Does IrfanView stop at a file format you need to open? IrfanView Plugins add support for formats and tools such as camera RAW, DICOM, WebP, PDF, and OCR, extending what the viewer can handle for image and document workflows.
Format and document plugins
The package extends IrfanView’s format support for image types that may not be part of everyday photo collections. CamRAW handles digital-camera RAW files, while other format plugins cover DICOM medical images, DjVu, SVG, WebP, JPEG 2000, JPEG-LS, and JPEG XL. The Formats plugin also reads a range of less common and older graphics formats.
PDF support can read and save PDF files. The separate PostScript plugin reads EPS and PS files as well as PDF, using Ghostscript.
Metadata, effects, and OCR
Metadata tools work with EXIF, IPTC, and comment information in compatible files. The JPG-Transform plugin adds lossless JPEG operations, including rotation and cropping, along with EXIF date editing and thumbnail updates. Color management, PNG optimization, image effects, and painting tools are also among the available additions.
OCR support is provided through a plugin that relies on Tesseract OCR. Other extensions cover tasks such as reading PDF files, playing multimedia formats, and saving a slideshow as an MP4 video.
Batch and Explorer workflows
IrfanView’s batch conversion workflow can draw on the expanded format support when converting groups of images. For actions directly from File Explorer, the separate IrfanView Shell Extension adds a context menu for selected files. Its commands include starting a slideshow, opening files in the Thumbnails window, rotating JPEGs without loss, converting images, and creating multipage TIFF or PDF files.
The standard IrfanView installation already includes several plugins, including Effects, Paint, Metadata, JPG-Transform, and Video. The additional package fills out the set with more formats and specialized functions.
Pros
- Adds support for WebP, JPEG 2000, JPEG XL, and other formats
- CamRAW reads digital-camera RAW files from multiple camera makers
- Metadata tools handle EXIF, IPTC, and comment information
- Shell Extension adds file actions to Windows Explorer’s context menu
Cons
- OCR features require a separate Tesseract OCR installation
- PostScript support requires Ghostscript
System requirements: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11 · 32-bit and 64-bit
Do the plugins open camera RAW files?
Yes. The CamRAW plugin supports digital-camera RAW formats, including DNG, NEF, ORF, RAF, and ARW.
Can IrfanView Plugins add OCR?
Yes. The OCR plugin adds OCR features and requires Tesseract OCR.
What does the Shell Extension add?
It adds Explorer context-menu actions for selected files, including image conversion, slideshow playback, and multipage TIFF or PDF creation.
