Fly Photos; An Alternative to Google's Picasa Photo Viewer

Fly Photos gives you an efficient photo viewing app that incorporates numerous features reminiscent of Google's now-discontinued Picasa Photo Viewer. This makes it a suitable alternative for users seeking similar functionality in managing and viewing their photos.

Innovative Image Viewer

Fly Photos is an innovative application designed to enhance image previewing on your device. Once you have installed it, you can view images against a semi-transparent, spotlight-like backdrop. This design keeps the desktop and any ongoing activities visible, enabling users to keep track of their tasks while browsing through family photos.

Highlighted Feature

One notable feature of Fly Photos is its ability to zoom out of images, effectively demonstrating the readability of text, similar to what you would see in thumbnails for YouTube videos. Additionally, users can easily rotate photos that were captured in landscape mode, providing a convenient solution for adjusting image orientation.

Fly Photos Features:

Full-screen mode with a transparent background, similar to Picasa Photo Viewer.

Fast startup, even for raw files with image sizes greater than 100 MB.

Exit full screen by pressing anywhere outside the image.

Close on pressing the escape key.

Use < or > keys on screen or on keyboard to navigate between photos.

Long press < or > to fly through all cached images on the left and right. This makes using thumbnails redundant, as traversal between photos is so fast.

Fully in memory caching enhanced now with disk caching for previews.

No files are opened in write mode. So your images are fully safe.

Respects Windows Explorer sort order and filtering. For example, if we right-click and open an image in the Recent Items view of Explorer, the App shows only items in the recent items view. Likewise, if we have filtered images using the explorer search filter and open one image, navigation moves through only the filtered list.

Thumbnail strip as in Picasa photo viewer. (Experimental, more coding needed to make it interactive)

Operating System Integration

The application maintains a cohesive look with the Windows operating system by utilizing icons that align with Microsoft's Fluent Design language. This integration enhances the user experience for those who appreciate a simple and elegant interface.

Customize with Themes and More

Customization options are also available, as the background supports Windows 11 features like Mica, Acrylic, and Frozen styles. Users who have the Mica for Everyone enhancement in their setups will find this addition particularly appealing. The Light theme enhances the visibility of navigation buttons against darker backgrounds.

Geek Verdict

While Fly Photos provides an enjoyable browsing experience with its captivating galleries, it does have a few limitations. For instance, users can't click on the thumbnails in the bottom row to swiftly navigate to different images. However, despite this drawback, the application masterfully integrates essential features with an elegant image previewing experience, making it a delightful choice for visual enthusiasts.