One thing we've noticed in many programs with basic functions is the impressive increase in their size. Whether due to lack of optimization or the effect of feature creep, it's evident that they lose their way and become less attractive options for more humble systems. However, we can still find exceptions that work very well and don't devour resources. For example, if you like the idea of an ultra-compact image viewer, you should download the latest version of EZView, which is free and open source, and takes up less than 200 KB.
The image viewer built into Windows leaves much to be desired. One of the first things I do when reinstalling the operating system is remove the official app and download FastStone Viewer, which is free for personal use, stable, and offers several advanced options.
But that's just a personal choice. We should always be willing to explore other alternatives that might be even lighter (something essential for machines with limited hardware), and have a flexible profile (say, open source). That brings us to the page of PJ Naughter, a developer who offers compact and free applications (reminds us a lot of NirSoft), among which EZView stands out, an ultra-compact image viewer with less than 200 kilobytes in its executable.
EZView: A Lightweight and Easy-to-Use Image Viewer
EZView is completely portable, so you'll need to create a temporary folder and dump its contents there. The zip file downloaded from the official page also includes its source code, while the .exe files are stored in the subfolders ReleaseU (x86) and ReleaseU64 (x64). Its only major dependency is the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2019, but that should already be installed on your system.
The controls are very simple: Spacebar to advance through the gallery, Backspace to go back, F returns to the first image, and L jumps to the last one. A click on the image with the right button enables access to zoom controls (+ and - on the numeric keypad), and options to open the image at its actual size (Actual Size), or justified to the size of the window (Best Fit). This last parameter has as reference the top-left corner of the interface, so the image will not appear "justified to the center" as in other apps.
EZView supports the main image formats, WebP content, animated GIFs, multipage TIFF files, and automatic rotation based on EXIF and ITF tags. Its latest update is very recent, and although it only includes some isolated tweaks, it definitely deserves your time. Give it a try!
Official site and download: Click here
