Developed by FastStone, it was first released in 2004 and new stable versions have been released regularly since. It is available as an executable installer, zip, and a portable zip version.[6]
As of version 4.2, resizing of animations (i.e. animated GIFs) is not supported. Thus they can only be viewed at 100% scale, this includes thumbnails.
When the program starts, a delay may occur as the thumbnail view is managed, more so the first time when the thumbnail cache database is built.
The portable version (from PortableApps) sometimes has problems saving its settings, ignoring them at random. Quitting and restarting the app (not PortableApps or the underlying OS) usually solves this problem.
Reception
Upon release, the software site SnapFiles rated it five stars out of five.[7] It also received five stars by the editor of Download.com.[8] A PCWorld magazine review of version 4.0 of FastStone Image Viewer in 2011 noted the software's "lightning-fast" display of pictures. The reviewer felt that one of its greatest advantages was its "wide variety of file formats" the software supports.[9] Rick Broida of CNET wrote in 2015 about version 5.4: "This freeware gem remains an essential download for anyone looking to view, edit and organize their photos." Broida thought that it was a "bit more robust" compared to IrfanView.[3]
