Improve your image for free... (Faststone Image Viewer)

Member Name: blissman70

Product:	Faststone Image Viewer
Date:	20/12/08 (93 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It does everything that you need for picture editing and it's free...yes free

Disadvantages: none to complain about at all

I have a few 'faststone' programs and find them all to be so easy to use and have everything that any budding, (albeit amateur) photographer needed to edit there pictures... such programs as image viewer, photo re-sizer and capture, they are all brilliant little programs, especially faststone capture, (which I will be reviewing soon) and best of all they are free... yes free... and what a bargain for what they give you.

You can get all the downloads from www.download.com

This review is for the 'Faststone' image viewer which is for far more than the name suggest.

Shall we begin..?

The Faststone image viewer program is a little scary looking when you first open it but once you have used it a few times it becomes crystal clear and you soon realise that editing a photograph and actually printing it could not be simpler...

When you first enter the program you are greeted with a selection of what is on your own PC, (top left hand side of the screen)... from here you simply click on your picture folder you are seeking and they will magically appear in the large section just off centre...

From here you can pick a picture which you want to play around with....

* What it has to offer...

When you click on a picture it will appear in the bottom left of the page, showing you the image you are about to manipulate... (one great thing about this particular section is that if you put your cursor on the picture, (the cursor will turn into what looks like a magnifying glass), and you can actually see a close up of the image without any distortion at all by simple holding the left click down and dragging the picture around)

This program sorts out many things including the dreaded red eye,

Other things this program can do...

* Resize
* Crop to different sizes
* Add text to any image
* rotate the image
* Compare images
* Create a slide show
* print or e-mail any selected image
And much more...
(All this can be done from the top menu or by clicking on 'edit')..



And you can also add text to a picture with ease...

The entire front page is so easy to understand the program will take a matter of twenty to thirty minutes to become a professional user...

And I do know there are many other programs out there on the market but for a freebie this one does a brilliant job with your pictures, giving you an easy solution to editing/manipulating your precious pictures to create some interesting results.


Printing an image is another easy and very pleasing experience, allowing you to print the image on any of 9 parts of your paper..?
When you chose an image you want to print and click on the 'printer' symbol you are then presented with another 'window' which asks you how and where on the paper you want the image printed, what size, inch or millimetre, portrait or landscape and even if you want the picture to stretch, fit to size or a specific size, but as I said, you can chose where to place a smaller image on your paper... middle, top, bottom left/right, top middle... the choice is yours and is simply a matter of clicking on the little green pointer.
Once the choice is made it is a simple matter of clicking on the print button.

You can even change the skins so the home page is you personal choice.


* IN CONCLUSION...

This, like many others, is a programs that is time consuming to explain and could become a little boring for the readers... the only solution would be to download the program and play about with it yourself to get the best benefit from it.

Although there are many similar programs like this on the market these days this one has the edge as it does so much for the very cheap price of £00.00.... yes you heard, it is absolutely free.. And for what it allows you to do prior to printing it is a fantastic thing to have on your PC....

It is by far one of the best 'free' programs which allow you to manipulate your pictures till your hearts content, it is probably better than some paid for programs which I have had the misfortune of using during my time.
There are some better programs on the market, and if you know any then by all means don't be selfish with your knowledge, share it amongst the world... especially if it's free...but 'Faststone' image viewer is a good all round program for people with little editing experience... and it is free...for ever... bargain indeed.

In all, a nice little program to have on your system. It doesn't take long to get the hang of it and once your in the knowledge you'll be happy with what this little gem has to offer.
And what's more it is absolutely free for ever... with no catches at all.

Summary: More than just an image viewer....

Variety of features:
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