Fly Photos

Fly Photos is one of the fastest photo viewers for Windows, designed as a modern replacement for the now-discontinued Google Picasa Photo Viewer.
Built with WinUI 3, WinRT, and Win2D, it delivers smooth animations, instant startup, and an efficient viewing experience.

Watch Fly Photos in action [Old Video]:

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✨ Features

• Fast and lightweight

  • Instant startup with Native AOT build.
  • In-memory and disk caching for smooth navigation even in folders with thousands of photos.
  • Press and hold ← / → after opening a folder with thousands of photos to get a feel of Fly's performance.

• Image format support

  • All formats supported by Windows Imaging Component (JPEG, PNG, TIFF, RAW, etc.).
  • Extended support for PSD (with transparency), HEIC/HEIF, SVG, GIF, and APNG (Animated PNG).

• Viewing experience

  • Transparent background like in Picasa Photo Viewer.
  • Modern Windows themes like Mica, Acrylic, and Frozen Glass.
  • Smooth pan and zoom animations.
  • Thumbnail strip with adjustable size and click-to-jump navigation.
  • Multi-monitor support (remembers last used monitor).

• Controls

  • Zoom, pan, and rotate using touchpad, mouse wheel, or keyboard.
  • Configurable mouse wheel behavior: zoom or navigate.

  🖐 Touchpad

  • Two-finger swipe Left / Right → Navigate photos
  • Two-finger swipe Up / Down → Zoom In/Out or Navigate (based on mouse wheel setting)
  • Pinch Open / Close → Zoom In / Out

  🖱 Mouse Wheel

  • Wheel Scroll → Zoom In/Out or Navigate (based on setting)
  • Ctrl + Wheel → Always zoom
  • Alt + Wheel → Always navigate
  • Tilt Wheel Left / Right → Navigate photos (for mouses that support horizontal scroll)
  • Mouse Wheel on Thumbnail Strip → Navigate photos
  • Mouse Wheel on On-screen Buttons → Navigate photos / Rotate photo
  • Mouse Back / Forward Buttons → Navigate photos
  • Click + Drag → Pan photo

  ⌨️ Keyboard

  • ← / → → Next / Previous photo
  • Hold ← / → → Fly through photos super fast
  • ↑ / ↓ → Zoom In / Out
  • Page Up / Page Down → Zoom In/Out to next preset (100%, 400%, Fit)
  • Ctrl + + / − → Zoom In / Out
  • Ctrl + Arrow Keys → Pan photo
  • Home / End → Jump to first / last photo
  • Ctrl + C → Copy photo (bitmap or file)
  • Esc → Close settings or exit app

• Windows Explorer integration

  • Right-click an image → Open with Fly.
  • Right-clicking an image shows the classic Windows Explorer context menu.
  • Follows Explorer sort order and filtering (Recent, Search, etc.).

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🚧 Known Limitations

• v2.x supports Windows 10 and 11 only (x64).
• SVG rendering limited to 2000px on the longest side.
• Delete shortcut planned.

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📥 Installation

• Download the latest build from the Releases page.
• Right-click any image and choose Open with Fly to start viewing.
• On Windows 11, it may appear under Show more options until promoted with regular use.
• Or set as the default app for each image file extension manually.

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🎮 Usage

Category	Action	Shortcut
Touchpad	Navigate photos	Two-finger Swipe Left / Right
	Zoom or Navigate	Two-finger Swipe Up / Down (based on setting)
	Zoom In / Out	Pinch Open / Close
Mouse Wheel	Zoom / Navigate	Wheel Scroll (based on setting)
	Always Zoom	Ctrl + Wheel
	Always Navigate	Alt + Wheel
	Navigate Photos	Tilt Wheel Left / Right
	Pan Photo	Click + Drag
	Navigate Photos	Mouse Back / Forward Buttons
	Navigate Photos	Wheel on Thumbnail Strip
	Navigate / Rotate	Wheel on On-screen Buttons
Keyboard	Next / Previous Photo	← / →
	Fly-through Mode	Hold ← / →
	Zoom In / Out	↑ / ↓ OR Ctrl + (+ / −)
	Zoom Presets	Page Up / Page Down
	Pan Photo	Ctrl + Arrow Keys
	Jump First / Last	Home / End
	Copy to Clipboard	Ctrl + C
	Exit App	Esc

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📊 Feedback

• Issues and feature requests: GitHub Issues
• Feedback: [email protected]

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🧩 Compatibility Note

Fly Photos 2.x requires Windows 10/11 and is built with WinUI 3 and WinRT, providing a modern fluent UI expreriance.
Older 1.x versions were based on WPF and remain available only for Windows 7/8, but are no longer updated.