LView

Infobox Software
name = LView Pro


caption = LView Pro 2005 2nd Quarter
developer = CoolMoon Corp
latest_release_version = 2006
latest_release_date = May, 2006
operating_system = Microsoft Windows
genre = Bitmap graphics editor / Image viewer
license = Proprietary
website = [http://www.lview.com www.lview.com]

LView Pro (LVP) is a bitmap graphics editor for computers running the
Microsoft Windows operating system developed by Leonardo H. Loureiro, who owns the copyright to the software and the LView
registered trademark. LView Pro is distributed by CoolMoon Corp.

Commercial history

The first version of LView software, 1.0, was released as freeware on theInternet in early 1993, and was the Windows based imageviewer bundled with the earlier web browser Mosaic.

In 1994, the first version of LView Pro was sold as a shareware product by MMedia Research. Retail versions of LView Pro, 2.0 and newer, were introduced in 1997. LView quickly gained popularity, in part because it has traditionally been priced well below the range of other professional bitmap editors, like Adobe Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro.

In 2001, versions of LView Pro started being titled using the year of release, the current version - as of May 2006 - is labeled "LView Pro 2006".

In June 2005, after a 12 year run with MMedia Research, distribution rights to LView Pro were transferred to CoolMoon Corp.

Version history

LView software started as a pioneer JPEG viewer, one of the first to be availablefor download on the Internet. Major versions 1.* (1.0 to 1.D2) offered limitedimage editing capabilities (crop, rotate, color adjustments, etc.) in addition tocommon image viewing operations (zooming, slideshows, etc.).

Major versions 2.x (2.0 to 2.85) featured more extensive editing capabilities (brushes, selections, histograms, gradients, etc.) as well as new editors forWeb Picture Galleries, Contact Sheets, and others. Versions from 2001 to the current, support sophisticated image editing (layers, transparency, objects, etc.).

While newer versions of LView Pro were designed for more advanced image editing, the software still retained the image viewing functionality offered by earlier releases. The sizeable growth in LView Pro's functionality over the yearscame with the price of a steeper learning curve, and novice users may not immediately find the commands they are looking for. For that reason, some early users prefer to continue to use version 1.D2, the last image viewer oriented version of LView Pro.

References

* [http://www.lview.com/bookreferences.htm List of selected books referencing LView software]