Image Viewers with PNG Support

One of the biggest categories of PNG-supporting applications is image viewers; virtually every major operating system is represented. Note that PNG image editors can often be used as viewers, too; they just tend to be slower and may not display as nicely on 256-color systems. And there's considerable overlap between this page and the image-conversion page, since many viewers can save to different formats. A few of the viewers here even have minimal editing functions like cropping, color balance, etc. Follow the links for details. Ye have been warned...

As with the other applications pages, links to home WWW sites or to downloadable versions are provided where known, but if a link is broken, check the location and see if an updated version is available (and please tell Greg!). Relevant operating systems are printed in (parenthesized italics).

These are listed alphabetically, more or less:

• 1stGuide [Guido Vollbeding] (Atari) - version 29.Aug.95 and later; read-only; uses libpng and zlib; shareware. (Supports all Atari ST/TT/Falcon-compatible systems and views in all graphic resolutions, including true-color.)

• ACDSee16 [ACD Systems] (Windows 3.x) - version 1.25 and later; read-only; no grayscale support prior to 1.31 beta 1 (not even recognized in version 1.3); full gamma support in version 1.31 beta 1 and later; progressive display of interlacing (sparse method); formerly known as ACDSee

• ACDSee32 [ACD Systems] (Windows 9x/NT) - version 1.0 beta 3 and later; read-only; full gamma support; progressive display of interlacing (sparse method); broken grayscale+alpha support; ignores background chunk; formerly known as ACDSee 95

• Adobe File Utilities by Mastersoft - see Quick View Plus below

• AI Picture Explorer / AIPICX [Applied Insights] (Windows 9x/NT) - all versions; read/write. (This app not only views images but also creates web pages with image thumbnails.)

• AI Picture Utility / AIPICT [Applied Insights] (Windows 9x/NT) - all versions; read/write

• Alter Image 32 [Nun's Meadow Software] (Windows 9x/NT) - all versions; read/write; reportedly converts bi-level (1-bit) TIFFs into 24-bit PNGs.

• BePNG [Al Evans] (BeOS DR8) - all versions; read-only; 84k. (Resources [6k] and Metrowerks Codewarrior 8 sources [331k] in Mac archive format are also available. Not updated for current BeOS releases.)

• BeShow [Jeremy Moskovich] (BeOS DR8) - all versions with the translation kit (or Jon Watte's Datatypes library) and Simon Clarke's PNGHandler (see the toolkits page); read/write; 191k. (Not updated for current BeOS releases.)

• Cameleo [Caldera Graphics] (Unix/X) - version 2.2(?) and later; read/write

• CompuShow / CShow [Bob Berry] (DOS) - version 9.01a and later; read/write; interlacing and low-bit-depth PNG-writing code broken in 9.01a; ignores gamma chunk but has generic option to adjust display gamma; progressive display of interlaced images (replicating method); 265k

• CompuShow 2000! / 2Show [Bob Berry] (DOS) - version 2.01a and later; read/write; bugs in versions prior to 2.03a; ignores gamma chunk but has generic option to adjust display gamma; progressive display of interlaced images (replicating method); 258k

• ConGo [Matthias Matting] (Windows 9x/NT) - all versions; write-only? freeware. (This is a viewer for Commodore 64 image formats; it can convert to various ``Internet'' formats, including PNG.)

• CPIC / CompuPic [Photodex] (Windows 3.x, Windows 9x/NT, Mac PPC/68k) - all versions; read/write; no gamma support; progressive display of interlaced images (replicating method)

• CryptaPix [Kent Briggs / Briggs Softworks] (Windows 9x/NT) - version 1.0 and later; read/write in version 1.1b and later; shareware. (Versions prior to 2.0 were also available for Windows 3.x.)

• DeBabelizer [Equilibrium] (Macintosh) - version 1.6.5 and later; read/write; version 3.0 claims gamma support

• DeBabelizer Pro [Equilibrium] (Windows 9x/NT) - all versions; read/write; version 4.5 claims gamma support

• Display [Jih-Shin Ho] (DOS) - version 1.88 and later; read/write; gamma support in beta version 1.90t2 and later. (Also on Simtel.Net mirrors: disp189a.zip [740k] and disp189b.zip [532k, optional]. See also the unofficial web page.)

• Drag And View [Canyon Software] (Windows 3.x, Windows 9x/NT) - version 2.0(?) and later; read/write

• DTPicView [Edmund Vermeulen] (BeOS) - all versions with the translation kit (or Jon Watte's Datatypes library) and Simon Clarke's PNGHandler (see the toolkits page); read/write; progressive display in version 2.0 and later

• Electric Eyes [Rasterman / Red Hat] (Linux/GNOME) - all versions? read-only?

• FmView [WinCorner] (Windows 9x/NT) - version 2.0 and later; read-only

• Galleria [Bitware Australia] (OS/2) - version 2.3(?) and later; read/write. (Shareware; must register to enable writing.)

• GEM-View [Dieter Fiebelkorn] (Atari) - version 3.0 and later with Eric Prevoteau's PNG load/save modules [37k]; read/write

• Ghostscript [Aladdin] (Unix/X, VMS/X, OS/2, Windows 9x/NT, Windows 3.x, DOS, Macintosh, Amiga, Atari, Acorn) - version 3.51 and later (may be broken in some versions prior to 4.0); write-only; requires libpng and zlib. (PNG support by Russell Lang.)

• GIF Construction Set [Alchemy Mindworks] (Windows 3.x, Windows 9x/NT) - version 1.0d and later; read-only

• GIFConverter [Kevin Mitchell] (Macintosh) - version 2.4 and later; read/write; uses libpng and zlib; shareware

• GrafCat [Alchemy Mindworks] (Windows 3.x, Windows 9x/NT) - version 1.0e beta and later; read-only

• GraphicConverter [Lemke Software] (Macintosh) - version 2.1.4 and later; read/write; full alpha and gamma support? (comes in English, German and French versions)

• Graphic Viewer [PrimaSoft PC] (Windows 9x/NT) - all versions; read-only; integrates with Windows Explorer; freeware (but includes PrimaSoft ad at bottom of window)

• Graphic Workshop [Alchemy Mindworks] (DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 9x/NT) - Windows version 1.1q and later, and DOS version 7.0f; read/write; no gamma support; shareware. (The Windows 1.1q release had a compression bug; it was fixed in all but very early copies of 1.1r. Versions up through 1.1u also wrote incorrect filter values; this was fixed by version 1.1y patchlevel 3, possibly earlier. Version 7.0f was the first and last DOS release to have PNG support.)

• GraphX Viewer [Group 42] (Windows 3.x) - version 1.51; read/write; full gamma support. (No further versions were ever released.)

• GRAV [Michael Knigge] (Linux/SVGA) - version 3.1 and later; read-only; requires libpng and zlib; bugs: 24-bit support completely broken, ignores GSVGAMODE variable, and still uses libpng 0.6 (version 3.5); ncurses, ELF and dithering problems in version 3.1

• HiJaak PRO [Inset / Quarterdeck / IMSI] (Windows 9x/NT) - versions 95 and 4.0 and later; read-only. (This product was called HiJaak 95 for one[?] release, possibly equivalent to version 3.0. It was later renamed ``Pro,'' presumably after Inset was acquired by Quarterdeck, and then recapitalized ``PRO'' with its sale to IMSI. See also PC Magazine's First Looks review [95] or CNET's Just In review [Pro 4.0] for more information.)

• Image32 [Mark Sproul] (Mac PPC/68k) - version 1.3.5 and later; read-only; shareware

• Image Alchemy [Handmade Software] (DOS, Macintosh, Unix/Motif) - version 1.9 and later; read/write; no interlacing; grayscale broken in 1.9 beta; alpha transparency broken in 1.9 beta but claimed to be fully supported in version 1.10; full gamma and color correction? (This is primarily an image-conversion app, but the OpenLook- and Motif-based commercial versions for Sun, SGI and HP workstations have viewing capabilities, as do the Mac and DOS versions. The DOS version requires a supported video card. There are also conversion-only versions for OS/2, Linux, BSD/OS, SCO Unix, Solaris/x86, AIX and Digital Unix.)

• ImageCommander [Jasc] (Windows 3.x, Windows 9x/NT) - version 2.0 and later; read-only. (This product has been discontinued.)

• Image Engineer [Simon Edwards] (Amiga) - version 3.3 and later; read/write; uses the SuperView Library for reading and writing image formats (see the toolkits page); shareware

• ImageMagick display [John Cristy] (Unix/X, VMS/X, Windows 9x/NT+X) - version 3.6.3 and later; read/write; full gamma support; full chromaticity support? read/write support for minimal MNGs in version 3.9.2 of 22 November 1997 and later; requires libpng and zlib

• Imagenation [Spicer] (Windows 3.x, Windows 9x/NT) - version 4.2 and later; read/write

• IMatch [Mario Westphal] (Windows 9x/NT) - version 2.0(?) and later; read-only; shareware. (This is not merely an image-viewer but also an image-based database retrieval engine. It can find images based on similarity to a sketch or to other images.)

• ImgViewer/32 [Arcata Pet Software] (Windows 9x/NT) - version 1.5(?) and later; read/write? gamma support? shareware.

• IrfanView32 [Skiljan Irfan] (Windows 9x/NT) - version 1.85 and later; read/write

• KeyView Pro [FTP Software / Verity] (Windows 3.x, Windows 9x/NT) - version 4.2 and later; read/write. (FTP Software sold KeyView to Verity in late 1997. See also its entry as a Netscape Navigator plug-in on the PNG-supporting browsers page.)

• KView [Sirtaj S. Kang] (Unix/KDE) - all versions? read-only (write support ``coming soon''); freeware.

• LiView [Philippe Thomas] (BeOS) - all versions? read-only (via the translation kit [or Jon Watte's Datatypes library] and Simon Clarke's PNGHandler: see the toolkits page)

• Makaha [Brandyware Software] (Windows 9x/NT) - all versions? read/write? shareware

• Multiview [Amiga] (Amiga) - any version via a PNG DataType (see the miscellaneous apps page for a couple); read-only

• NOMSSI Viewer / NView [Jacques Nomssi Nzali] (DOS) - version 1.5 and later; read-only; shareware

• Photon Picture Viewer / pv [QNX Software Systems] (QNX) - all versions; read-only; no gamma support

• Photonyx Viewer [Chrome Imaging] (Windows 9x/NT) - version 2.0 and later; read-only; freeware

• PicaView16 [ACD Systems] (Windows 3.x) - version 1.1 and later; read-only; no gamma support? (This viewer integrates into the Windows File Manager.)

• PicaView32 [ACD Systems] (Windows 9x/NT) - version 1.1 and later; read-only; no gamma support? (This viewer integrates into the Windows Explorer menus.)

• PictView [Jan Patera] (DOS) - version 1.60(?) and later; read-only; freeware. (Czech home page is here.)

• PicViewer [Andrew Anoshkin] (Windows 9x/NT) - version 1.8(?) and later; read-only; shareware (also freeware Lite version)

• PingPong [Willem van Schaik] (NeXTStep/OpenStep) - all versions; read-only; full gamma support; both black (NeXT 68k) and white (Intel x86) binaries available; uses libpng and zlib; freeware

• PixelGraphicLibrary [Peter Beyersdorf] (Windows 9x/NT) - all versions; read/write. (This is primarily an image-manipulation library, but it also includes a simple demo viewer. See also the toolkits page.)

• PixFolio [ACK Software] (Windows 3.x, Windows 9x/NT) - version 2.0 and later; read/write

• PMJPEG [PixVision Software] (OS/2) - registered version 1.9 only (never released?); read/write; no alpha support; no gamma support? shareware

• PMView [Peter Nielsen] (OS/2) - version 0.92 and later; read/write; shareware

• PNGImageViewer [Neil Aggarwal] (Java) - any version; read-only; requires Java 1.1 or later

• PngThing [Sergey Kucherov] (Java) - any version; read-only; requires Java 1.1 or later

• PngView [Anurag Ranjhan] (Windows 9x/NT) - all versions; read/write? (The author claimed that this was a viewer/editor that was still under development, but it has not been updated since March 1996 and is presumed dead. The editing functions probably were never finished, but this has not been checked.)

• PolyView [Polybytes] (Windows 9x/NT) - version 2.40(?) and later; read/write

• PPShow [Nico François] (Amiga) - any version via a PNG DataType (see the miscellaneous apps page for a couple); read-only; 79K. (Click here if link breaks.)

• QPNG [Oliver Fromme] (DOS) - version 1.6c2 and later; read-only; full gamma support in 1.7b (free PNG-only version of QPV; 1.7e was apparently the final release)

• QPV/386 [Oliver Fromme] (DOS) - version 1.6c and later (formerly QPEG); read-only; 1.6c limited to 32K sliding window (minor limitation, but fixed in 1.7a anyway); no gamma support in 1.6c or 1.7a; shareware. (Version 1.7e appears to have been the final release.)

• QuickPic [Frank Fejes] (BeOS DR8) - version 0.90 via Jon Watte's Datatypes library and Simon Clarke's PNGHandler (see the toolkits page); read-only. (Not updated for current BeOS releases.)

• QuickShow Lite [Alchemy Mindworks] (Windows 3.x) - version 1.1e and later; read-only

• QuickTime PictureViewer [Apple] (Mac PPC/68k, Windows 9x/NT) - version 3.0 and later; read-only; full gamma support; full alpha support; uses zlib. (This viewer supersedes Sam Bushell's Tiny Viewer, a mini-app he included with his QuickTime 2.5 PNG-Importer--see the miscellaneous apps page. Sam was responsible for the PNG support in QuickTime 3.0, too. QuickTime's PNG support actually enables any QuickTime-aware application to view PNG images, including even SimpleText.)

• Quick View Plus [Inso or Jasc, depending] (Windows 3.x, Windows 9x/NT, Unix) - version 4.5 and later; read-only; uses zlib. (This is apparently the Nth-generation descendant of Mastersoft's Viewer 95. Mastersoft was acquired by Frame, which was acquired by Adobe, which renamed the viewer to Adobe File Utilities by Mastersoft before selling it to Inso in 1997, which renamed it to Quick View Plus and apparently sold part of it to Jasc in 1998. The Inso version includes a Netscape plug-in, the Unix port [Solaris, HP-UX and AIX only; requires Motif] and is intended for ``enterprise'' or government customers of 1000 seats or more; the Jasc version is intended for end-users and SOHO customers and may or may not still include the plug-in. It is not clear what happened to the Macintosh version or whether either Inso's or Jasc's version retains the ability to convert formats.)

• Riptide [Vorton] (Windows 9x/NT) - all versions; read/write

• SEA [Bart Wakkee, Ralph Gortzen, Harold de Laat] (DOS) - version 1.0 and later; read/write; shareware; claimed to be much faster than even QPV. (Now distributed by Photodex.)

• Showcase [CQuick Technologies] (Windows 9x/NT) - all versions? read-only. (Version 1.2.00 is freeware; version 2.0 is commercial.)

• SimpleImage [Chris Wood] (Mac 68k/PPC) - all versions? read/write with QuickTime 4.0 or later; shareware.

• SimpleText - see QuickTime PictureViewer above

• SViewII / SuperView [Andreas Kleinert] (Amiga) - version 5.0(?) and later; read/write; shareware. (This includes the SuperView Library for image import/export.)

• ThumbsPlus [Cerious Software] (Windows 3.x, Windows 9x/NT, Mac PPC/68k) - version 3.0 beta 3 and later; read/write as of version 3.0g; full gamma support? no interlacing or transparency support for writing, but supposedly coming in version 4.0. (This program also has the ability to make web pages of thumbnails. A final Macintosh beta is currently available; official release is supposedly ``not too long now.'')

• Tiny Viewer - see QuickTime PictureViewer above

• ToyViewer [Takeshi Ogihara] (NeXTStep/OpenStep) - version 2.0(?) and later; read/write; partial (full?) transparency support; support for writing text comments

• Translator [John Kortink] (Acorn RISC OS) - version 8.0(?) and later; read/write; shareware

• Ulead Viewer [Ulead Systems] (Windows 3.x) - version 1.0 and later with UF2PNG.FIO plug-in; read/write; 1.1MB

• VidFun [Lawrence Gozum] (Windows 3.x, Windows 9x/NT) - version 1.5 and later; read/write; shareware

• ViewDT [Cloanto] (Amiga) - any version with Cloanto's PNG DataType (included); read-only; transparency support; includes source code; 67k. (This is just a demo viewer included with the DataType; see the miscellaneous apps page for details. Cloanto also once had something called Personal View, but it seems not to exist anymore; and they once had a commercial PNG developer's kit for the Amiga, for which information was supposedly available via e-mail to 100145.15@compuserve.com or info@cloanto.it . Click here if ViewDT link breaks.)

• Viewer 95 - see Quick View Plus above

• Viewer Pro! [Brandyware Software] (Windows 3.x) - version 4.0(?) and later; read/write? freeware

• Viewpng [Glenn Randers-Pehrson] (SGI Irix/X) - all versions; read-only; includes early MNG support. (Be sure to grab both viewpng.gz and pnggzip.gz .)

• ViewTEK [Thomas Krehbiel] (Amiga) - any version via a PNG DataType (see the miscellaneous apps page for a couple); read-only; 425K. (Click here if link breaks.)

• Visage [Magnus Holmgren] (Amiga) - version 39.12 and later (natively), or any earlier version via a PNG DataType (see the miscellaneous apps page for a couple); read-only; full gamma support; full alpha support; progressive display of interlacing (four-pass replicating method)

• WebGraphics Optimizer [Plenio Software Solutions] (Windows 9x/NT) - version 2.0(?) and later; read/write; no gamma support; no control over compression level or filtering (output was 10% bigger than input on one test image); broken 2-bit support

• xli [Graeme Gill] (Unix/X) - version 1.16 and later with Smarasderagd's PNG patch; read-only. (Updated for libpng 0.90 and later.)

• XV [John Bradley] (Unix/X, VMS/X) - version 3.10a and later with Alexander Lehmann and Andreas Dilger's unofficial PNG patch version 1.2d (requires libpng 0.89 or later and zlib) and Greg Roelofs' unofficial fix #3 to the unofficial patch; read/write. (XV 4.00 with full PNG support was supposed to have arrived around Christmas 1995. A Win32 port is apparently underway.)

• Zgv [Russell Marks] (Linux/SVGA) - version 2.7 and later; read-only; requires libpng and zlib; 160k. (Bugs in 2.7: couldn't read interlaced PNGs at all; displayed 16-bit-per-sample PNGs incorrectly.)

Here are the other PNG-related pages at this site:

• Introduction to PNG features
• History of PNG
• News (and more history) of the PNG Development Group
• PNG Documentation
  • zlib Documentation
  • MNG Documentation
• PNG Programming Information:
  • PNG Source Code and Libraries
  • zlib home page
  • PNG-supporting Application Toolkits
  • PNG Support in Mozilla
• PNG-supporting Applications
  • WWW and Online Browsers
  • Image Editors
  • Image Converters
  • Miscellaneous Applications
• PNG support in VRML browsers
• PNG Images:
  • Willem's Test Suite of PNG Icons
  • Ray-traced PNG Interlacing Demo (also GIF / JPEG version)
  • Miscellaneous Images
• Links to other PNG resources
• Back to the PNG home page
• Back to the MNG home site

Copyright © 1995-1999 Greg Roelofs.