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XnView is an image viewer and organizer software used for viewing, converting, organizing and editing raster images, as well as general purpose file management. It comes with built-in hex inspection, batch renaming/converting, image scanning and screen capture tools.

It is licensed as freeware for private, educational and non-profit uses. For other uses, it is licensed as commercial software.

XnView is actively distributed in two distinct branches, differentiated by their underlying architecture, platform compatibility, and plugin support:

• Status: legacy version^[9] that primarily receives maintenance updates.
• Platform: Windows exclusively (requires Windows XP or later).
• Architecture: built on the original 1998 codebase using the standard 32-bit Windows API.
• Limitations: lacks native Unicode support, which can cause errors when reading file paths or metadata containing non-Latin characters.
• Plugins: relies heavily on a library of 32-bit plugins and external .dll files to handle complex formats, archives, and additional tools.

• Status: modern, actively developed version.
• Platform: Windows, macOS, and Linux (requires a 64-bit system starting with version 1.6.0).
• Architecture: rewritten from the ground up in C++ using the Qt framework.
• Enhancements: resolves Classic’s limitations by adding full native Unicode support, multi-core processor utilization (for faster rendering and caching), and modern 64-bit capability.
• Plugins: requires 64-bit plugins. Many features that required external add-ons in Classic (like drawing tools and specialized format support) are natively integrated into MP’s core engine.

XnView Classic and XnView MP share a largely similar core feature set, although several advanced capabilities are exclusive to XnView MP due to its more modern architecture (marked with an asterisk).^[10]

Format support

• Reading: supports over 500 image formats.^[11]
  • Support for vector graphics (EPS, PS, PDF) can be integrated with Ghostscript. However, SVG support requires a commercial CAD plugin in Classic version.
  • Supports audio and video file formats^[12]

• Writing: supports exporting to over 70 image formats

Viewing and navigation

• Thumbnail, fullscreen, and filmstrip image browsing
• Slideshow creation with transition effects
• Side-by-side comparison of up to four* images
• Duplicate file finder
• Advanced file search

Image editing

• Image transformation: resizing, rotation, and cropping, including Lossless JPEG transformation
• Color adjustment: brightness, contrast, gamma, auto-levels/contrast, and color depth/palette modification
• Image filters and effects
• Drawing tool for adding lines, circles, arrows, speech bubbles, and watermarks

Cataloging and Metadata support

• Metadata and Thumbnails caching
• EXIF, IPTC and XMP* metadata support^[13]
• Embedded ICC color profile support
• Albums* and Keyword Sets*
• Face detection*

Batch processing

• Batch renaming
• Batch conversion^[14]
• Batch timestamp modification

Creation tools and Utilities

• Contact sheet, image strip, and video thumbnail gallery generation
• File listing and archives creation
• Screen capture
• Printing and TWAIN scanner support

Plugins support

• .8bf Photoshop plugins, eg Harry’s Filters, G’MIC

The original version was widely praised for its lightweight design, fast startup times, and extensive image format support, often being described as a versatile image-management utility.^[15][16][17]

Due to its legacy architecture, the Classic version lacks native Unicode support, which can cause issues when handling non-Latin file paths.^[18][19] It also lacks out-of-the-box support for newer image formats like AVIF^[20] and JPEGXL,^[21] while HEIC support requires an external plugin.^[22]

The multi-platform successor expanded the capabilities of the Classic version to macOS and Linux while introducing Unicode support, 64-bit compatibility, and multi-core processing. Reviewers highlighted improvements across nearly all aspects of the application, including UI/UX refinement, metadata handling, batch processing, and additional functionality.^[23][24]

However, the extensive and highly detailed settings can still present a significant learning curve for beginner users.^[25]

XnView’s development relies closely on community feedback, with the application’s creator actively participating in the official forum to address user bug reports and feature requests.^[26]

The software has also been referenced in academic research involving DICOM image handling and digital watermarking techniques.^[27][28] In 2006, Sveriges Television (SVT) recommended it in their High Definition Multi Format Test Set.^[29]

The author published various other products using the classic or the multi-platform XnView code base, some examples are:

• NConvert — command-line batch convert tool (Linux, macOS, Windows); the current version 7.230
• XnConvert — GUI batch convert tool (Linux, macOS, Windows); the current version 1.111
• XnShell — File Explorer / Windows Explorer shell extension (32-bit or 64-bit); the current version 4.2.5
• XnResize — image resizer (Linux, macOS, Windows); the current version 1.11
• XnRetro — used to assign vintage or instant effect for images (Linux, macOS, Windows); the current version 1.30
• XnSketch — transform images into cartoon or sketch (Linux, macOS, Windows); the current version 1.20
• Xn — apps for iOS and Android (XnRetro, Sketch Me!, Gif Me!, Hypocam, etc.)
• GFL-SDK — free developer library used in tools by third parties^[4]
• Nview — the DOS4GW predecessor of XnView^[30]

• Comparison of image viewers
• Comparison of raster graphics editors

• Official website