Download FastPictureViewer, 32 or 64-bit

Try the FREE Home Basic Edition right now!

Download FastPictureViewer 1.00 (Build 100) 32-bit

Download FastPictureViewer 1.00 (Build 100) 64-bit

See what's new in the latest version: check out the announcement in the user's forum.

(Windows XP users still running SP2: please see note below)

The freeware Home Basic edition can be used freely for personal, non-profit or educational uses. Axel Rietschin Software Developments reserves the right to discontinue the free version, or add / remove features from the free version, at any time.

Built-in multilingual support (setup is still in English):

   Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Dutch, English,
   French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Spanish.

Czech and Korean languages coming soon. Contact us if you'd like to contribute a translation!   Έρευνα για τον ελληνικό μεταφραστή   Etsitkö suomalainen kääntäjä.   Procurando brasileira português tradutor.

Planned for 2009 (Professional Edition):

   Keywording/tagging/IPTC editor (with keyword dictionary).
   Web/FTP publishing.

If you use FastPictureViewer professionally or want to preview raw images or shoot tethered, see the benefits of the pro edition and please purchase a license. You can get a zipped version of the installer (32-bit or 64-bit) if your firewall does not like MSI files.

Check out the image file formats compatibility page and read the Frequently Asked Questions and their thorough answers, along with the How To section of the user forum: it's the best way to learn about FastPictureViewer's unique abilities.

Try out the Professional Edition: visit the evaluation license request page and fill out the form, we'll send you a free evaluation license key for you to check all the Pro features, including instant raw previewing and tethered shooting, or...

Go Pro: get your permanent license and unlock the full power of FastPictureViewer!

The Home Basic Edition is free and can be used for as long as you want to display and rate JPEGs and HD Photo images.

If you like it and use it often, you could consider a small PayPal donation: it helps with the development of new free features and also help ensure the perennity of the free edition:

c't Magazin 19/2008:

Minimum system requirements (Vista or later recommended!):


	FastPictureViewer was developed entirely on Windows Vista and tested successfully on Windows Vista (all editions), Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7. The program also runs on Windows XP SP3 (or XP SP2 with a small additional pre-requisite).

Windows Vista.
Windows Vista 64-bit.
Windows 7 RC (6.1.7100).
Windows 7 RC (6.1.7100) 64-bit.
Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2, 32 and 64 bit editions.
Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3).
Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) with Windows Imaging Component (WIC).
Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) with Windows Imaging Component (WIC).
24-bit per pixel (16 million colors) or 32-bit per pixel display mode is recommended.
Modern and powerful graphic adapter recommended for the optional DirectX/Direct3D GPU acceleration support. Recent multi-core processor with large L2/L3 caches recommended for ultimate performances.
ATI users: please use the ATI Catalyst Driver v8.11 (Nov 12, 2008) or later.
NVIDIA users: please use the NVIDIA ForceWare / GeForce driver 175 or later.
For all other cards, please use the latest driver, preferably late-2008 or newer.

Stay informed about new releases:

Subscribe to our RSS feed using any feed reader including Bloglines, Newsgator, Technorati, Windows Live, My Yahoo!, Google, Netvibes and more, or bookmark this site on Del.icio.us, Digg, Technorati, Facebook or Symbaloo, and visit us from time to time!

Help spread the word:

One thing you can do to support us is to go out there on the web and tell the people what you like (or don't?) about FastPictureViewer. Forums, chat rooms, blogs, social networks... Helping spread the word is definitely one of the best ways to support this product!

You can use the code below to link to this page from your website:

Copy and paste the following HTML code:

Tips:

Read the FAQ, in particular learn how to configure FastPictureViewer for best performances!

FastPictureViewer ships in a kind of 'safe mode' where hardware acceleration, parallel image loading and smooth scaling are turned off by default. You might want to try turning those features ON one by one from the Options dialog and experiment a little bit with the settings to discover what works best for your computer and your needs. The fastest configuration is described in the FAQ.

Please note that the DirectX hardware accelerated mode uses techniques normally intended to be used by computer games and may not work on all graphic cards. Newer/higher-end gaming cards with fresh drivers tends to work best: make sure you are using the latest driver for your card! If you run into any kind of display issue, please turn OFF the GPU acceleration in FastPictureViewer.

Windows XP SP2 users: Please install the Service Pack 3, or download and install the Window Imaging Component (WIC) in the appropriate language for your system. WIC is a 1.2MB download required to run FastPictureViewer on Windows XP SP2. It installs quickly and normally don't require a reboot. Microsoft does not support installing WIC on XP SP1 or earlier operating systems, in particular Windows 2000 is not supported. We would LOVE to include WIC within our installer and spare you the hassle of installing it separately, but WIC does not come with a redistribution license so we cannot bundle it at this time, end-users must download it and install is themselves (a 2mn job).

Users running an English-language version of Windows XP can download wic_x86_enu.exe directly from
the following link: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=70841. WIC is also available through SoftPedia, including international versions.

The official WIC download page on the Microsoft site is not exactly a model of clarity regarding languages, please use the following list as a guide:

English-speaking XP SP2 users need to get the file named wic_x86_enu.exe,
La version en langue française est wic_x86_fra.exe, die deutsche ist wic_x86_deu.exe, el español es wic_x86_esn.exe,
italiano e wic_x86_ita.exe, portugues: wic_x86_ptb.exe, russian: wic_x86_rus.exe, japanese: wic_x86_jpn.exe,
chinese: wic_x86_chs.exe, dutch: wic_x86_nld.exe,

The first file on their list, wic_x86_chs.exe, won't install on non-Chinese versions of Windows XP.

64-bit Windows XP SP2 or 64-bit Windows Server 2003 users: you need Windows Imaging Components (64-bit)

IDimager users: Please update to IDimager v4.0.0.7a or later for full metadata interoperability.

Version history:

1.0.100.0 - 2009/06/25 - Improved keyboard shortcuts (unrate with [`]), other minor improvements. 1.0.099.0 - 2009/06/19 - Updated Dutch translation, plus some minor enhancements and fixes.
1.0.098.0 - 2009/06/05 - Updated Chinese translations, external editors hotkeys now works with external editor window closed.
1.0.097.0 - 2009/06/04 - Simplified Chinese translation, also fixed a bug related to double-click/drag drop from Explorer.
1.0.096.0 - 2009/06/01 - Maintenance release with various small optimizations, also produces leaner XMP sidecar files.
1.0.095.0 - 2009/05/22 - Fixed a rare issue with automatic language selection.
1.0.094.0 - 2009/05/18 - Added preliminary Dutch translation to 32 and 64-bit editions.
1.0.093.0 - 2009/05/15 - Added Polish language translation, plus minor internal updates.
1.0.092.0 - 2009/05/11 - Native 64-bit FastPictureViewer version debuts. Updated Italian language translation.
1.0.091.0 - 2009/05/10 - Fixes an incompatibility with the 64-bit version of Windows 7 RC (6.1.7100).
1.0.090.0 - 2009/05/07 - Recommended update: fixes an issue between Win7 RC (6.1.7100) and the licensing system.
1.0.089.0 - 2009/05/04 - Added ability to read rating/labels/urgency from existing XMP sidecar files.
1.0.088.0 - 2009/05/01 - Final German, Italian, Chinese languages. Ability to resume session from the last viewed image.
1.0.087.0 - 2009/04/27 - Added Ctrl+F1 hotkey to launches external editor. Final Italian translation, preliminary Chinese version.
1.0.086.0 - 2009/04/24 - Added preliminary Italian translation, final German translation.
1.0.085.0 - 2009/04/20 - Added preliminary German translation.
1.0.084.0 - 2009/04/17 - Added command-line option to override monitor profile, 'S' hotkey speaks out rating.
1.0.083.0 - 2009/04/11 - Added option to enlarge small images to fit window or screen.
1.0.082.0 - 2009/04/07 - Minor maintenance release (translation fixes only).
1.0.081.0 - 2009/04/04 - Maintenance release, updated Japanese and Spanish translations.
1.0.080.0 - 2009/03/31 - 64-bit shell integration, includes preliminary Japanese and Spanish translations.
1.0.079.0 - 2009/03/30 - Maintenance release, includes final Russian translation.
1.0.078.0 - 2009/03/28 - Minor maintenance release, includes preliminary Russian translation.
1.0.077.0 - 2009/03/23 - External application launcher, optional file prefixes (rating), improved panning for large images.
1.0.076.0 - 2009/02/27 - French localization update and polishing.
1.0.075.0 - 2009/02/23 - Localizable version, French and English language resources.
1.0.074.0 - 2009/02/17 - Fixes a crash occuring with certain images.
1.0.073.0 - 2009/02/14 - Optional pixel smoothing while zooming above 100%, pixel dimensions display, Olympus ORF support.
1.0.072.0 - 2009/02/07 - Fixed a race condition that caused crashes in certain circumstances.
1.0.071.0 - 2009/02/05 - Maintenance release, prevents a potential crash that might occur under rare circumstances.
1.0.070.0 - 2009/01/26 - Pro update: Sony A700/A900 fast raw preview (1616x1080 pixels only, no metadata).
1.0.069.0 - 2009/01/16 - Pro update: Supports NEF files saved by CaptureNX with modified color space.
1.0.068.0 - 2009/01/10 - Large font/high-DPI (120DPI and beyond), 1 bpp TIF fix, Nikon Low-ISO, rating preserves date, Windows 7.
1.0.067.0 - 2009/01/04 - Nikon D3X support, warn on invalid color profile, more parallelism on high-end machines.
1.0.066.0 - 2008/12/29 - Minor maintenance release, small setup changes.
1.0.065.0 - 2008/12/24 - Fix a crash occurring when viewing some images with invalid EXIF Maker Note tag.
1.0.064.0 - 2008/12/13 - Fix a random crash occurring (rarely) just after launching the program.
1.0.063.0 - 2008/12/10 - Enhanced bookmarks reliability, fixed possible processor affinity issue on Apple MacPro hardware.
1.0.062.0 - 2008/12/01 - Maintenance release, small bug fixes.
1.0.061.0 - 2008/11/21 - Minor maintenance release, solves edge-case bugs, adds some bookmarks enhancements.
1.0.060.0 - 2008/11/16 - A crash occurring on some systems when the computer wakes up from sleep has been fixed.
1.0.059.0 - 2008/11/14 - Pro update: tethered shooting robustness enhancements on Windows XP, plus minor updates.
1.0.058.0 - 2008/11/07 - Small performance improvement, better histogram scaling, new user forum.
1.0.057.0 - 2008/11/03 - Pixel dimensions shown in EXIF window when image has no EXIF data. Added RW2 (Panasonic RAW) support.
1.0.056.0 - 2008/10/25 - Pro update: Support for RAW and JPEG+RAW tethered mode shooting (with color-managed JPEG preview).
1.0.055.0 - 2008/10/22 - Pro update: Color management support for NEF and CR2 1.2.0 previews, 48bpp TIFF and other HDR formats.
1.0.054.0 - 2008/10/20 - Pro update: Persistent bookmarks, fast multi-cameras tethered shooting (MTP/PTP over USB).
1.0.053.0 - 2008/10/13 - Configurable memory usage, sort on GPS time or EXIF date, rate-and-advance mode, quick bookmarks.
1.0.052.0 - 2008/10/09 - Fix a random crash (introduced in version 1.0.50.0) occurring on some systems.
1.0.051.0 - 2008/10/09 - Pro update: Added support for multi-page TIFFs, GIFs, DjVU files.
1.0.050.0 - 2008/10/06 - Added support for very large images, with configurable automatic resizing to fit video memory.
1.0.049.0 - 2008/09/30 - Fix a rare incompatibility with some ICC profiles and a potential crash after deleting images.
1.0.048.0 - 2008/09/22 - Optionally sort images by file modification date, performance enhancements.
1.0.047.0 - 2008/09/19 - Fixed a crash occurring when handling certain files with invalid 'date picture taken' field.
1.0.046.0 - 2008/09/16 - Pro update: Handle metadata changes in Canon CRW/CR2 codec v1.3.0
1.0.045.0 - 2008/09/14 - Maintenance release, small performance enhancements and bug fixes.
1.0.044.0 - 2008/09/11 - Quick navigation slider, mouse-activated taskbar, auto-hide mouse cursor, several internal enhancements.
1.0.043.0 - 2008/09/04 - Improved downscaling quality in DirectX mode, optional [Copied] overlay stamp on copied/moved images.
1.0.042.0 - 2008/09/01 - Maintenance release, minor internal enhancements and fixes.
1.0.041.0 - 2008/08/21 - Auto-hide menu bar, optionally associate file extensions during setup.
1.0.040.0 - 2008/08/15 - Enabled browsing of network shares.
1.0.039.0 - 2008/08/12 - Minor maintenance release: fixed an issue related to calibrated monitors and uncalibrated pictures.
1.0.038.0 - 2008/08/08 - Removed freeware expiration policy; new license agreement.
1.0.037.0 - 2008/08/05 - Added automatic advance mode (A), configurable from 0.1s to 1h.
1.0.036.0 - 2008/07/18 - Added tracking mode (T), automatically displays the last image added to the picture folder tree.
1.0.035.0 - 2008/07/02 - Alt+Enter toggles kiosk, Up/Down tracks folder, adaptive memory usage, sound optional, drag-drop fix.
1.0.034.0 - 2008/06/13 - Freeware update policy expanded to 120 days.
1.0.033.0 - 2008/06/03 - Minor maintenance release.
1.0.032.0 - 2008/05/23 - Optional image list wrapping.
1.0.031.0 - 2008/05/16 - Support for Adobe DNG codec RC1 (2008/05/13) in FastPictureViewer Professional Edition.
1.0.030.0 - 2008/05/13 - Custom target color space for calibrated monitors, optionally reuse last folders, keep/copy hierarchy.
1.0.029.0 - 2008/05/09 - Better handling of rotated preview images in NEFs, better DEP compatibility (Server 2008 & Vista).
1.0.028.0 - 2008/05/06 - Reads embedded XMP rating/label/urgency from JPEG/HD Photo/TIFF files.
1.0.027.0 - 2008/05/02 - Histogram enhancements, filenames sorted in "logical" order. Pro edition now loads all WIC codecs.
1.0.026.0 - 2008/04/26 - High precision R,G,B histogram display in translucent window.
1.0.025.0 - 2008/04/21 - Displays Nikon extended ISO range (100-25600). This version also debuts the Professional Edition.
1.0.024.0 - 2008/04/18 - EXIF shooting info (shutter, f-stop, ISO, ...), improved color conversion, middle-click -> keep/copy.
1.0.023.0 - 2008/04/07 - Enhanced keyboard navigation: Home/End, Ctrl+Home/End, Ctrl+PgUp/PgDn, Alt+PgUp/PgDn.
1.0.022.0 - 2008/04/02 - Launch Explorer command, Set as Wallpaper plug-in, Home/End navigation, optional quick exit (Esc).
1.0.021.0 - 2008/03/22 - Zoom % indicator, optionally hide zoom mouse cursor and/or invert zoom mouse scrolling direction.
1.0.020.0 - 2008/03/20 - Sync to folder content when opening/dropping an image from Explorer. Image list now sorted alphabetically.
1.0.019.0 - 2008/03/18 - Move image function along with minor internal enhancements.
1.0.018.0 - 2008/03/02 - Embedded XMP and Vista Rating/Labeling for JPEG, support for "Open With..."/double-click from Explorer.
1.0.017.0 - 2008/02/28 - Auto-rotation (from EXIF orientation) and delete / move to Recycle Bin function.
1.0.016.0 - 2008/02/25 - Adobe XMP sidecar files, click-and-hold zooming, 50%-6400% magnifier, drag & drop, more options.
1.0.015.0 - 2008/02/09 - Hardware filtering (i.e. smooth scaling) in DirectX accelerated mode.
1.0.014.0 - 2008/01/25 - Added HD Photo / JPEG-XR support to Home Basic edition.
1.0.013.0 - 2008/01/23 - Auto-play & shell integration, extended mouse/keyboard keys support.
1.0.012.0 - 2008/01/21 - Minor kiosk mode fix, internal enhancements.
1.0.011.0 - 2008/01/16 - Minor fix in options dialog.
1.0.010.0 - 2008/01/15 - Initial public release.

Links, related downloads, freebies:

Nikon NEF codec 1.6.0 for Windows Vista and XP (Nikon)
Canon CR2 codec 1.2.0 for Windows Vista and XP (Canon)
Panasonic RW2 codec for Windows Vista and XP (Panasonic)
Ardfry's Adobe DNG codec for Windows Vista and XP (Ardfry Imaging, LLC. Fast preview support)
Ardfry's 64-bit NEF, CR2 and DNG codecs for Vista-64 and XP-64 (Ardfry Imaging, LLC)
Preliminary Adobe DNG codec RC1 for Windows Vista (Adobe, no fast preview support yet)
BETA DjVU WIC Codec from CELARTEM R&D (with full multi-page support in FPV Pro)
Adobe XMP specifications (Adobe)
Microsoft HD Photo / JPEG-XR specifications (Microsoft)
DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer (Microsoft)
HD Photo / JPEG-XR Plug-in for Adobe® Photoshop® CS2/CS3 (Microsoft)
WIC Acquisition Plug-in (ALPHA) for Photoshop CS3/CS4 (2008/08/16) - Let you import images in Adobe Photoshop CS3 and CS4 (and probably older versions, not tested) through manufacturer-provided Windows Imaging Component codecs. In short in let you import the latest raw formats into Photoshop, sometimes months before Adobe's own ACR (Adobe Camera RAW). Also comes handy when 3rd party raw converters lag behind new camera releases from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Pentax, Panasonic. Also works with JPEG XR (HD Photo), TIFF and standard image formats like PNG, GIF, BMP and ICO so you can also import most common image files directly into Photoshop (freebie, unsupported, 45KB)
dcraw.exe - Dave Coffin's free DCRAW RAW converter, ready to use, compiled with full optimizations in both 32 and 64-bit versions, portable with zero dependencies (Version 8.94/1.423, 2009/05/15, x86, x64, 626KB)
ExtractJPEG.zip - Contains a .reg file that adds an "Extract JPEG..." context menu option to Windows Explorer. This command uses dcraw.exe to quickly extract (dump) the preview JPEG embedded in most raw files (freebie, unsupported, 2KB)
EuroM.zip - Totally off topic: a number generator for the EuroMillions lottery (requires .NET 2.0, freebie, unsupported, 23.9KB). If you win the lottery with those numbers, please remember us ;-)))

Axel Rietschin Software Developments, developer and publisher of FastPictureViewer,
is a Software Industry Professionals Member.

Get FastPictureViewer from alternate sources: