ZIP, RAR, 7Z, CBZ
Browse images inside an archive without unpacking it. Password prompts, folder-aware navigation, and resume-where-you-left-off for big comics.
Features
Everything Ember can do.
A fast, focused viewer, not an editor. Here’s the full picture of what’s in the current build, grouped so you can skim to what matters to you.
Viewing & navigation
Move through a folder the way you actually work.
Open a folder, fly through it, and Ember keeps the order you already see in Explorer, search results and custom sorts included.
First frame appears instantly, full resolution loads behind it
Next / previous, first / last, Home / End, Space, Shift+Space
Keeps Explorer’s order, including search results, recents, and custom sorts
Sort by name, date, folder order, or random, in either direction
Smart date sort that refines order from EXIF capture dates
Natural name sort, so 1, 2, 10 stay in the right order
Shrink to Fit, Fit to Window, Fill Window, and Actual Size (100%)
Smooth zoom toward the cursor, drag-to-pan, and per-image zoom memory
Reader-style paging for tall images in Fill Window mode
Go to Image (Ctrl+G) to jump straight to a number
Windowed or fullscreen (F11), Always on Top, remembered window size
Duplicate Window (Ctrl+N) opens the current image in a second window
Formats
100+ formats, one viewer.
Six dedicated decode backends route every file to the right path, from everyday photos to camera RAW, layered editor files, and specialist raster formats.
JPEG
PNG
HEIC
AVIF
JPEG XL
GIF
WebP
TIFF
PDF
SVG
PSD
Everyday photos
JPEG · JFIF · PNG · BMP · TIFF · GIF · WebP · APNG · ICO · CUR · DIB
Modern codecs
HEIC · HEIF · HIF · AVIF · JPEG XL (static + animated) · JPEG 2000 · JPEG XR
Camera RAW
CR2 · CR3 · NEF · ARW · DNG · RAF · ORF · RW2 · PEF · X3F · 3FR · IIQ · GPR · SRW · MRW · and 15 more
Creative & vector
PSD · PSB · XCF · ORA · KRA · SVG · SVGZ · EPS · PS · EMF · WMF
Documents & animation
PDF · multipage TIFF · DCX · animated GIF / WebP / APNG / AVIF / JPEG XL / MNG
Technical & specialist
EXR · DPX · Cineon · TGA · DDS · HDR · DICOM · QOI · PCX · PNM · SGI · and more
Sources
Not just files on disk.
Archives, phones, panoramas, and the clipboard are all full browsing sources, not one-off open dialogs.
Straight off USB
Open a photo from an iPhone or Android in Explorer and Ember rebuilds the whole device folder to flip through. No copying to disk first.
360° viewing
Equirectangular photos open in a dedicated panorama viewer with drag, zoom, and auto-rotate. Switch between flat and 360° any time.
Paste to view
Paste an image straight from the clipboard, or paste files and folders to open them. No source file required.
Speed & image quality
Quality you can see, on files that should be slow.
Ember does the boring work to keep big files responsive: a sharp preview first, then more detail as you zoom, plus proper colour handling along the way.
Sharp preview first, full detail loaded only when you need it
Smooth zoom and pan on 100+ megapixel images via tiled rendering
Dedicated paths for huge TIFFs and other very large files
Original file stays free to delete or rename while you view it
ICC colour profiles honoured across decode paths
Bright HEIC from modern cameras tone-mapped so it isn’t washed out
Reloads in place when a file changes in Paint, Photoshop, etc.
Embedded RAW previews reused for faster opens and thumbnails
Image info panel: camera, lens, exposure, ISO, dimensions, colour, pages
AI prompt, model and seed for images from Stable Diffusion and ComfyUI
GPS coordinates from the shot, one click opens the spot in Google Maps
Windows-standard star ratings (1–5, or 0 to clear) for JPEG & TIFF
Ratings Explorer, Lightroom, and Bridge can read
Rotate left / right and flip, metadata-only when possible
Set as Wallpaper or Lock Screen, per-monitor
Open With · Open file location · Copy · Copy path · Print
Delete to Recycle Bin with Undo; permanent delete with confirmation
Auto-advances if the current file is deleted, with a corruption guard
Tools & ratings
Cull, rate, rotate. The basics, done right.
The handy bits without the bloat of an editor. Ratings and settings live in standard Windows places, so other tools see exactly what you set.
Interface
The image first. Controls when you want them.
One overlay you can dial up or down, a home screen for picking up where you left off, and a dark right-click menu with everything in reach.
Cycle the bottom overlay: toolbar + filmstrip, toolbar, filmstrip, or hidden
Status row with filename, dimensions, position, and page / frame
Optional filmstrip with click-to-jump thumbnails
Edge hover arrows and an auto-hiding cursor while you view
Home screen with recent files, grouped by time and searchable
Open file, folder, archive, or paste right from Home
Resume prompt when you reopen a large folder
Dark context menu grouping every viewer command
Input
Keyboard, mouse, touch, touchpad.
Every common action has a shortcut. Mouse-wheel behaviour is configurable, modifier keys override on demand, and touch and precision-touchpad gestures are wired natively.
Set the wheel to zoom or navigate; Alt or Ctrl overrides
Pinch-zoom, swipe to navigate, swipe up to close
Drag & drop files, folders, archives, or a multi-selection
← →Previous / next image
SpaceNext, or page tall images
F11Fullscreen toggle
F · Shift+TabCycle overlay modes
Ctrl+1 – 5 · Ctrl+0Star rating
Ctrl+GGo to image number
Alt+← / →Page in TIFF / PDF
Ctrl+NDuplicate window
Settings & updates
Configurable where it matters, invisible elsewhere.
Register Ember for the file types you want, no admin rights needed, and keep it current automatically. Both installer and portable builds are self-contained.
Make Ember the default for the extensions you choose
File types grouped by photo, codec, RAW, authoring, and documents
Registers per-user, so no admin rights are required
Animation level: Auto, Reduced, or Disabled
Mouse-wheel behaviour and slideshow interval (1–30 s)
Thumbnail cache size with a one-click clear
Automatic, notify-only, or disabled updates
Self-contained build with no separate .NET runtime to install
Open a folder and see for yourself.
Free for personal use, no account, nothing to set up. Install it or run the portable version. Either way it’s ready in seconds.