How to scroll through photos on Windows 8: You have purchased a new monitor for your PC with Windows 8 and you can’t wait to use it to watch, in absolute tranquility, the shots taken during your last holiday. For this reason, you started looking for a system to be able to quickly browse the photos on your computer and, after searching the Net, you came across my website.
If things are exactly this way, know that you are in the right place, at the right time! During this tutorial, in fact, I will explain how to browse photos on Windows 8 (and Windows 8.1 ), making use of some applications integrated “as standard” in the operating system and a series of alternative programs, equally valid.
So, without waiting any longer, cut out a few minutes of free time to devote to reading this guide: I guarantee you that, in four and four times, you will be able to find the solution that best suits your needs. Having said that, there is nothing left for me to do, except to wish you a good read and … enjoy!
How to browse photos on Windows 8
Let’s start by seeing how to browse photos on Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 using the special program included “standard” in the operating system. Through it, it is possible to view not only the photos saved in the computer memory, but also those from OneDrive (as long as it has been previously configured in the PC ) and from any external devices connected to the PC.
To use it, click on the Photo tile located on the Start Screen (which you can access from the desktop by clicking on the flag icon located at the bottom left) and use the drop-down menu to choose the images to browse (e.g. Image collection , to view the photos saved on the computer, or Devices , to access the images present in cameras or other devices connected to the computer).
Now, choose the folder or album where the photos you want to see are contained, if necessary, and you’re done: to navigate between the photo thumbnails, use the scroll bar at the bottom. If, on the other hand, you wish to enlarge the photos and view them in sequence, click on the first thumbnail to view the corresponding image, and use the arrow keys on the keyboard to scroll to the right or left. If you use a touch device, you can navigate through the images by swiping to the right or left.
If you prefer, you can also activate the Presentation mode and make the images go forward automatically, after a few seconds: in this case, after opening the preview of the first photo, right click (or long tap) on the itself and press the Presentation button , which is at the bottom.
If necessary, always through the Photos application, you can import the images present in cameras, smartphones and other devices connected to the PC “on the fly”, saving them in the system collection: to do this, return to the main program screen (just press the Esc button when viewing any image) and click on the Import button , which is located at the top right.
If you want to edit, rename or rotate the photos, right click on the relevant preview and use the buttons displayed below to perform the operation you prefer.
Alternatively, you can achieve a similar result through the Windows Photo Viewer , another program included “standard” in the operating system which, however, is based on the classic interface of Microsoft programs (and not on that of Modern-style applications).
To use it, open the File Explorer (the yellow folder icon located on the Windows taskbar), go to the folder containing the images of your interest, right click on the preview of one of the photos present (ideally the first on the left) and select the items Open with> Windows Photo Viewer from the proposed context menu.
Once in the program screen, you can navigate through the photos in the folder using the arrow keys on the keyboard, or the Back and Forward buttons , located immediately below the enlarged image; to activate the presentation mode, press the F11 key on the keyboard or the Presentation button at the bottom.
Programs to browse photos on Windows 8
If, for some reason, the applications I have told you about so far have not been able to meet your needs, you can evaluate the use of some alternative programs, free and equally functional: below I list some of them.
XnView
One of the best image viewers you can use to browse photos on Windows 8 is, without a shadow of a doubt, XnView : it is a free (for non-professional purposes) and multi-platform program (it is also available for macOS and Linux) , which allows you to view, organize and navigate between photos saved in the memory of your computer (or devices connected to it).
To get it, connected to its download page and click on the XnView Ext. Setup button , to get the software installation package. When the download is complete, launch the file in question (eg XnView-full-win.exe ), press the Yes button , select Italian from the drop-down menu displayed on the screen and click the OK button .
Once this is done, put the check mark next to the item I accept the terms of the license agreement , click on the Next button for 5 consecutive times and finalize the installation of the program by clicking on the Install and Finish buttons . Once this step is also passed, start XnView using the icon that has been created on the desktop and click on the OK button , to apply the default usage settings of the same.
Using the program is very simple: using the left sidebar, choose the folder containing the photos of your interest, in order to view the previews in the central part of the screen. To enlarge an image, double-click on its preview ; to view the previous or next photo, use the arrow buttons located at the top of the XnView screen or the arrow keys on the keyboard.
To automatically scroll through the files contained in the folder in question, you must instead enable Presentation mode , by clicking on the button of the same name located in the upper toolbar (depicting the drawing of a painting ): after defining the settings that are most congenial to you (timer, view mode, folders involved, transitions and so on), click on the Start button , located at the bottom left, to start the automatic reproduction of the images on the screen. Happy?
IrfanView
IrfanView is another free software for non-professional purposes, light but extremely flexible, designed to view, organize and edit images in all the main existing formats.
To get it, connected to this website , locate the Get IrfanView box and click the Download button most suitable for the version of Windows 8.1 you are using, 32 or 64 bit, in order to obtain the program installation file.
When the download is complete, launch the downloaded package (eg iviewxx.exe ) and click on the Yes , Next 4 consecutive times and Done buttons to complete the installation of the program and start it. Now, to view the photos present in a given folder, access it through the Windows File Explorer, right click on its icon and select the item Browse with IrfanView from the contextual menu proposed. To enlarge an image, double-click on its preview; to move to the previous or next photo, instead use the directional arrows on the keyboard or the appropriate buttons on the toolbar located at the top.
If you want to see the images in presentation mode, click on the Slideshow button (the icon of the painting placed in the display screen of the single photos) and, using the window that is proposed to you, select the images to be included in the presentation, define the time of the wait between photos and, when you are done, click on the Play Slideshow button . Always through the same window, you can save the presentation as an exe file , as a screensaver ( scr extension ) or burn it on a CD / DVD ( Burn slideshow to CD / DVD ).
Other programs to browse photos on Windows 8
In addition to the ones I have told you about so far, there are many other programs to browse photos on Windows 8 , many of which are available completely free of charge. Here are some examples.
- XnView MP – is a powerful software for managing, organizing and manipulating photos and images in multiple formats (including digital camera RAW). It is quite similar to the aforementioned XnView, but has improvements in terms of performance and, among other things, it is also available for macOS, Linux and in a portable version. It is free for non-commercial purposes.
- ACDSee – is one of the most long-lived and functional programs aimed at viewing and archiving photos and images of any kind. Its interface also adapts easily to touch-screen devices. It is a commercial program with the possibility of a free trial.
- JPEGView – it is a light, simple and essential program that allows you to view images in JPG / JPEG, BMP, PNG, WEBP, TGA, GIF and TIFF formats and to quickly navigate between the photos contained in the same folder. It is free and requires no installation.
To get a more complete overview of the programs I have just mentioned or, again, to find out more solutions of this type, I refer you to reading my guide dedicated to programs to view photos .