Xapps are the general go-to function for Linux Mint Ulyana. However, not everything lightweight is good, especially where crucial functions are missing. Xviewer is based on Eye of GNOME (EoG) and acts as the default image viewer for Linux Mint. While there are plans for Gnome Photos to eventually replace the function of EoG, we do not know if Gnome Photos will be included into Mint in the future.

X-viewer has for a long time required additional functions which is considered basic in many image viewers. mobile sector, most default image viewers there also provide those basic capabilities. So I would argue it’s what most users expect nowadays. In the future, simple filter templates would also be considered as a basic function of viewer apps as the processing requirements of such functions become negligible in the presence of better machines.

The default image viewing apps on other operating systems: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android allow users to do a lot more with an image than viewing. None of these are heavy as PhotoShop or GIMP which both take a significant amount of time to load.

Basic functions missing from X-viewer:

1. crop function (request made since 2016)
2. filters
3. resize

Basic functions already fulfilled by X-viewer:

1. lightweight and fast
2. rotate/mirror
3. supports all major image formats

Option 1: Crop before taking screenshots

Ever done a screenshot and realise that to open a file, X-viewer is the default app. Why change the default app when you can crop the screenshot before taking it by using “shift + prtsc” instead of just “prtsc” alone. This allows you to select the region of interest without the need for a crop function.

Cons: This advise is for those who find that only screenshots causes problems. Filters and resize remain unavailable and a larger app is required.

Option 2: Use GThumb

Amongst the many image viewers, Gthumb is one of the most featureful lightweight and responsive application out there to simply do its job and perform additonal functions where necessary.

Where required, it is able to function as an image browser as well. Resizing and cropping are the basic functions already included. In addition, it can also perform slide shows, create image catalogs, web albums, import from a media device, burn image cds, batch file operations and quick image editing features. The quick image editing features while being exciting, lack the same kind of commercial deployability and polish that is found in applications available in mobile and other operating systems.