IrfanView

Slideshow

Click on the File Menu, select Slideshow. A dialog allows you to select a directory from which the files will be taken. Use Look in and File name to narrow the search; use Files of type to limit the search to one type of file, such as JPG.

Click the file names you want to use. If you have a range of files to choose, click the first. Move the mouse to the last file in the group, hold down the Shift key on the keyboard and click. To choose individual files, hold down the Ctrl key and click each file name with the mouse. Click the Add button. Click the Add all button to add all images in the directory to the slideshow list. Remove and Remove all remove the selected or all files from the slideshow list.

Click the Sort Files button to choose a sort order by name, date, size or extension. Files may be sorted in ascending or descending order. To remove a sort, click the No sort option button.

Click the Sort button to choose a sort order by name, date, size or extension. Files may be sorted in ascending or descending order. To remove a sort, click the no Sort option button. Click Stop Slideshow and close IrfanView after the last image if you want to close IrfanView after the slideshow.

There are several options for slideshow. If there is a check mark in the box, the option is “on.” Unchecked means “off.”

You can set the Start file number default is file no 1. If the option Remember last file index on exit is set, the start file number will be filled with the last file from previous slideshow.

Click Loop slideshow to cause the slideshow to play continuously. The next option is Suppress errors during playing. Next option is Loop MP3 files. You can use MP3 files (with installed PlugIns) as background music, so you can loop one MP3 file until the next MP3 is loaded or the slideshow ends. The last before final option is Hide mouse cursor; click to make the mouse cursor “invisible” while the slideshow is playing. During a random slideshow, an image won’t be shown more than once, a history list allows browsing. On the right is one more option Show text; click this to display the file infos of the image as it appears on screen. IrfanView can display a variety of file infos like name, size, date/time, EXIF/IPTC/Comment infos, etc. Check this page for more infos about text possibilities.

There are settings for how long each image will be shown; click the option button of your choice. The top option plays the next image automatically after a number of seconds (most keys will stop the slideshow, like ESC or Enter); type a number into the box to change the timing. The second option will cause the viewer to wait until you press a key on the keyboard or move the mouse before displaying the next image. The third option plays a randomly chosen image after the specified time, any key press (keys without function in slideshow like ESC) will stop the slideshow; the fourth plays a random image after you press a key or move the mouse.

You can set the Start image either manually or using double click on a file in the slideshow list.

Click the Play button to begin the slideshow.

Slideshows can be saved for future use. When you choose the images and begin playing a show, IrfanView creates a file named:

       Slideshow.lst

which is placed in the IrfanView directory on your disk drive. This may be loaded back into the viewer and used again. Click Load filenames from TXT and a dialog like the Open dialog from the File Menu appears. Find the file you want to use and click Open to load it. Click Save filenames as TXT and a dialog like Save As appears. Give your slideshow a name and click Save to have it stored on the disk drive.

You can also save the current slideshow as self running EXE or SCR file (standalone executable/screen saver). First, create and run a slideshow. Now, if all slideshow options work as you wish, click the Save as EXE/SCR file button. The result file is standalone and can be distributed easily. For this feature the PlugIn Slideshow must be installed, which is done at program installation.

Possible errors during the EXE creation are: the input file can’t be loaded or the disk is full (temp folder).

If you have Windows XP (or later) or Nero Burning ROM (full or demo version, NO OEM) installed, you can burn the slideshow to CD (Data CD) or create a Video CD (VCD). You must also install the Burning/Nero PlugIn for IrfanView first.

Slideshows can be created outside of IrfanView and later be loaded into the opened viewer. Use a text editor that stores its files as plain text, such as Windows Notepad. The file only contains the name of each image to be played in the slideshow, each on a separate line in the file. Each must include the complete path where the image will be found on your hard drive. It will look something like this:

       C:\Images\myimage.jpg

Create the file and store it on your disk. When you start IrfanView, open the Slideshow dialog, and use the Load filenames from TXT button to start your show. Shows can also be played from outside the viewer using a command line option.

When you are done click Close. You may also click it before the slideshow starts. Another way to exit is to click the X in the upper right corner.

How to pause an automatic slideshow? Just press the Pause key. Press the pause key again to resume the slideshow.