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Image viewer in Mac when coming from Windows
Mar 21, 2022 18:39:20   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
I got a new MacBook Pro M1. In general, it works great, but I am frustrated by not having my old Windows (only) programs available. In particular, I used IrfanView as an image viewer. It was convenient and since I had been using it since the '90s, my muscle memory is tuned to it. I didn't use it for editing, generally, but it was useful for (1) finding an image in a folder full of images (and other files); (2) converting an image to a different format (e.g. png=>tif); (3) quick cropping; (4) printing the image once found. In addition it has some editing capability such as (a) placing text on an image; (b) producing contact sheets; (c) printing multiple selected images on sequential pages (particularly useful for document images using a duplex printer).

So on the MacBook I played around with Preview. I can open multiple images in Preview and switch between them but I have to select the images. If I select everything in the folder then I get a preview of everything, not just the image files. That means I have to select only the image files, which is more work to set up the search in a large folder. Preview prints nicely, orienting the image to the paper. I can do some light editing in Preview but if I do, it changes the original image without my going through File=>Save. And I don't see a Save As so I can save the result with a new name or a new format. IrfanView closes with esc. Preview doesn't, but can use Cmd-W. So Preview comes close but doesn't quite fill the bill.

I played around a bit with Pixea, which I found online. It does the file handling nicely, only looks at image files in a folder full of misc. stuff, and navigates with right and left arrows. Printing sucks. It presents me with a full page with a little thumbnail in the center. I don't see a way to change the format of the printed image (landscape/portrait, rotated to fit aspect, paper size, printer selection). No editing.

I played around a bit with Quick Look. Easy to load (select a file and press space) and navigate (up/down arrows), can zoom in with Cmd-+, close with space or esc. No printing. Not useful.

Still looking. I really don't want to have to write my own.

So I thought I'd ask what people use for image viewers on their Mac.

My requirements are:
Loads quickly and can be set to default app for jpg or other image file
Navigates easily
Displays only image files (maybe text files too) (skips over psd, docx, xlsx, other non-image files)
Prints with full control of printer.

I would like (but not essential)
Light editing (nondestructive unless I overwrite)
Save As so I can change the name/format of any edited file
Quick closing using esc key

I'm basically looking for a version of IrfanView for the Mac.

Reply
Mar 21, 2022 18:54:12   #
DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area
 
Lightroom classic. You have to import images (once). Then, it'll do all those things.

Reply
Mar 21, 2022 19:17:08   #
ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA
 
Instead of Preview, try this. Open the folder in Finder. Then click once on an image (do not open it) and then hit space bar. This will provide a view of the image or file without opening it. Then while it's still in view use the up & down arrows to view other files in the folder. Hitting space bar again will close it.
For culling images, I use FastRawViewer.

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Mar 21, 2022 19:26:51   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
DWU2 wrote:
Lightroom classic. You have to import images (once). Then, it'll do all those things.


These are transient images (Market charts), they don't belong in LR long term. I might use a temporary catalog for this stuff. Basically just stuff I need to print but not save. It's easier for me to take a paper image and draw on with a pen it than it is to do it in the computer.

Reply
Mar 21, 2022 19:28:24   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
ecobin wrote:
Instead of Preview, try this. Open the folder in Finder. Then click once on an image (do not open it) and then hit space bar. This will provide a view of the image or file without opening it. Then while it's still in view use the up & down arrows to view other files in the folder. Hitting space bar again will close it.
For culling images, I use FastRawViewer.


That's Quick View. I tried that, but haven't found a way to print from there. This is not necessarily for culling, but for finding the right image to print. They are transient images so I will be deleting them after a day or two.

Reply
Mar 22, 2022 11:13:46   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
DirtFarmer wrote:
I got a new MacBook Pro M1. In general, it works great, but I am frustrated by not having my old Windows (only) programs available. In particular, I used IrfanView as an image viewer. It was convenient and since I had been using it since the '90s, my muscle memory is tuned to it. I didn't use it for editing, generally, but it was useful for (1) finding an image in a folder full of images (and other files); (2) converting an image to a different format (e.g. png=>tif); (3) quick cropping; (4) printing the image once found. In addition it has some editing capability such as (a) placing text on an image; (b) producing contact sheets; (c) printing multiple selected images on sequential pages (particularly useful for document images using a duplex printer).

So on the MacBook I played around with Preview. I can open multiple images in Preview and switch between them but I have to select the images. If I select everything in the folder then I get a preview of everything, not just the image files. That means I have to select only the image files, which is more work to set up the search in a large folder. Preview prints nicely, orienting the image to the paper. I can do some light editing in Preview but if I do, it changes the original image without my going through File=>Save. And I don't see a Save As so I can save the result with a new name or a new format. IrfanView closes with esc. Preview doesn't, but can use Cmd-W. So Preview comes close but doesn't quite fill the bill.

I played around a bit with Pixea, which I found online. It does the file handling nicely, only looks at image files in a folder full of misc. stuff, and navigates with right and left arrows. Printing sucks. It presents me with a full page with a little thumbnail in the center. I don't see a way to change the format of the printed image (landscape/portrait, rotated to fit aspect, paper size, printer selection). No editing.

I played around a bit with Quick Look. Easy to load (select a file and press space) and navigate (up/down arrows), can zoom in with Cmd-+, close with space or esc. No printing. Not useful.

Still looking. I really don't want to have to write my own.

So I thought I'd ask what people use for image viewers on their Mac.

My requirements are:
Loads quickly and can be set to default app for jpg or other image file
Navigates easily
Displays only image files (maybe text files too) (skips over psd, docx, xlsx, other non-image files)
Prints with full control of printer.

I would like (but not essential)
Light editing (nondestructive unless I overwrite)
Save As so I can change the name/format of any edited file
Quick closing using esc key

I'm basically looking for a version of IrfanView for the Mac.
I got a new MacBook Pro M1. In general, it works g... (show quote)


I think the program you are looking for is Thorsten Lemke's excellent Graphic Converter 11, which has long been billed as the "Swiss Army knife" of image applications.

It is Shareware, so you may try it for free for 30 days. To get rid of the nag screen on startup, it costs $40, which is extremely well worth it.

I've used this little gem since 1993! It was once included with every new Mac sold.

The list of features is so long that I will simply post a link to Lemkesoft's site:

https://www.lemkesoft.de/en/products/graphicconverter/download

I use the full Adobe Photography Plan for most things, but Graphic Converter is still on my system after 29 years. I use it for its "slide show" feature, which can be used as a file sorter to send images you're viewing to any of ten different folders you specify. The advantage of that over culling in the Library in Lightroom is that you can see the image full screen and quickly verify whether or not you wish to import it into Lightroom at all. We used this in a portrait lab in the early 2000s for five years, as an editor for classroom group photos. Throwing the images full screen on a monitor, we could quickly eliminate frames with kids blinking their eyes, flipping the bird, making gang signs, or whatever didn't look right...

Reply
Mar 22, 2022 14:54:21   #
cbtsam Loc: Monkton, MD
 
DirtFarmer wrote:
I got a new MacBook Pro M1. In general, it works great, but I am frustrated by not having my old Windows (only) programs available. In particular, I used IrfanView as an image viewer. It was convenient and since I had been using it since the '90s, my muscle memory is tuned to it. I didn't use it for editing, generally, but it was useful for (1) finding an image in a folder full of images (and other files); (2) converting an image to a different format (e.g. png=>tif); (3) quick cropping; (4) printing the image once found. In addition it has some editing capability such as (a) placing text on an image; (b) producing contact sheets; (c) printing multiple selected images on sequential pages (particularly useful for document images using a duplex printer).

So on the MacBook I played around with Preview. I can open multiple images in Preview and switch between them but I have to select the images. If I select everything in the folder then I get a preview of everything, not just the image files. That means I have to select only the image files, which is more work to set up the search in a large folder. Preview prints nicely, orienting the image to the paper. I can do some light editing in Preview but if I do, it changes the original image without my going through File=>Save. And I don't see a Save As so I can save the result with a new name or a new format. IrfanView closes with esc. Preview doesn't, but can use Cmd-W. So Preview comes close but doesn't quite fill the bill.

I played around a bit with Pixea, which I found online. It does the file handling nicely, only looks at image files in a folder full of misc. stuff, and navigates with right and left arrows. Printing sucks. It presents me with a full page with a little thumbnail in the center. I don't see a way to change the format of the printed image (landscape/portrait, rotated to fit aspect, paper size, printer selection). No editing.

I played around a bit with Quick Look. Easy to load (select a file and press space) and navigate (up/down arrows), can zoom in with Cmd-+, close with space or esc. No printing. Not useful.

Still looking. I really don't want to have to write my own.

So I thought I'd ask what people use for image viewers on their Mac.

My requirements are:
Loads quickly and can be set to default app for jpg or other image file
Navigates easily
Displays only image files (maybe text files too) (skips over psd, docx, xlsx, other non-image files)
Prints with full control of printer.

I would like (but not essential)
Light editing (nondestructive unless I overwrite)
Save As so I can change the name/format of any edited file
Quick closing using esc key

I'm basically looking for a version of IrfanView for the Mac.
I got a new MacBook Pro M1. In general, it works g... (show quote)


If you've got the Adobe package, it would seem that Bridge might help. I can look at any folder of images, and they all line up at the bottom (in the configuration I prefer), and I can make them tiny (to see more on one screen) or bigger, and clicking once on any image makes it an almost full screen image. Right clicking on any image or group of images can delete them or move them to any folder on my machine, rename, batch rename, and several other options.

Reply
 
 
Mar 27, 2022 19:35:22   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
burkphoto wrote:
I think the program you are looking for is Thorsten Lemke's excellent Graphic Converter 11, which has long been billed as the "Swiss Army knife" of image applications.

It is Shareware, so you may try it for free for 30 days. To get rid of the nag screen on startup, it costs $40, which is extremely well worth it.

I've used this little gem since 1993! It was once included with every new Mac sold.

The list of features is so long that I will simply post a link to Lemkesoft's site:

https://www.lemkesoft.de/en/products/graphicconverter/download

I use the full Adobe Photography Plan for most things, but Graphic Converter is still on my system after 29 years. I use it for its "slide show" feature, which can be used as a file sorter to send images you're viewing to any of ten different folders you specify. The advantage of that over culling in the Library in Lightroom is that you can see the image full screen and quickly verify whether or not you wish to import it into Lightroom at all. We used this in a portrait lab in the early 2000s for five years, as an editor for classroom group photos. Throwing the images full screen on a monitor, we could quickly eliminate frames with kids blinking their eyes, flipping the bird, making gang signs, or whatever didn't look right...
I think the program you are looking for is Thorste... (show quote)


It looks promising and I'll have to play with it a bit but I have found a solution to my immediate problem: I wanted a viewer that allows me to just zip through all the image files in a folder using the keyboard, and I wanted a viewer that would send the image to a printer and allow all the printer controls (which printer, orientation, paper size). I found Pixea and that allows me to zip through the images the way I want but doesn't allow me to adjust the printer paper size or orient the image the right way. Preview allows me to do the printing the way I want but is more cumbersome to zip through the images in a folder (it's too much work to select just the images in a folder full of miscellaneous stuff). I looked in preferences for Pixea and Preview and couldn't find how to set it up the way I want. Could be because I'm still too oriented toward the PC and its way of doing things.

My solution is to produce the images as jpgs. The MacBook is now set to open Pixea when I double click a jpg. I produce the charts that I want to print as pngs. The MacBook is set to open Preview when I double click a png. This is my primary mode of operation, so it works for me at this time. I might switch over after I look more thoroughly at GC.

Reply
Mar 27, 2022 19:37:32   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
cbtsam wrote:
If you've got the Adobe package, it would seem that Bridge might help. I can look at any folder of images, and they all line up at the bottom (in the configuration I prefer), and I can make them tiny (to see more on one screen) or bigger, and clicking once on any image makes it an almost full screen image. Right clicking on any image or group of images can delete them or move them to any folder on my machine, rename, batch rename, and several other options.


I have the Adobe package but I don't usually use Bridge. I loaded it onto the MacBook and will play with it in my Copious Free Time.

PS: you don't have to have the Adobe package to use Bridge. You can download it free (or could a year or two ago when I tried it last).

Reply
Mar 27, 2022 19:53:06   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
DirtFarmer wrote:
It looks promising and I'll have to play with it a bit but I have found a solution to my immediate problem: I wanted a viewer that allows me to just zip through all the image files in a folder using the keyboard, and I wanted a viewer that would send the image to a printer and allow all the printer controls (which printer, orientation, paper size). I found Pixea and that allows me to zip through the images the way I want but doesn't allow me to adjust the printer paper size or orient the image the right way. Preview allows me to do the printing the way I want but is more cumbersome to zip through the images in a folder (it's too much work to select just the images in a folder full of miscellaneous stuff). I looked in preferences for Pixea and Preview and couldn't find how to set it up the way I want. Could be because I'm still too oriented toward the PC and its way of doing things.

My solution is to produce the images as jpgs. The MacBook is now set to open Pixea when I double click a jpg. I produce the charts that I want to print as pngs. The MacBook is set to open Preview when I double click a png. This is my primary mode of operation, so it works for me at this time. I might switch over after I look more thoroughly at GC.
It looks promising and I'll have to play with it a... (show quote)


Study Graphic Converter’s slide show send-to-file features.

Reply
Apr 10, 2022 13:37:01   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
My other problem was downloading images from the card and changing the name. I know it can be done directly using LrC but there are limitations.

I have been using Downloader Pro for a decade or so on Windows. On startup it asks me for a 'Job Code', which can be any text string. I use a descriptive text for the shoot but it could be anything, like maybe an invoice number. It gives me a page of thumbnails and a list of dates from the EXIF data. If I click on a date, it highlights all the images from that date. I can select more or deselect any using standard ctrl-clicks. I have a template set up so that when I click on Download, it downloads the selected files using the file name "JobCode YYYYMMDD HHMMSSss.NEF" or "...JPG". It then stores them on the disk in a target folder also from a template, "Photo Archive/YYYY/JobCode/". Raw files go in a subfolder RAW and jpg files go in a subfolder JPG. Then I import them to LrC. Unfortunately, Downloader Pro is not supported on MacOS.

The limitation of LrC for download is that it doesn't allow for subsecond times in the file name. I like having subsecond granularity because it handles bursts. LrC will take such files and add -2, -3... to the file name because otherwise there would be duplicate file names. There have been times when files were not downloaded sequentially, so it's possible that the -2, -3 suffixes would not be chronological.

So I checked with the community Adobe forum and there were references to others wanting subseconds represented in the file names, but nobody was able to identify a way to do it directly using LR.

So I was left with three choices: use Windows to download my files as I have always done; change my file naming protocol; or write my own program to download the files and save the names on the Mac in my accustomed format.

Since I more or less learned Python over the last year or so, I opted for writing a new program. It runs on the Mac and gives my my accustomed format. It's not as convenient as Downloader Pro because it doesn't let me use a template or give me thumbnails, just file names, so I don't know just which ones are from what shoot if there are more than one on a given date. That's a project for the future to polish the software.

(I haven't been able to identify a 30 day period when I can concentrate on evaluating Graphic Converter, but it's on my bucket list. Too many conflicting things going on right now).

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