What’s new

• Back and Forward history per tab: each tab keeps its own view history, so Back and Forward step through the images it has shown, including TIFF and archive pages. History follows files you rename.
• Close Image: close the current image without closing the application or tab (#443).
• Keywords in Image Information: view, edit and copy an image’s keywords tag (#432).
• Respect folder structure inside archives: a new Settings option, on by default. Archive pages in several folders open in folder order (Volume 01/001.jpg before Volume 02/001.jpg) instead of interleaved.
• Hide the gallery in large folders (settings file only, off by default): set HideGalleryAtFileCount to hide the gallery in folders with at least that many files (#394).

Improvements

Gallery

• The gallery opens centered on the current image.
• With Side-by-side on, both images of the pair are highlighted in the gallery.
• Slow scrolling adds up instead of snapping back.
• Gallery loads use less memory and read file details more cheaply, so large folders load faster.
• Copying an image from the gallery copies the original full-size image, not the thumbnail.

Archives

• A corrupt page is skipped instead of failing the whole archive.
• An archive overtaken by another while loading no longer leaves its extracted files behind.
• Renaming an archive in its folder keeps its history entries.
• The “Always uncompress entire archive folder” setting is removed. Extraction is now always staged. Old settings files still load.

Windows and layout

• Resize and Convert windows remember where they were closed, like the other tool windows.
• A remembered window position is applied only if the window overlaps a screen, instead of being moved to the top-left corner.
• Escape closes Image Information, Batch Resize and Resize again while a number box has focus.
• AutoFit windows:
  • Turning AutoFit on places the window the same way a resize does.
  • A natively maximized window stays where it is after a resize.
  • A window that starts fullscreen moves to its screen’s origin, so the taskbar does not cover it (Windows).
  • Screen Margin changes apply to every open window at once. A negative Screen Margin from an older settings file is corrected.
  • The start-up menu opens at a size that shows the full logo.
• Hover bar: easier to reveal over a docked gallery. A hover bar that can’t fade in no longer takes clicks.
• The File History and Favorites menu no longer blinks or jumps back to the top when opened.

Settings and keybindings

• Gallery keyboard navigation has moved to contextual actions:
  • Up and Down in Normal mode scroll an image taller than the window. When nothing else claims them, they keep rotating the image.
  • When the gallery is expanded, Up, Down, Left and Right navigate the gallery.
  • Left and Right (A/D) go to the previous or next image.
• Keybind files are migrated to settings version 3.1. Your custom keybinds are kept, and the default Left and Right keybinds are added.
• The “Show docked gallery when UI is hidden” setting is removed.

Fixes

• Renaming no longer silently overwrites an existing file. The rename is refused with “A file with that name already exists”, and the dialog stays open. Case-only renames still work.
• The rename dialog selects the name without its extension (#439).
• Renaming a shown image in Explorer keeps its zoom and rotation. The title shows its real size instead of 0 × 0.
• Saving an image that is both flipped and turned a quarter turn (once or three times) now matches what you see. Before, it was written 180° off.
• The zoom percentage popup shows the new image’s percentage.
• A new image in a background tab no longer resets the zoom of the tab you are looking at. A tab that loaded its image in the background fits it correctly when you switch to it.
• Image Information updates correctly when you switch between tabs. It shows dimensions for clipboard, base64 and URL images, and clears them on a blank tab.
• Open last file now opens the last file reliably.
• An archive image that finishes loading late no longer replaces the one you moved to.
• The background is applied at startup again (#444).
• Two Main Windows: resizing one no longer shows or hides the other’s title bar and bottom bar buttons.
• Fixed unintentional empty horizontal scroll with middle mouse button scrolling when AutoFit is enabled.
• Detaching tabs into new windows now previews and drops at the given size from the origin window.
• Don't save window position when minimized and don't start the window outside of visible screen area (441).

Misc

Languages

• Korean translation updated by @VenusGirl in #433.
• Danish wording for the archive setting improved. Keyword strings translated.

Internal updates

• Updated Avalonia to 12.1.5
• Updated Magick.NET to 15.1.0
• Updated Magick.NET.AvaloniaMediaImaging to 2.0.1

New Contributors

• @menes97 made their first contribution in Ruben2776/PicView#445

Full Changelog: 5.2.0.1...5.2.2

Re-upload to fix release build crash. Sorry about the inconvenience.

Application shortcuts

Application shortcuts now work with the mouse

• The mouse wheel, middle mouse buttons, as well as the side buttons are now configurable. This also works with modifier keys (Alt, Shift, Ctrl, ⌘ Cmd, ⌥ Option).

⚠️ Breaking Change: These settings replace the legacy options for Mouse side buttons and Ctrl to zoom, scroll to navigate. Upgrading from a previous version automatically maps the wheel and side buttons to default application shortcuts.

Contextual actions - These are actions that dynamically adapt based on what is viewed. They are assigned by default to keys such as Enter, Esc, and Space. For example, Enter confirms a dialog, and Esc stops playback on a motion photo or slideshow before closing the window. This updates Gallery click to act as Confirm.

Improved window behavior

• The Application shortcuts window now stages changes as a draft, allowing you to undo, redo, or reset before applying.
• Fixed bugs while filtering and adjusting shortcuts.
• The Application shortcuts window no longer needs to be reopened to reset them, and the shortcuts settings are more stable.

Favorites

• Added quick-access folder favorites. Manage and assign them directly from the dropdown menu (#326).
• Each favorite slot can have its own shortcut.

Gallery

• Right-clicking a gallery thumbnail now respects the deletion confirmation setting (#423).
• TIFF and TGA thumbnails now show. TIFF thumbnails used to be blank.
• RAW thumbnails use the camera's embedded preview, which loads faster.
• The right-click menus are loaded on demand, so the thumbnails can load faster.

Bug fixes

• Window size and position are now properly saved and restored for width-locked windows.
• Fixed clipboard copy ignoring transformations (flip and rotation).
• Fixed the first left-click on a gallery item not responding.
• Fixed 8-bit grayscale PNGs not displaying (#403).
• Fixed a possible crash when dragging and dropping files (#403).
• Fixed bad layout when entering or exiting fullscreen while zoomed in. The zoom is now reset.
• Fixed missing actions in the Navigation dialog.
• Fixed title bar line height with mixed Latin and CJK text.
• Fixed images staying in memory after their tab is closed.
• Fixed incorrect layout after detaching a new tab.
• Fixed double-clicking actions firing unintentionally.
• Fixed file tracking issues when items are renamed, deleted, or added while multiple tabs are open.
• Fixed gallery stretching not syncing between the Settings window and the gallery.
• Fixed instances of the scrollbar being fixed to the image when scrolling is enabled.
• Fixed gallery clearing and staying empty when changing the file sorting.
• Fixed the Image resize window saves a new file instead of conversion when a conversion target is selected in the combo box.
• Fixed the pop-up calendars, in the Image information window, ignoring a year or month picked without selecting a day.

macOS

• Critical: Printing no longer deletes the image file (#416).
• Fixed sizing and switching between fullscreen states when multiple monitors are connected.
• Fixed the resize grip button position.
• Added keyboard modifier buttons icons (⌘ Cmd, ⌥ Option, ⇧ Shift, ⌃ Ctrl) to the Application shortcuts window.
• Printing now sends the number of copies you chose.

⚠️ Note for intel macOS users: Magick.NET have removed support for Intel chips (x64) in the 15.0.0 version. The x64 macOS build uses the legacy Magick.NET 14.7.2 for now.
Support for this build may be removed in a future release.

Windows

• You can now cut files with Ctrl + X by default (this was removed when PicView got rewritten to Avalonia in 3.x).
• Fixed a duplicate confirmation dialog appearing alongside the native Windows prompt (#423).
• Fixed an application crash when updating the application.
• Windows printing now uses the paper size and orientation you chose, at the page’s real size.

Settings

• Added a new option to toggle if the Esc button should exit the application or restore window size when in full-screen (on by default).
• Added a new option to navigate by clicking the left or right half of the image (#341).
• Motion photo badges are now hidden by default.
• The restart button is now easier to see.

Languages

• Updated Danish translation.
• Updated Vietnamese by @1598-user (#13).
• Added Arabic (ar) translation by @Eomar21 (#429).
• Added missing "line spacing" and "item spacing" translations.

Miscellaneous

• Double-clicking the start-up menu now toggles fullscreen if enabled in the settings.
• Added the print action to the drop-down menu.

Internal updates

• Updated Magick.NET to 15.0.
• Updated SharpCompress to 0.50.7.
• Updated ZLinq to 1.6.1

New Contributors

• @h5box made their first contribution in #423
• @max-ima made their first contribution in #426
• @Eomar21 made their first contribution in #429

Full Changelog: 5.2...5.2.0.1

What's new

Bug fixes

• Fixed startup window not being vertically centered.
• Fixed possible UI freeze when changing docked gallery position.
• Fixed thumbnails in the gallery not updating correctly when changing directory.
• Fixed crop crashing if exiting when the gallery is docked.
• Fixed a possible crash when navigating the file history.
• Fixed hover animations missing for the settings tab in the drop-down menu.
• Fixed the crop button in the drop-down menu not being disabled when cropping is not possible.
• Fixed the drop-down menu not closing when selecting the bottom-docked gallery option.
• Fixed window size not correctly being predicted at startup when auto-fit window is enabled.
• Fixed the resetting to default application shortcuts button missing its styling.
• Fixed unintended text box up/down buttons appearing when not enough space in the Image information window.
• Fixed not displaying loading at startup and fixed tab title not displaying the full path on tooltip when hovering.

macOS

• Fixed not being able to load default application shortcuts.
• Fixed the first key being pressed when entering the search function. E.g. when pressing Cmd+F "f" will no longer be present in the search box.

Settings

• Showing a confirmation dialog is now on by default when pressing Esc. In the next release there will be an option to toggle if the Esc button should exit the application or restore window size when in full-screen.

Languages

• Added Vietnamese by @1598-user.
• Improved language selection at startup when no settings exist yet.

Internal updates

• Updated Magick.NET to 14.7.2.

📢 Announcement

The releases since the 5.0 version have been frequent and unstable. Things unfortunately didn't work out the way I had planned, and many unforeseen bugs slipped in. I apologize for that.
Future releases will be slower but with more focus on manual testing. I'm also going to improve on the existing unit tests, add more of them, and look into automated testing as well.

Thank you for your continued support.

What's new

Bug fixes

• Fixed possible image size miscalculation when gallery is docked.
• Fixed janky zoom out animation.
• Fixed instances where the hoverbar didn't show when starting up in fullscreen mode.
• Fixed instances of incorrect image size when the top title bar is hidden.

macOS

• Fixed incorrect layout after expanding and contracting the gallery when docked to the side.
• Fixed gallery not centering correctly after expanding or contracting.
• Slightly adjusted title bar position for macOS 27 bigger traffic lights buttons.

Windows

• Fixed window not starting up correctly ##398

What's new

Bug fixes

• Fixed the Application shortcuts not working (#397).
• Fixed the gallery not hiding when loading an image through URL.
• Fixed incorrect display in the language selection combo box.
• Fixed the Optimize image button not being disabled when the image format was not supported.
• Fixed erratic horizontal gallery scrolling behavior.

macOS

• Fixed the startup logic to no longer cause blinking because of excessive window resizing when Auto-fit window is enabled.
• Fixed the window not centering when Auto-fit window is enabled.

Internal updates

• Updated Avalonia to 12.1.2.

What's new

Bug fixes

• Fixed incorrect thumbnail rendering when the gallery is docked to the side.
• Fixed some issues with more than one gallery item thumbnail being selected.
• Fixed an issue where disabling docking was grayed out incorrectly.
• Fixed missing background for the photo overlay badge.

Windows

• Added the picview-ffmpeg.dll file in a new plugin directory.

macOS

• Fixed unresponsive update button.
• Moved the picview-ffmpeg.dll to a new plugin directory.

What's new

• Motion Photo Support (#374): Added native playback for Motion Photos (Live Photos) directly within PicView. This works right out of the box with no third-party dependencies required. Huge thanks to @reflyable!

• Smoother Archive Extraction (#385): The user experience when navigating and extracting archives has been greatly enhanced. Extractions are now intelligently batched in groups of 10 and feature a new progress indicator. This makes the app feel much smoother, especially in scenarios like viewing files over a remote or network connection. Thanks to @ScottRFrost!

• Gallery Virtualization (#389): Significantly improved gallery loading by implementing UI virtualization. This drastically reduces loading times and memory consumption. Even when browsing folders containing hundreds or thousands of images, navigation will remain fast and responsive.

• Light Theme Overhaul (#393): The light theme has received a massive overhaul to bring it up to the high standards of the default dark theme. Both themes has new refined icons, and significantly improved visual contrast across the interface.

Bug fixes

• Corrected the labels for the rotation symbols in the context menu (#390).

• Resolved a startup crash that could occur if a mouse click was registered too early (#392). Thanks to @JakobScholer!

• Fixed a crash that occurred when attempting to load file history if no previous history existed (#392). Thanks to @JakobScholer!

macOS

• Fixed an issue where the macOS file open dialog would become completely unresponsive until the application was manually refocused (#386, resolved in #392). Thanks to @JakobScholer!

Windows

• Fixed a regression that caused native Windows thumbnails to render upside down (#391).

Internal updates

• Updated Magick.NET to 14.17.1.

📢 Note:
Windows releases for this version did not include the picview-ffmpeg.dll file. If you wish to take advantage of the Live Photos feature, please download the ffmpeg.x64.zip or ffmpeg.x64.zip and extract the ffmpeg folder next to the PicView.exe file. If you're on macOS, it is already included.

New Contributors

• @reflyable made their first contribution in #374
• @JakobScholer made their first contribution in #392

Full Changelog: 5.0.6...5.1.0

What's new

Bug fixes

• Fixed the Save as function not working #384.
• Fixed the image still showing an outdated cached version when saving the image #365.
• Fixed the update button not working in the About window.

Internal updates

• Updated Svg.Controls.Skia.Avalonia to 12.0.0.17

What's new

Faster gallery loading

• Drastically improved gallery loading times by virtualizing thumbnail generation—only rendering visible images and pre-fetching upcoming thumbnails during scrolling.

UI & UX

• Improved the dropdown menu layout to make frequently used actions quicker and easier to access.

Bug fixes

• Fixed image rotation issues when Auto-fit window is enabled (#378).
• Fixed an issue where the window width failed to adjust during rapid image navigation with Auto-fit window enabled.
• Fixed an issue where Auto-fit window failed to center the window on startup when resuming from the last opened file.
• Fixed an issue where using the window centering function could cause a crash to desktop.
• Fixed gallery thumbnails becoming desynchronized after sorting files (#382).
• Fixed tab title displaying loading when pasting from clipboard image or URL.
• Fixed the resize grip (bottom-right corner) in the main window is not working (#380).

What's new

Animated Avif

• Added support for playing .avif files with multiple frames #257.

Translations

• Improve Spanish translations and add Catalan language by @JanBermejoToran in #375

macOS

• PicView is now using native macOS thumbnails for faster thumbnail loading.

Windows

• Fixed native Windows thumbnails being shown upside down.

Bug fixes

• Fixed a potential issue when deleting files until the watched directory is empty.

New Contributors

• @JanBermejoToran made their first contribution in #375