Image viewers for Linux

The image viewers we want to consider here, are file managers specialized in the task of viewing image files and their metadata. They should also be able to edit metadata, batch resize images and a few other tasks.

Expected features of a good image viewer for Linux

First let's have a look on the expectations one could have when choosing an image viewer. Personally I think the ideal image viewer for Linux should :

• preferably be a gnome software, since gnome software mostly works well with kde, however kde software run under gnome do have the hyper annoying habit to ask for attention continuously by blinking in the task bars of all the workspaces for no reason, which makes them quite unusable under gnome.
• show a folder tree on the left, preferably with plus minus signs, not the ugly triangles which are inconvenient to click on.
• remember the last watched folder, show the tree and highlight the last watched folder after the next launch, not like gwenview is doing it recently, just showing the path in one line.
• show (a lot of) thumbnails with file name and image size in pixels on the right area.
• show an image preview on the left, below the folder tree.
• show the jpeg comment below the image preview.
• have 6 tabs or buttons to let you switch between the image preview, its complete exif data, its iptc data, an exif editor, an iptc editor, a jpeg comment editor. For the exif and iptc edition, a small GUI which would call the console program ExifTool would be a good idea.
• editing jpeg comment, exif or iptc data should also be possible when multiple thumbnails are selected (batch editing).
• display the file size (kB), image size (pixel), date, image preview zoom factor of the currently selected thumbnail, in the status line.
• copying/moving one or several images to another folder in the tree by drag and drop should be possible.
• a double click on a thumbnail opens the image in a large window like it is done by gThumb (with previous/next, full screen and slide view options, zoom in, zoom out, zoom1/1 and zoom fit toolbar buttons).
• the user should be able to associate several toolbar buttons and/or hot-keys with several image editors.

Reviews

Now let's make a review of some of the available image viewers, what they do well and what is missing. They are sorted in alphabetical order, not in any order of preference.

ExifTool

• Exiftool is not an image viewer, but a very useful complement to the image viewers.
• ExifTool is a very powerful command line program that lets you watch and edit the jpeg comment, the EXIF data, the IPTC data, the GPS data, in short any metadata of the image files.
• ExifTool is not listed in synaptic.
• Exiftool is available for Linux, Mac and Windows at http://owl.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/

Eye of gnome version 2.18.1

• Eye of gnome or EOG is a simple image viewer, without a folder tree.
• The current version is 3.4.2 but the last one I did test was 2.18.1
• It has a thumbnail view at the bottom which can be switched on and off (F9)
• Since it doesn't have a folder tree, it is best used when associated with image files and opened by a double click on a file in any file manager like Thunar, Nautilus or Caja .
• on the right of the image preview, an area with the file informations including the exif values can be switched on and off (CTRL-I)
• together with a file manager (e.g. Thunar) and with image files associated to Eye of gnome, the couple makes an image viewer package.
• if exif data have been written by xnview (e.g. after a batch resize), Eye of Gnome 2.18.1 can not see them any more, but other viewers still can.
• if in a given directory, some photos do have EXIF data and others do not, walking through the photos with eye of gnome 2.18.1 will erroneously show the photos without EXIF data as having the EXIF data of the last photo that had some.
• Eye of Gnome is listed in Synaptic in Linux Mint 13.

Eye of Mate version 1.2.0

• Eye of Mate or EOM is a kind of a clone of Eye of Gnome specific to the Mate environment.
• A simple image viewer without a folder tree.
• together with a file manager (e.g. Thunar, Caja, Nautilus) and with image files associated to Eye of Mate, the couple makes an image viewer package.
• Eye of Mate is listed in Synaptic in Linux Mint 13.

Geeqie version 1.0-10

• Geeqie is the successor of Gqview. When Geeqie was first imposed in an Ubuntu release instead of the good old Gqview is was absolutely unusable for me. It did constantly crash. It might have been usable just for browsing through folders and watching images. But for my usage, often opening images with The Gimp for treatment, Geeqie did constantly crash. When an image was modified with The Gimp, when an image was moved around with a file manager, Geeqie would crash. It couldn't stand that a file was modified by another software.
• When 1.0-10 is launched for the 1st time, you need to type CTRL-T to get a folder tree. Then it shows a large image preview in the right pane where one would await the thumbnails and a small file list below the folder tree where one would await the image preview. This can be modified through the menu
  Edit > Preferences > Configure this window...
• It seems that the crashing when a file is modified by another application has been corrected in the current version (tested under Linux Mint 13 Mate). But it might need more extensive usage to tell it for sure.
• Geeqie is listed in Synaptic in Linux Mint 13.

Gpicview version 0.2.2

• GpicView is a very simple image viewer, even less capable than Eye of Gnome and Mirage.
• No folder tree, no thumbnails, just a left and right arrow button to navigate blindly within a given folder.
• GpicView is listed in Synaptic in Linux Mint 13.

Gqview version 2.0.1

• Gqview is not currently available any more, so this entry is historical.
• Gqview has a folder navigation area on the left, default is not a tree but you can switch to a tree (CTRL-T).
• it shows a small selection of the exif data or a large list of exif data through a right click on a thumbnail (context menu) and selecting properties. In another properties tab it shows some keywords but it's not the IPTC keywords and some comment, but it's not the jpeg comment nor the exif comment, probably an own incompatible one. CTRL-E shows the EXIF data in the image preview zone, closely to my expectations, I just needed to find it out !
• the preview area is below the tree on the left.
• doesn't show a large image view like others by double clicking on a thumbnail, but has a full screen mode (key F) and a nearly full screen view with CTRL-H, which is just as well.
• the file size (in kB) and image size (in pixel) are displayed in the status line.
• a setting lets you choose which folder (a fixed one, always the same) to open at launch, but it does not remember the folder watched last time.
• moving/copying an image by drag and drop is available, asks if copying or moving is requested.
• Gqview is NOT listed in Synaptic any more. It is replaced by Geeqie.

gThumb version 2.14.3

• gThumb now has a folder tree in the left pane, which 2.10.2 did not have.
• Moving images around through drag and drop is now possible too. Drag and drop with left mouse button = copy, drag and drop with middle mouse button = copy or move, you have the choice through a pop-up.
• Unfortunately, the image preview below the folder tree, present in 2.10.2, has disappeared in 2.14.3.
• gThumb displays the file size (kB), image size (pixel), date, image preview zoom factor, in the status line, which is an important feature for an image viewer.
• At next launch, gThumb does remember the folder watched last time (configurable in
  Edit > Preferences
  ).
• Batch resizing with gThumb does not lose the EXIF data any more.
• Currently gThumb is obviously the closest match to our wish-list of the ideal image viewer.
• Now and then, I noticed that moving images around freezes the application.
• gThumb is listed in Synaptic in Linux Mint 13.

gwenview

• Gwenview is an image viewer for the KDE environment. This is why I did not use it for a long time now, but it was a rather good image viewer a few years ago, when I last used it, before version 1.4.1. The current version is 4.8.5 (Linux Mint 13).
• Older versions did show a tree and come back to the last watched folder after the next program launch, as I would expect it from every image viewer.
• version 1.4.1 did still go to the last watched folder after the next program launch, but did display the full path in one line instead of the tree and the highlighted folder. This made the program useless, since you will have to re-navigate to the wished folder, as if the program would not remember it at all. I do not understand why a good feature has been wrecked, apparently intentionally.
• Gwenview is listed in Synaptic in Linux Mint 13.

Mirage version 0.9.5.1

• Mirage is simple image viewer, without a folder tree, similar to Eye of Gnome or Eye of Mate.
• Since version 0.9.3, Mirage has a thumbnail view of the images from the same folder that can be switched on and off through the menu
  View > Thumbnail Pane
  .
• It is interesting as a program associated with image files that opens when double clicking an image in a file manager like Thunar, Nautilus or Caja.
• Mirage is listed in Synaptic in Linux Mint 13.

pornview version 0.2pre1-11

• The name should not stop you from watching decent photos with the program!
• shows a tree on the left, and comes back to the last watched folder after the next program launch, a little thing that seems evident to be expected, nevertheless few do it.
• it shows thumbs on the left below the tree.
• it shows an image preview on the right.
• it has very few menu and tool buttons.
• moving/copying an image by drag and drop is not available.
• It is listed in Synaptic in Linux Mint 13.

Showfoto

• Showfoto is an image viewer for the KDE environment.
• Showfoto is listed in Synaptic in Linux Mint 13.

Thunar version 0.8.0

• Thunar is a fast and convenient file manager. It is the default file manager of the XFCE environment, but can be used in any other environment.
• If you like the detailed view for most files and the thumbnail view for image files, like me, you can switch to detailed list with CTRL-2 and to thumbnails with CTRL-1.
• If you associate the image types with Mirage (or Eye of Gnome or Eye of Mate), a double click on a thumbnail will open a large image view like most dedicated image viewers would do.
• Thus the couple Thunar and Mirage (or Eye of Gnome or Eye of Mate) make a rather comfortable image viewer.
• Moving/copying images to another folder by drag and drop is not a problem for a good file manager like Thunar.
• Unfortunately, Thunar does not remember the last watched folder after the next launch.
• Obviously, you won't have an image preview within Thunar (apart the thumbnails) since Thunar is a file manager, not an image viewer.
• Thunar is listed in Synaptic in Linux Mint 13.

xnview version 1.70

• xnview is available for Linux and Windows, but it is the Linux version that we are referring to here.
• Installation on Linux needs some attention, doesn't work "out of the box". But we have tips for that.
• Shows a tree and comes back to the last watched folder after the next program launch, a little thing that seems evident to be expected, nevertheless very few do it.
• default is preview at right below the thumbnails, but the layout can be changed at menu view/layout.
• moving/copying an image by drag and drop is not available.
• right click and properties do show the jpeg comment, the EXIF data and the IPTC data
• IPTC data can be edited = a big plus
• XnView is NOT listed in Synaptic in Linux Mint 13.

XnviewMP

• XnviewMP is the multi Platform version of XnView.
• It is a very powerful image viewer.
• XnViewMP is NOT listed in Synaptic in Linux Mint 13.

My recommendations

My image viewer of choice is currently gThumb, but depending on what I want to do, I might use another one at times.

• to watch full screen images : gThumb (F11), Geeqie (F), xnview (CTRL-F)
• to copy/move files around by drag and drop : gThumb, Geeqie, Thunar, Nautilus, Caja
• to batch resize images :
• gThumb (button with cogwheel in the tool bar) keeps EXIF and IPTC and JPEG comment
• xnview (menu Tools/Convert... CTRL-U) keeps EXIF and IPTC and JPEG comment
• David's batch processor, a plug-in for the Gimp, will keep EXIF, lose IPTC and overwrite the JPEG comment with "DBP"
• to watch the jpeg comment : gThumb, xnview, ExifTool
• to edit the jpeg comment : gThumb, ExifTool
• to watch EXIF data : gThumb, xnview, Geeqie, ExifTool
• to edit EXIF data : ExifTool
• to watch IPTC data : gThumb, xnview, ExifTool
• to edit IPTC data : gThumb (some), xnview (some), ExifTool
• to watch GPS data : ExifTool
• to edit GPS data : ExifTool

Comparison table of image viewers for Linux

image viewer function	Geeqie 1.0-10	gThumb 2.14.3	Xnview 1.70	Thunar 1.2.3	Mirage 0.9.5.1	Eye of Mate 2.18.1	ExifTool command line tool
folder tree	yes	yes	yes	yes
remembers last time folder	no	yes	yes	no
move/copy by drag n drop	yes	yes	no	yes
file size (kB) in status line	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
image size (pixel) in status line	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
layout configurable	yes	yes	yes
thumbnail view	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
preview zoom factor in status line	yes	yes	yes		yes
image zoom factor in status line	no	yes	yes at top		yes	yes
large image view	CTRL-H	double click	double click	double click
full screen images	F or double click	F11	CTRL-F		F11	F11
batch resize images	no	keeps EXIF + IPTC + JPEG comment	keeps EXIF + IPTC + JPEG comment
watch JPEG comment	no	properties pane	right click properties		no	no	yes
edit JPEG comment	no	yes	no		no	no	yes
watch EXIF data	CTRL-E	properties pane	right click properties		no	yes	yes
edit EXIF data	no	no	no		no	no	yes
watch IPTC data	CTRL-E	properties pane	right click properties		no	no	yes
edit IPTC data	no	some, Edit > Comment > Other	right click edit IPTC		no	no	yes
watch GPS data	no	no	no		no	no	yes
edit GPS data	no	no	no		no	no	yes