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.

LView Pro
Developer(s)CoolMoon Corp
Initial releaseEarly 1993; 31 years ago (1993)
Stable release
2006 / May 2006; 18 years ago (2006-05)
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
TypeBitmap graphics editor / Image viewer
LicenseProprietary
Websitewww.lview.com

Commercial history

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The first version of LView software, 1.0, was released as freeware on the Internet in early 1993, and was the Windows based image viewer bundled with the pioneer web browser Mosaic.[1][2][3]

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 and was frequently ranked above Corel Paint Shop Pro, McAfee VirusScan, Netscape Communicator, Internet Explorer, Quake II, and others, on CNET's Download.com list of the most popular downloads in all categories.[4][5]

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.

In October 2017, after a 12-year run with CoolMoon Corp, registration fees for the use of LView Pro 2006 were waived by the author of the software.

Version history

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LView software started as a pioneer JPEG viewer, one of the first to be available for download on the Internet. Major versions 1.* (1.0 to 1.D2) offered limited image editing capabilities (crop, rotate, color adjustments, etc.) in addition to common 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 for Web Picture Galleries, Contact Sheets, and others. Versions from 2001 to the current, support advanced image editing tools (layers, transparency, objects, etc.), similar to those found on commercial titles like Adobe Photoshop.[6][7][8]

References

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  1. ^ Vivian Neou; SRI International (August 1994). Internet CD. PTR Prentice Hall. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-13-123852-7.
  2. ^ Richard Raucci (16 June 1995). Mosaic for Windows: A Hands-On Configuration and Set-Up Guide to Popular Web Browsers. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-0-387-97996-0.
  3. ^ David Angell; Brent D. Heslop (1995). Mosaic for dummies, Windows edition. IDG Books. ISBN 978-1-56884-242-4.
  4. ^ "DOWNLOAD.COM -- Most Popular in all categories". download.com. 21 December 1997. Archived from the original on 1997-12-21.
  5. ^ "DOWNLOAD.COM -- Most Popular in all categories". download.com. 25 June 1998. Archived from the original on 1998-06-25.
  6. ^ Null, Christopher (2003-09-02). "The Best Software You're Not Using". PCWorld.
  7. ^ Jason R. Rich (13 December 2005). Unofficial Guide to Starting a Business Online. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 167–. ISBN 978-0-471-79227-7.
  8. ^ Bud E. Smith (11 March 2009). Creating Web Pages For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 94–. ISBN 978-0-470-44002-5.
Notes