarizing myself with yet another graphics suite (hmm, YAGS - probably open source project somewhere) sounds too wasteful. I'd need one fine compelling reason to unlearn Photoshop.

[Vin DSL]

Well, let's face it... ACDSEE has suffered from bloat for years, takes forever to build thumbnails, leaves artifacts all over the place, et cetera. This IrfanView is small, shockingly fast, displays native PSD files, PSP files, and so forth, even plays audio files, movies - you name it. As I said, I'm done with ACDSEE, and I've used it for (I'm guessing) 10 years...

PSP is a different matter. Upon reflection, I don't think I can live without it. I use the soft cloning feature constantly (Clone Brush, or whatever). Also, the export to PNG feature. Then, there's the idiot-proof, push button transparency process. Does Photoshop have these features? I can't remember... Seems like everything was like pulling your own teeth!

[Spathiphyllum]

As I said, I'm done with ACDSEE, and I've used it for (I'm guessing) 10 years...

Heh, I'd suggest we just switch PCs since we seem to be taking completely divergent routes... but who needs trojans?

PSP... I don't think I can live without it. I use the soft cloning feature constantly (Clone Brush, or whatever). Also, the export to PNG feature. Then, there's the idiot-proof, push button transparency process. Does Photoshop have these features? I can't remember... Seems like everything was like pulling your own teeth!

PS has cloning (not sure if the filter would be called soft- or hard- cloning) and PNG export. I've used version 4 and 5 and they were both capable. I'm assuming these features are either still present or enhanced in their newer incarnations. Push button transparency? Not on mine, but there may be a plug-in or the newer versions may support such a feature. My imaging needs are pretty trivial in the grand scheme. Having PS integrate with Illustrator and Acrobat has much more developmental appeal, so I'll let the transparency button go for a while. And of course, for every routine that I absorb, an older routine gets expunged. Sadly, this is a zero-sum equation so in my calculus, PSP is probably out for a while.

[Buya]

One word. Scripting (Python) and the ability to automate a lot of repeated tasks

Im not familiar with Python but why not Photoshop Actions?

[Oldfrog]

I have both PSP 7/8 and learned on 7. When 8 came out I loved it right off the bat as there was a lot more that could be done by extending what you already knew. I also have Irfanview but consider them to be in two entirely different classes.

[Vin DSL]

I have both PSP 7/8 and learned on 7. When 8 came out I loved it right off the bat as there was a lot more that could be done by extending what you already knew. I also have Irfanview but consider them to be in two entirely different classes.

A couple of things, Oldfrog...

Have you tried PSP 9?

Like I said, I can buy PSP 9 for a few bucks more than PSP 8. I'm just worried about bloat. I DID read that PSP 8 'hides' the new features nicely in drop-down menus, so the interface is still pretty clean. I'm not so sure about PSP 9, though.

Secondly, I wrote the first post in this thread this morning, after putting IrfanView through it's paces, and I found that I could do many of the same things for which I use PSP, such as capturing screenshots from the web and making nice, tight PNG's out of them; downloading, cropping, and titling pictures from my Sony DSC-V1 digital camera; do batch scans from my HP 4570c Scanjet, and so forth. I was pretty pumped! However, after I thought about it for a while, I realized it was a silly comparison. 'IronMan', as Buya put it, is more of a direct replacment for ACDSEE - a better ACDSEE, if you will.

[Oldfrog]

No, I have never used PSP9. I bought PSP7 on a special deal that gave me a free upgrade to 8 when it came out. You are right about 8 looking a lot like 7 except adding drop downs with more features. The transition was a lot faster than I imagined. I have never even looked at Irfanview as being a replacement.

[DLMunson]

ive had psp7 and 8.

7 was soooo much better than 8, when 9 was beta testing, i tried it, then removed it in 5 mins....aka no likey

im currently using gimp...why? cause it just rocks. i never liked photoshop, dont ask

[innovati]

I have used Photoshop, Corel suite, and old versions of PSP. One image editor I really liked was Fireworks from Macromedia - but with the recent acquisition of Macromedia by Adobe I think it's gonna be the first to go.

I use the GIMP for all of my tasks becuase it has better support, is more flexible, and runs on all of the OS's I run on at a cost I can't beat. (I am a linux user and poor)

The GIMP daunted me with it's bulky GTK interface and funny terms - but after learning it (which isn't as hard as it looks) it is inseperable.

For image viewing/scripting/editing check out imagemagick and it's various incarnations (even for web). It has the absolute best support of image formats I've ever seen (over half I don't even recognize) and it runs under php, java, window, unix, ruby, python and other environments. Very good for batch or web image processing and a simple GUI for it can lead to fast, low-overhead image viewing. Open source and free for everybody.

One app I really like is Inkscape, but that's for SVG vector illutrations. I'm really big into SVG. inkscape.org. Open-source, so it can't hurt to try it out.