Image Viewer/Editor

[thomamon]

Anyone know of a simple photo viewer/editor. My wife just purchased an iMac (her first Mac) and I promised her it would be easier to use then Windows. The only problem is I need a photo editor/viewer similar to the one she uses now.

She uses it this way to manage the photos and create folders and such.

She use to use a program called CompuPic and now she uses one called FastStone Image Viewer:

http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

Basically she uses it to manage locations, create folders and crop.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Bending Pixels]

urm...iPhoto? It came with her iMac.

 

[thomamon]

urm...iPhoto? It came with her iMac.

Not exactly what we are looking for. Too complicated. Looking for something like what I posted.

Want to be able to browse the hard drive, not by created projects. Make folders, move photos around. Click on it to be able to crop.

 

[firedept]

Give this a shot. XnView.

 

[thomamon]

Give this a shot. XnView.

Does it give easy access to your library and moving files around?

 

[firedept]

As far as I have been told yes. Someone I know uses this program and says it is close to what you are looking for. Check out the site. It is free and there is a Mac version. So download and give it a try. Worst case scenario, is you do not like it and uninstall it.

I personally use Adobe Bridge and Photoshop for all my photo editing and filing. But I would not recommend them as they are expensive and have quite the learning curve.

Below are some of the features. Not sure if it will help but features are posted below. You tell me.

 

[Dave Braine]

Want to be able to browse the hard drive, not by created projects. Make folders, move photos around. Click on it to be able to crop.

All that can be simply done from within iPhoto. iPhoto doesn't use/create Projects.

 

[AnorexicPig]

Want to be able to browse the hard drive, not by created projects. Make folders, move photos around. Click on it to be able to crop.[/QUOTE]


Well it may seem complicated at first, but if you are willing to learn it, iPhoto will do all of the above and much more.

What you are thinking is the 'windows' way of doing things, once you have migrated to OSX try things the way it is supposed to be done natively here. No more file management, iPhoto will do it for you, and yes you can create folders and move pics around in it without even touching the original photo files.

 

[GGJstudios]

Preview, which comes with your Mac, is a great tool for simple photo viewing and editing. In many cases, you'll need nothing else.

 

[thomamon]

Preview, which comes with your Mac, is a great tool for simple photo viewing and editing. In many cases, you'll need nothing else.

Many thing I do not like about preview. You can not jump from photo to photo and the crop tool doesn't give you option to crop to certain dimensions. Would like something a little more powerful.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

I can appreciate that you want to preserve the situation with as little change as possible. The best way to do that is to install Windows on the Mac. Whether you use Boot Camp (which comes with Mac OS X), Parallels, or VMWare Fusion… that's a separate discussion. However, it'll let your wife use the same, familiar apps, and maintain the way she manages image files.

However, I'm a big fan of the iPhoto approach. There are huge benefits to changing, if/when you're willing to embrace the change. You have the program, it costs nothing to try it out. The trick, though, is to not expect to duplicate your current approach. Why not let your wife take the tutorials that come with it, and see how she responds? Doing basic edits (cropping, etc.) is quiet simple and accessible. If/when she wants to delve deeper and spread her creative wings a bit, she'll have the tools to do that, too. And, since editing in iPhoto is nondestructive, her experimenting will not harm the original.

 

[musique]

Another option: ViewIt

I've used ViewIt for a long time. It's free to try.

Simple to use with some nice browsing features.

http://www.hexcat.com/viewit/

 

[GGJstudios]

Many thing I do not like about preview. You can not jump from photo to photo and the crop tool doesn't give you option to crop to certain dimensions. Would like something a little more powerful.

Actually, you can jump from photo two photo, if you select a range of photos to begin with, then open with Preview. Also, you can draw a selection on a photo and adjust it to specific dimensions, as the dimensions are displayed as you draw the box. I completely understand if you want something with more robust features, but I wanted to make sure you knew about those capabilities of Preview.

 

[thomamon]

I can appreciate that you want to preserve the situation with as little change as possible. The best way to do that is to install Windows on the Mac. Whether you use Boot Camp (which comes with Mac OS X), Parallels, or VMWare Fusion… that's a separate discussion. However, it'll let your wife use the same, familiar apps, and maintain the way she manages image files.

However, I'm a big fan of the iPhoto approach. There are huge benefits to changing, if/when you're willing to embrace the change. You have the program, it costs nothing to try it out. The trick, though, is to not expect to duplicate your current approach. Why not let your wife take the tutorials that come with it, and see how she responds? Doing basic edits (cropping, etc.) is quiet simple and accessible. If/when she wants to delve deeper and spread her creative wings a bit, she'll have the tools to do that, too. And, since editing in iPhoto is nondestructive, her experimenting will not harm the original.

Actually, I have no problem with change, it is her I am worried about, lol.

I've always used Aperture on the Mac (I am a photographer). I've rarely used iPhoto to be honest. I just use it to store/backup my iPhone photos and videos.

I'll have to look at iPhoto a bit closer. If it is easy for her to edit a photo and manage them, move them around like she is use to then maybe she will do that. Definitely will try and talk her into trying the tutorials.

The fact that I got her to switch from Windows is amazing so I do not want to make it too hard for her. She has a system for the way she does things.

So if she can manage folders in iPhoto and move things around the way she needs them she would have no problem with it.

Believe me, I know Parallels is an option to use the same software she does now and that is a last resort. I want her to go full mac and not have to do that sort of stuff.

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I've used ViewIt for a long time. It's free to try.

Simple to use with some nice browsing features.

http://www.hexcat.com/viewit/

That program may be what I am looking for. So far it looks the closest to what I am looking for! Can you crop in it?

(I hate installing unnecessary programs)

 

[Dave Braine]

You can not jump from photo to photo and the crop tool doesn't give you option to crop to certain dimensions.

You can do that with iPhoto as well.