5 ms·

Show HN: FlowVision – Waterfall-Style Image Browser for macOS (Open-Source)

56 points by netdcy 2y ago

netdcy 2y ago
Introducing our open-source, free waterfall-style image browser designed exclusively for macOS. Prioritizing privacy with no network connections, this app ensures your data stays local while offering a visually stunning and highly performant experience. Key Features: - Open Source & Privacy-Focused: No network connections, safeguarding your privacy. - Adaptive Layout: Enjoy a beautiful waterfall/adaptive layout with both light and dark themes, providing an immersive image viewing experience. - Easy File Management: Seamlessly manage files with operations akin to Finder. - Intuitive Navigation: Right-click gestures and quick navigation to the next/previous folder with images/videos – perfect for rapid bulk image browsing. - Performance Optimized: Engineered for smooth performance with large image libraries(10,000+ Images). - Multithreading Thumbnails: Generate thumbnails on-the-fly without waiting too long. - High-Quality Image Scaling: Superior image scaling to reduce moiré patterns and other artifacts. - Video Thumbnails: Support for video thumbnails, seamlessly integrating images and videos. [GitHub Repository Link] https://github.com/netdcy/FlowVision https://github.com/netdcy/FlowVision
- harryf 2y ago
  This is great! Already installed on two laptops. Finder is frustrating, to say the least. Of course feature request time: some kind of search? Would be really nice to match against folder names (e.g. searching for "images" and filenames e.g. "logo")
  - netdcy 2y ago
    Thank you for your suggestion. Yes, I am planning to add a search function in the future.
- DidYaWipe 2y ago
  This is really nice! "Waterfall-style" doesn't mean anything, though. What are you actually referring to? The lack of a simple, efficient image browser on Mac (or Windows, for that matter) has been a daily annoyance. This thing browses efficiently, lets you move files, and doesn't try to build a "database" that you have to maintain. Good job! Are there build instructions anywhere? I don't know how to resolve the missing frameworks. I tried cloning the project recursively, but this didn't add anything.
  - netdcy 2y ago
    Thank you. I will provide more detailed build steps later. Currently, it's not implemented via git submodules; you need to manually download the relevant dependencies to the specified location.
    - DidYaWipe 2y ago
      Thanks! Oh yeah, one issue I noticed is that there's no Back button on the full-screen view, so there's no indication of how to get back to the gallery view.
kome 2y ago
pretty! and i love that it still supports Big Sur.
- netdcy 2y ago
  Thank you!
zenapollo 2y ago
Awesome work! One question on a killer feature I need for an app like this. Recursive mode: where a folder will show every image in all sub folders recursively. Does your app have something like this?
- dean2432 2y ago
  Try Phoenix Slides for this. That app is so fast!
- netdcy 2y ago
  Yes, FlowVision exactly has.
andybak 2y ago
Can anyone explain "Waterfall-Style" in this context? Is it related to what used to be called "mosaic layout"? Just guessing here but it's used in a way that seems to presume lots of people are familiar with the term so I must have slept through that meeting.
- Deukhoofd 2y ago
  It's more commonly known as a masonry layout, popularized by Pinterest. It's similar to a mosaic layout, but with a tighter fit for different height images. If one image is 200 pixels high, and another is 100 pixels high, you can draw them next to each other, and put another image in the remaining 100 pixels of the right column.
  - andybak 2y ago
    Actually masonry was I was thinking of. Where do this waterfall business come from then?
    - Deukhoofd 2y ago
      Same thing, different name. It's kind of like a waterfall in that it's a continuous vertical layout.
    - aldousd666 2y ago
      I was equally confused by this. I tried everywhere to find what the heck that even meant in this context and discovered that it is apparently a term they invented themselves.
- DidYaWipe 2y ago
  Nope. I have no idea why that name is used term here. There is nothing remotely waterfall-like about what's shown on that page. I thought it was going to be something like CoverFlow (the page-flipping paradigm that Apple tried to popularize years ago in iTunes), but vertical. Regardless, this little utility looks very nice! It addresses the irritating lack of a simple image browser that lets you move files around.
latchkey 2y ago
No offense to the developers, but how do I know this binary is safe?
- awally 2y ago
  No way to know. Neat product but I just can't risk installing it. Been burned before, even though my gut tells me this is completely safe.
- netdcy 2y ago
  Yes, it is hard to verify. You can compile it yourself.
emotionalmango 2y ago
[flagged]

56 points by netdcy 2y ago

Introducing our open-source, free waterfall-style image browser designed exclusively for macOS. Prioritizing privacy with no network connections, this app ensures your data stays local while offering a visually stunning and highly performant experience. Key Features: - Open Source & Privacy-Focused: No network connections, safeguarding your privacy. - Adaptive Layout: Enjoy a beautiful waterfall/adaptive layout with both light and dark themes, providing an immersive image viewing experience. - Easy File Management: Seamlessly manage files with operations akin to Finder. - Intuitive Navigation: Right-click gestures and quick navigation to the next/previous folder with images/videos – perfect for rapid bulk image browsing. - Performance Optimized: Engineered for smooth performance with large image libraries(10,000+ Images). - Multithreading Thumbnails: Generate thumbnails on-the-fly without waiting too long. - High-Quality Image Scaling: Superior image scaling to reduce moiré patterns and other artifacts. - Video Thumbnails: Support for video thumbnails, seamlessly integrating images and videos. [GitHub Repository Link] https://github.com/netdcy/FlowVision https://github.com/netdcy/FlowVision

harryf 2y ago
This is great! Already installed on two laptops. Finder is frustrating, to say the least. Of course feature request time: some kind of search? Would be really nice to match against folder names (e.g. searching for "images" and filenames e.g. "logo")
- netdcy 2y ago
  Thank you for your suggestion. Yes, I am planning to add a search function in the future.
DidYaWipe 2y ago
This is really nice! "Waterfall-style" doesn't mean anything, though. What are you actually referring to? The lack of a simple, efficient image browser on Mac (or Windows, for that matter) has been a daily annoyance. This thing browses efficiently, lets you move files, and doesn't try to build a "database" that you have to maintain. Good job! Are there build instructions anywhere? I don't know how to resolve the missing frameworks. I tried cloning the project recursively, but this didn't add anything.
- netdcy 2y ago
  Thank you. I will provide more detailed build steps later. Currently, it's not implemented via git submodules; you need to manually download the relevant dependencies to the specified location.
  - DidYaWipe 2y ago
    Thanks! Oh yeah, one issue I noticed is that there's no Back button on the full-screen view, so there's no indication of how to get back to the gallery view.

kome 2y ago

pretty! and i love that it still supports Big Sur.

netdcy 2y ago
Thank you!

zenapollo 2y ago

Awesome work! One question on a killer feature I need for an app like this. Recursive mode: where a folder will show every image in all sub folders recursively. Does your app have something like this?

dean2432 2y ago
Try Phoenix Slides for this. That app is so fast!
netdcy 2y ago
Yes, FlowVision exactly has.

andybak 2y ago

Can anyone explain "Waterfall-Style" in this context? Is it related to what used to be called "mosaic layout"? Just guessing here but it's used in a way that seems to presume lots of people are familiar with the term so I must have slept through that meeting.

Deukhoofd 2y ago
It's more commonly known as a masonry layout, popularized by Pinterest. It's similar to a mosaic layout, but with a tighter fit for different height images. If one image is 200 pixels high, and another is 100 pixels high, you can draw them next to each other, and put another image in the remaining 100 pixels of the right column.
- andybak 2y ago
  Actually masonry was I was thinking of. Where do this waterfall business come from then?
  - Deukhoofd 2y ago
    Same thing, different name. It's kind of like a waterfall in that it's a continuous vertical layout.
  - aldousd666 2y ago
    I was equally confused by this. I tried everywhere to find what the heck that even meant in this context and discovered that it is apparently a term they invented themselves.
DidYaWipe 2y ago
Nope. I have no idea why that name is used term here. There is nothing remotely waterfall-like about what's shown on that page. I thought it was going to be something like CoverFlow (the page-flipping paradigm that Apple tried to popularize years ago in iTunes), but vertical. Regardless, this little utility looks very nice! It addresses the irritating lack of a simple image browser that lets you move files around.

latchkey 2y ago

No offense to the developers, but how do I know this binary is safe?

awally 2y ago
No way to know. Neat product but I just can't risk installing it. Been burned before, even though my gut tells me this is completely safe.
netdcy 2y ago
Yes, it is hard to verify. You can compile it yourself.

emotionalmango 2y ago

[flagged]