As for the editing functions themselves, XnView again comes through with more muscle than one might expect for a freebie application. A simple operation converts a photo to gray scale. Basic adjustments can correct for hue, brightness, contrast and saturation. Rotate it, flip it: All the fundamentals are here.
Then XnView goes beyond the basics with a number of useful effects; drop shadowing and 3D bordering for example help to frame a photo, "slice" creates a mosaic effect, and "swirl" adds a literal twist to an image.
By and large these effects are easy to use. Some operate via a simple on/off function, while others allow for varying degrees of adjustment to the intensity of the effect.
It is fair to say that these effects are nothing compared to the massive array of image manipulation tools packaged into some of the big-money photo editors. Those seeking a really high-end lineup of editing tools likely will look elsewhere; that said, XnView offers the ability to quickly and easily apply the basic fixes to brighten up photos and bring out the best results in terms of color and contrast.
Users can also crop photos, but here again the program gets a bit quirky. Efforts to section off an area for cropping deliver a variable parameter: Dragging the mouse makes the sides long or short with no constraints. Want to keep the basic ratio for a 4x6 or 8x10 photo? You'll need to hit the letter "D" before indicating the crop area. No menu, no key combination, just hit the letter "D" before cropping.
We dug that out of the Help menu. It is one of the stranger and least intuitive functions we have run into lately. Still, freeware is freeware, and once you figure out the trick it isn't really all that hard.
(This might be a good time to mention that XnView is available not only as freeware but also in a commercial version. A single license costs 26 Euro, or about $35US.)
Putting aside the minor quibbles ("D"?), this software wins generally high marks for its ease of use. A screen capture utility for example offers a clean and simple interface for capturing screenshots from the desktop or from a Window into XnView or into an existing folder. It's a lean function, nothing terribly elaborate, but most importantly, it gets the job done.
More sophisticated is the search function, which will ferret out files according to a range of criteria including file size, date modified, and image format. If you have assigned image descriptions to a file, the search function can track these images down by searching out specific descriptive text. All told, that's a lot of intelligent searching.
As to nuts and bolts, it is worth noting the slim profile of XnView, with a lean install file and a fast and easy installation process. The browser view itself is likely a model of simplicity: A directory runs down the left-hand side, with folder clicks bringing up thumbnails on the right.
These mechanics may sound basic, but we take nothing for granted in freeware. An eye toward the basics usually says a lot about the software overall.
All told, we're pleased. The fundamentals run nicely and it even has a few extras. Most significantly, though, XnView delivers on its promise of format flexibility. If you need to move images effortlessly between formats – virtually any formats – this product will do the job will minimal fuss.
Pros: Easy management of virtually any image format, freeware, easy to use interface (for the most part)
Cons: A few quirks here and there (but nothing major), not as feature-rich in terms of image editing capabilities as a commercial app like Photoshop, interface could use a bit more polish
