Viewnior is an image viewer application, created to be simple, fast and elegant. Its minimalistic interface provides more screen space for your images. Among its features are:
- Fullscreen & Slideshow
- Rotate, flip, crop, save, delete images
- Animation support
- Browse only selected images
- Navigation window
- Set image as wallpaper (under GNOME, Fluxbox and LXDE)
- Simple interface
- Configurable mouse actions
So, if you are looking for a reliable alternative to the Ubuntu’s default Eye of Gnome image viewer, Viewnior is a wise choice. In this article, we will explain how to install Viewnior to your Ubuntu, both through the command line and the Software Manager. We will also tell you how you can configure Ubuntu to use Viewnior as the default image/photos viewing application.
We have run the commands and procedures mentioned in this article on a Ubuntu 18.04 LTS system.
Install Viewnior through the Command Line
Viewnior is easily available through the Ubuntu Bionic Universe repository and can be installed through the command line using the apt-get command.
Open your Terminal application either through the system Application Launcher Search or through the Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut.
The next step is to update your system’s repository index through the following command:
$ sudo apt-get update
This helps you in installing the latest available version of a software from the Internet. Please note that only an authorized user can add, remove and configure software on Ubuntu.
Now you are ready to install Viewnior; you can do so by running the following command as sudo:
$ sudo apt-get install viewnior
The system might ask you the password for sudo and also provide you with a Y/n option to continue the installation. Enter Y and then hit enter; the software will be installed on your system. The process may, however, take some time depending on your Internet speed.
You can check the version number of the application, and also verify that it is indeed installed on your system, through the following command:
$ viewnior --version
Install Viewnior through the UI
Alternatively, you can use the Ubuntu Software Manager through the UI to Viewnior as follows:
On your Ubuntu desktop Activities toolbar/dock, click the Ubuntu Software icon.
In the Software Manager, click the search icon and then enter Viewnior in the search bar. The search results will list the relevant entries as follows:
The Viewnior entry listed here is the one maintained by Ubuntu Bionic Universe. Click on this search entry to open the following view:
Click the Install button to begin the installation process. An authentication dialog will appear for you to provide your authentication details. Please note that only an authorized user can add/remove and configure software on Ubuntu. Enter your password and click the Authenticate button. After that, the installation process will begin, displaying a progress bar as follows:
Viewnior will then be installed on your system and you will get the following message after a successful installation:
Through the above dialog, you can choose to directly launch Viewnior and even Remove it immediately for whatever reason.
Launch Viewnior
You can launch the Viewnior application by entering the keywords “viewnior” in the Application Launcher Search bar, as follows:
You can also use the following command in the Terminal to launch the application:
$ viewnior
This is how Viewnior looks like when no image is open:
You can use the settings menu, as displayed above, in order to open an image by browsing for it.
As mentioned before, Eye of Gnome is the default image viewer for Gnome. Therefore, whenever you open an image, it will open in the Image Viewer/EOG. In this case, if you want to open an image in Viewnior, right click on an image and select Open with Other application, and then select Viewnior from the list of applications as follows:
Make Viewnior your default Image Viewer
If you prefer Viewnior over the default image viewer EOG, you can set it as your default photo viewing tool through the Settings utility. The easiest way to do so it to search for “default applications” in the Application Launcher as follows:
When you open the listed result entry, it will open the Settings utility in the Details>Default Applications view as follows:
In the Photos drop-down, select Viewnior and it will now be set as your default photo viewing tool.
After reading this article, you can easily install Viewnior on your Ubuntu through a preferred. If you are satisfied with the application, you can set is as the default Photos application in place of Eye of Gnome/Image Viewer.