How to alter positioning (anchor top while zooming) behavior?

[a4p]

I have just installed Windows Vista Home Premium and downloaded IrfanView 4.00. Previously, I believe I was using 3.98.

When I open an image and press the zoom, the image now zooms in to the center, whereas it used to keep the top of the image anchored and zoom.

Can anyone tell me how to get back to the "top-stays-anchored-while-zooming" behavior? It affects fullscreen as well. I use IrfanView to read comics in JPG format, so if I have it zoomed in and skip to the next file, I like for the zoomed image to re-anchor at the top, as your eyes would move while reading a book.

I've toyed with the settings in many combinations but have not yet been able to reset this behavior the way I want it. Can someone help?

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Properties, Misc2, center window when loading new image.

[a4p]

That does not produce the desired behavior. The image still anchors in the "center" when I zoom in, meaning that the top of the image pushes off the screen as I zoom in.

Any other suggestions? Perhaps the setting is not saving itself properly?

[stefan]

Hi,

try to disable center functionality:

View -> Display Options -> Uncheck Center image in window

steve

[a4p]

That option is already disabled.

[a4p]

Oddly enough, (in fullscreen mode) if after the first zoom operation I then hit page up to move the image such that the topmost portion is visible, subsequent zoom operations maintains the zoom with the anchor at the top - just like I want it to happen.

However, the issue reverts on moving back and forth among images in zoom lock. The next or previous image will be anchored in the center, not the top.

[a4p]

So, no other suggestions?

[MatthewW]

I complained about this shortly after 3.99 came out, as it's a change that makes IrfanView entirely useless for me: I always want to zoom in to the top left corner, never towards the centre. I use the zoom in IrfanView for scanning images for faults (where starting in the middle of the image is stupid) and for reading documents stored as images (where starting in the middle of the image is stupid). I understand that some people prefer to zoom into the centre, but this change shouldn't have been forced on everyone. It should have been an option.

There is no workaround that works in all situations. There are ways to go towards the top left but they all require more work than simply hitting the "+" key and some of them can lose your place in the directory if you're not careful.

So until this fault is fixed you're stuck on 3.98, just like me.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

There are two easy ways to zoom in to a small area:

1. Control + Scroll-wheel.

2. Marquee select and left-click inside the selection.

I don't think this minor problem should stop anyone using the latest version. Perhaps 4.10 (due out soon) will fix this, perhaps not. There are so many little details to fix/improve.

[a4p]

Both of those ways 1) involve using the mouse (which I do only rarely and when I absolutely have to) and 2) do not address the issue while in zoom lock.

I'm going to download 3.98, I guess. Seems there are only a handful of people out there like MatthewW and myself who want this behavior back.

[MatthewW]

Both of those ways 1) involve using the mouse (which I do only rarely and when I absolutely have to) and 2) do not address the issue while in zoom lock.

I don't use the mouse much either. This is what I meant about workarounds that don't work properly: selecting and clicking, for instance, doesn't give you 100% zoom.

I find this particularly annoying because I've done a lot of software development and one of the rules is that you don't break backward compatibility unless you know that nobody needs it. I'm currently working on a patch for an open source product and someone alerted me to the fact that the first trial release of my patch does break compatibility in certain rare cases. So I have to fix it. Telling people that they'll just have to find a new way of working isn't an option.

[Bhikkhu Pesala]

Selecting and clicking, for instance, doesn't give you 100% zoom.

It seems to work just fine here. I don't understand why people are so fussy about free software. Just adapt a bit and make a feature request or bug report, if it really bugs you, but why complain? The expression, “Don't look a gift horse in the mouth” comes to mind.

This is a free support forum. Support and suggestions are offered by members in their free time, at zero cost to you. Complaining that those suggestions don't solve the problem is inappropriate as we did not write the software.

If version 4.0 is entirely useless for you, then just use version 3.98.

[stefan]

Hi Bhikkhu,

today i found out, that "Fit images to window" won´t work properly:

See my attachment, i´ll write an email to Irfan regarding to that problem.

greetings,

steve

[matera]

I don't get it. it does fit one way. I have some space at the bottom when I fit them - that seems more buggish to me.

[MatthewW]

It seems to work just fine here.

You can zoom, but you can't ensure that it always zooms to the right amount. I don't want to zoom to the top left corner; I want to zoom to the top left corner at 100%. I used to be able to do that with one key pressed three or four times. Now I have to move back and forth between the keyboard and the mouse until it's right.

I don't understand why people are so fussy about free software.

It's not free if you register it. If I can pay for something I will. And even if I hadn't registered, I don't see any reason why expectations for free software should be lower. In all other respects IrfanView is an outstanding piece of software. As far as I'm concerned it's only one option away from being perfect, but that one option is the killer.

Just adapt a bit and make a feature request or bug report, if it really bugs you, but why complain? The expression, “Don't look a gift horse in the mouth” comes to mind.

I'm complaining because it used to work, but other people here complained and the functionality was changed to suit them. Why weren't they told to "adapt a bit"? Perhaps if you'd responded to them in the same way as you've responded to me I'd still be able to do what I need to do. That's what's bugging me: when people complained about the old way it worked it was changed, but when I complain about the new way it works I'm told to put up with it.