As a pseudo graphics guy, I have accumulated my fair share of image management, image editing, and paint tools, so when a developer sends me anything that features thumbnail viewing, my tendency is to ignore it. I mean, how many thumbnail viewers does the world need, eh?

But something funny happened to me when I started playing with Image Explorer Pro . . . I entered a strange world where time seemed to stand still. I looked over at my clock: it was now 1:00 am. Hadn't I just sat down at 10:00 pm a few minutes ago? Where had the past three hours gone? Hmm. I began to realize there was something more to this tool.

At first glance, it is easy to dismiss Image Explorer Pro as yet another image file viewer that thumbnails, but as you proceed to examine the options offered in each drop-down menu, you begin to see the awesome power and flexibility of the tool.

In addition to making thumbnails (very quickly, I might add), it offers editing, enhancing, and conversion features which are common to this class of graphics utility (and the developer states IEP supports more file formats than any other tool on the market). What separates this tool from the others in its class is the myriad of other tools built into it:

	3D Text and 3D Shape apply
	Adobe Photoshop Plug-in support
	GIF animation creation
	Image/icon resource extraction
	Image mailing
	Object drawing
	Powerful image filters
	Photo retouching
	Slideshow capabilities
	Special paint effects
	Video editing

It looks like the developer has built everything in but the kitchen sink. We questioned him about the somewhat excessive list of features, and he replied, "IEP is meant to be an all-in-one solution to where most users can do just about anything needed with graphics in one application, rather than needing four or five others."

He's right, of course. This is one very flexible tool. The filters and special effects alone are probably worth the cost of admission. I was amazed by the endless list of ways I could change and alter my images.

The fact that the developer has built in additional items like an icon editor, drawing and 3D text, slideshows with transitions, video editing and GIF animation all in one package shows great thought. How often do you find yourself ALT TABBING through multiple tools just to get the job done? With Image Explorer Pro, that all stops. Everything can now be done under one roof.

Of course, you may need to give yourself some time to get used to these tools, their interfaces, and their Help files. There's a lot of stuff under the hood, and the online manual is a little thin. But the product is actually fairly intuitive -- even if it is a little crowded in there. For some graphics folks, it's hard to change horses when you're comfortable with your ride. Still, if you spend a few minutes with this tool (and more likely than not it will be more like a few hours), you will probably find, as I did, that IEP definitely has its uses.

You can download a trial version of Image Explorer Pro at www.cdhnow.com.