Evince vs IrfanView

Evince is a free document viewer for Linux desktop users. It opens PDF, PostScript, DjVu, DVI, XPS, OXPS, and Comic Book Archive files, and can display supported documents as full-screen presentations. Interactive forms can be completed, including text fields and scrollable list boxes. For PDFs, Evince can add notes and text highlights; these annotations are limited to PDF files. SyncTeX synchronizes a TeX source file with its resulting PDF. Printing is documented for DVI, DjVu, PDF, PostScript, and TIFF. When opening a password-protected PDF, Evince prompts for its password. It is not a file editor. Some Linux distributions may need the relevant backend package to support every listed format. The project wiki recommends obtaining Evince through the user's Linux distribution and points to packages or source for other download options. The help site includes user documentation and directions for reporting application bugs.

IrfanView is a Windows graphic viewer with tools for viewing, editing, and processing images. It can convert and process files in batches, rotate and crop JPGs without loss, create slideshows, scan, print, and capture the screen. Editing features include painting tools, effects, watermarking, IPTC editing, and multipage TIFF editing. The maker describes support for many file formats, with plugins adding formats such as AVIF, PDF, SVG, WebP, and camera RAW. Other plugins add OCR, FTP transfer, video playback, Photoshop filters, and PDF support; some require additional software or files. A Shell Extension adds image actions to Windows Explorer and other file managers. IrfanView is listed for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, and 11, in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Private, non-commercial use is free. Commercial use requires a license; the listed single commercial license costs $18 as a one-time purchase and is perpetual. The maker’s privacy policy says the software does not collect or transmit personal data.