[Tip] Enable Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 10

If you are using Windows 10 and missing Windows Photo Viewer program and want to set it as default program to open image files in Windows 10, this tutorial will definitely help you.

In Windows 10 operating system, you might have noticed that it doesn’t come with “Windows Photo Viewer” program as default to open image files. Instead Windows 10 comes with a new modern (or metro) app called “Photos” (sometimes with Paint 3D) which is now the default image viewer program in Windows 10.

Windows_10_Photos_App.png

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Although new Photos app is a good looking program and provides good features and user interface but its not as fast as the good ol’ “Windows Photo Viewer” program was. Photos app takes a little bit time in opening images or photo files which becomes quite annoying with time.

I never prefer modern or metro apps over traditional Desktop programs. So I decided to set “Windows Photo Viewer” as default image viewer in Windows 10.

When I checked in the new Settings app -> System -> Default Apps section, I couldn’t find “Windows Photo Viewer” in the list given under “Photo viewer” selection. Only Photos app and Paint program were listed there. Microsoft has decided to not show the good ol’ tool in default app selection list.

Windows_Photo_Viewer_Not_Listed_Default_Apps.png

After that I went to the classic “Set Default Programs” window in Control Panel hoping that I would be able to set “Windows Photo Viewer” as default image viewer from that tool. But for my surprise only 2 filetypes were listed to associate with “Windows Photo Viewer” program: TIF and TIFF. Again Microsoft has decided to remove all popular image filetypes from “Windows Photo Viewer” association screen so that no one can re-associate “Windows Photo Viewer” as default program to open those images in Windows 10.

Windows_Photo_Viewer_Default_Programs_Two_Filetypes.png

At last I decided to manually change the default program to open images by right-clicking on a .JPG file and selecting “Open with” option. Again “Windows Photo Viewer” was not present anywhere in the program list.

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Windows_Photo_Viewer_Not_Listed_Open_With_List.png

It seems Microsoft has decided to completely ditch the good ol’ “Windows Photo Viewer” program from Windows 10.

When I looked into my favorite Registry Editor program, I was able to find why “Windows Photo Viewer” program was not listed anywhere in Windows 10. Actually Microsoft has removed many required keys from Registry which were responsible to show “Windows Photo Viewer” in “Open with”, “Default Apps” and “Set Default Programs” screens.

I opened Windows 8.1 OS in another machine and found the required keys in Registry Editor which were missing in Windows 10 OS and by adding those missing Registry keys to Windows 10, I was able to re-associate “Windows Photo Viewer” program with image files without any problem.

There are actually 2 different cases:

CASE 1:

If you upgraded from Windows 7 or 8.1 to Windows 10, you might be able to see “Windows Photo Viewer” in “Open with”, “Default Apps” and “Set Default Programs” screens. It happens because the required Registry keys are not removed during upgrade process. So if you upgraded your computer to Windows 10, you might be able to set “Windows Photo Viewer” as default program using “Open with”, “Default Apps” or “Set Default Programs” screens.

CASE 2:

If you performed a clean installation of Windows 10, you’ll not see “Windows Photo Viewer” program anywhere as mentioned in the starting of this article.

Now you have following 3 options to overcome this problem:

OPTION 1:

You can use a 3rd party image viewing utility such as IrfanView or XnView to replace Photos app in Windows 10. Many people might be already doing this. You can also use Microsoft’s “Windows Live Photo Gallery” program which is quite similar to “Windows Photo Viewer”.

OPTION 2:

You can set MS Paint program as default image viewer using Settings app -> System -> Default Apps page.

OPTION 3:

You can restore “Windows Photo Viewer” program functionality in Windows 10 with the help of following different methods:

  • METHOD 1: Create “Windows Photo Viewer” Direct Shortcut
  • METHOD 2: Add “Open With Windows Photo Viewer” Option in Image Files Context Menu
  • METHOD 3: Add “Windows Photo Viewer” Program in “Open With” List
  • METHOD 4: Associate All Image File Types to “Windows Photo Viewer” Program

NOTE 1: Method 1 and Method 2 are actually universal tips and can be used in other Windows versions as well.

NOTE 2: Method 3 and Method 4 are troubleshooting methods and should be used in Windows 10 only. Although if you are facing similar file association problems in previous Windows versions, you can use these two methods to fix the issue.

We’ll start from basic methods to advanced methods. So without wasting time lets start the tutorial:

METHOD 1: Create “Windows Photo Viewer” Direct Shortcut

This is the most basic method! You can create a direct shortcut to launch “Windows Photo Viewer” program.

“Windows Photo Viewer” doesn’t come with any executable (EXE) file. Its actually run by Windows using a DLL file “PhotoViewer.dll” present in “C:\Program Files\Windows Photo Viewer” folder. Obviously you can’t run the program directly using the DLL file but you can take help of following command to launch “Windows Photo Viewer” directly:

rundll32 “%ProgramFiles%\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll”, ImageView_Fullscreen

Its the command which is used everywhere in Windows Registry to address “Windows Photo Viewer” program’s executable.

You can create a new shortcut on Desktop using the above mentioned command and it’ll direct launch “Windows Photo Viewer” program.

But the program will launch empty and will not allow you to open any file. To overcome this issue, you can append full path of a particular image file or a folder containing your image files to the above mentioned command.

For example if you have a folder “Wallpapers” in E:\ drive containing all of your image files which you frequently open, you can create shortcut with following command:

rundll32 “%ProgramFiles%\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll”, ImageView_Fullscreen E:\Wallpapers

Now the shortcut will open with the first image file present in that folder and will allow you to browse through all image files using back and forward buttons or using arrow keys on your keyboard.

Windows_Photo_Viewer_Running_Windows_10.png

Also once you open an image file using this command, Windows will automatically add “Windows Photo Viewer” in “Open with” list and then you can set it as default for that image filetype.

METHOD 2: Add “Open With Windows Photo Viewer” Option for Image Files

You can also add a new option “Open with Windows Photo Viewer” in image files context menu. In other words, when you’ll right-click on an image file, you’ll get a new option “Open with Windows Photo Viewer” in the right-click menu. It’ll help you in quickly open any image file with “Windows Photo Viewer” program.

Open_With_Windows_Photo_Viewer_Option_Image_Context_Menu.png

1. Press WIN+R keys together to open RUN dialog box. You can also open it from WIN+X menu. Now type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\image\shell

3. Create a new key under shell key and set its name to any desired string such as openwpv

4. In right-side pane, double-click on (Default) and change its value to Open with Windows Photo Viewer or any desired label which you want to see in right-click menu.

5. Now create a new key under openwpv key and set its name as command

6. In right-side pane, double-click on (Default) and change its value to as following:

%SystemRoot%\System32\rundll32.exe “%ProgramFiles%\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll”, ImageView_Fullscreen %1

7. Now create one more new key under openwpv key and set its name as DropTarget

8. In right-side pane, create new string CLSID and set its value to {FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}

Adding_Open_With_Windows_Photo_Viewer_Option.png

That’s it. Now you’ll get a new option “Open with Windows Photo Viewer” in all image files context menu.

In future, if you want to remove the option, simply delete openwpv key from Registry.

PS: If you are not familiar with registry editing tasks, we are also providing ready-made registry script to do the task automatically for your convenience. Just download following ZIP file, extract it and then run the given .REG files to add or remove the option from context menu:

Registry Script to Add “Open With Windows Photo Viewer” Option

METHOD 3: Add “Windows Photo Viewer” Program in “Open With” List

Now some advanced methods!

“Windows Photo Viewer” doesn’t show in “Open with” program list because Microsoft has removed an essential key “Open” from Registry which is responsible to show the program in Open with list.

We can re-add “Windows Photo Viewer” to “Open with” list by adding the Registry key again:

Windows_Photo_Viewer_Added_Open_With_List.png

1. Press WIN+R keys together to open RUN dialog box. You can also open it from WIN+X menu. Now type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell

3. Create a new key under shell key and set its name to open

4. In right-side pane, create new string MuiVerb and set its value to @photoviewer.dll,-3043

5. Now create a new key under open key and set its name as command

6. In right-side pane, double-click on (Default) and change its value to as following:

%SystemRoot%\System32\rundll32.exe “%ProgramFiles%\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll”, ImageView_Fullscreen %1

7. Now create one more new key under open key and set its name as DropTarget

8. In right-side pane, create new string CLSID and set its value to {FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}

Adding_Windows_Photo_Viewer_Open_With_List.png

That’s it. Now you’ll get “Windows Photo Viewer” program in “Open With” list and then you can set it as default for that image filetype.

PS: If you are not familiar with registry editing tasks, we are also providing ready-made registry script to do the task automatically for your convenience. Just download following ZIP file, extract it and then run the given .REG file:

Registry Script to Add “Windows Photo Viewer” in “Open With” List

METHOD 4: Associate All Image File Types to “Windows Photo Viewer” Program

Now its turn of the last method which is the most advanced method and will bring full functionality of “Windows Photo Viewer” program in Windows 10 just like Windows 7/8/8.1.

When you try to set “Windows Photo Viewer” as default program for image files using classic “Set Default Programs” window in Control Panel, it only shows 2 filetypes to associate with this program: TIF and TIFF. So you can’t associate “Windows Photo Viewer” with other filetypes.

It happens because Microsoft very cleverly removed the required keys from “Windows Photo Viewer” file associations capability in Registry.

But we can bring the full functionality of “Windows Photo Viewer” again in Windows 10 by re-adding those keys in Registry and it’ll allow us to re-associate “Windows Photo Viewer” with all image filetypes again just like previous Windows versions.

Adding all these required Registry keys manually will take a lot of time, that’s why we are providing a ready-made Registry script to add the keys automatically in Registry. Just download following ZIP file, extract it and then run the given .REG file:

Registry Script to Restore “Windows Photo Viewer” Functionality in Windows 10

The Registry script will first add all missing image filetypes such as BMP, GIF, PNG, JPEG, etc to following key in Registry Editor:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Photo Viewer\Capabilities\FileAssociations

Adding_Filetypes_Windows_Photo_Viewer_Association.png

By default the above mentioned Registry key only contains .TIF and .TIFF strings. But as you can see in above screenshots, the Registry script has added other missing filetypes again.

Then the Registry script will perform the second part of this method!

I have seen many people are adding the missing filetypes in above mentioned Registry key with the same value as PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff for all which is incorrect. They don’t know that they also need to add remaining keys in Registry such as PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Bitmap, PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg, PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Png, etc to make them fully working. If we add the same PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff value for all strings, all image filetypes will show same icon in Explorer and we’ll not be able to differentiate between BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, etc filetypes. But if we follow the correct way and add different values for all filetype, all image filetype will show separate icons.

So the Registry script also adds other similar required keys to Registry which are as following:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Bitmap
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Gif
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.JFIF
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Png
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Wdp

Adding_Windows_Photo_Viewer_Filetype_Association_Registry_Keys.png

Once the Registry script adds the required keys, we’ll be able to see all image filetypes listed for “Windows Photo Viewer” in “Control Panel -> Default Programs -> Set Default Programs” page.

Just select “Windows Photo Viewer” and click on “Set this program as default” button. Now Windows will set “Windows Photo Viewer” as default program for all image filetypes.

Set_Windows_Photo_Viewer_Default_Image_Viewer_Windows_10.png

You can check the filetypes list again by clicking on “Choose defaults for this program” button and now you’ll see 12 image filetypes listed there including BMP, GIF, PNG, JPEG, etc.

If you go to Settings app -> System -> Default Apps page, you’ll now see “Windows Photo Viewer” in the list given under “Photo viewer” selection.

Set_Windows_Photo_Viewer_Default_App_Windows_10.png

Some Interesting Info:

I found that in previous Windows versions, although Microsoft has put GIF filetype under “Windows Photo Viewer” file associations capability in Registry but Microsoft has not added the required “HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Gif” key in Registry. That’s the reason why “Windows Photo Viewer” never gets associated with GIF filetype if you try to set it as default in classic “Set Default Programs” window in Control Panel. Whenever you click on “Set this program as default” button, “Windows Photo Viewer” associates with 11 filetypes always and never associates with GIF filetype. You can try and check it yourself in Windows 7/8/8.1.

To solve this issue, I have added the required “HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Gif” key with correct information in Registry script and you’ll be able to associate “Windows Photo Viewer” with all filetypes including GIF.

That’s all for now. Feel free to share your feedback and suggestions in your comment…

Also Check:

[Tip] Restore Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 11

[Tip] Restoring Classic Programs and User Interface in Windows 10

[Guide] How to Remove All Built-in Apps in Windows 10

Published in: Windows 10

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. Thanks a lot! How do I promote this article? 😀
    It took a lot of time to find. Google search is just filled with crappy tutorials that do not actually help.

  2. You are top top dude, other sites are pale imitation of the info you have put on this page. Many thanks.

  3. Lately I’ve done a fresh install of windows 10 x64 i.e. version 1803 (OS Build 17134.407)
    What I’ve noticed is windows photo viewer is displaying my pictures very dark.
    In Photoshop 2019 cc it’s displaying correctly.
    In windows 10 built in Photos is also displaying correctly.
    Windows Paint is displaying correctly.
    Can anyone help with this situation and also know what’s causing the issue?
    Thanks in advance.

  4. Thanks Brow,

    Method 4 is worked for my Laptop, now I can open any image type with Photo viewer.

  5. Thank you very much, tried a couple other methods which have only half worked but yours (method 4 the most advanced one) worked perfectly! Now running Windows Photo Viewer on a freshly installed version on Windows 10 Enterprise. Much appreciated!

  6. Used method 3 and it works! Now I can view photos with transparent background instead of black in the previous default app. Thank you so much :3

  7. I discovered what was causing Photo Viewer displaying images darker.
    It was a driver for the Desktop Monitor which, by the way, I use an AOC 1920 x 1080 Screen resolution.
    I rolled back (uninstall) the driver in Device manager and voila, Windows 10 Photo Viewer is now displaying all images clear and normal.
    Just thought I’d post my findings so if others encounter similar situation can try out my method.

  8. I have read through your tip and sort of understand it (very old person talking) so would appreciate advice on a similar problem. I used to use Aftershot and found it excellent but when I wanted to download it to Win10 it had stopped being available and was now Coral. I had the actual programme on a USB so was able to install it and I can use it quite happily but although I can ask “open with” and it works, I can only change the default on JPG and Afteershot does not show on the list – just as it was with your problem. Would I be able to do a similar work around as you did and if so how? please.
    Many thanks.

  9. ^^ Your program is not appearing in Open With list because it has not been registered in Windows. It seems you are running the program directly without installing it. Is it a portable version?

  10. Hello i am William, I don’t know jack about programs scripts threads,the only thing i do know is that i want the old Photo viewer on my device “PC Win10” aside from having someone come and do it for me? Is there a way I can receive the information in layman’s terms for the illiterate to try to complete the operation my self Because I don’t
    understand any of it ?
    Sincerely, Human in need.

  11. IrfanView is also pretty good software for image viewing and editing, some Photoshop features also available in IrfanView as best think it is free for non-commertial use, you can get more information on IrfanView offical website.

  12. Hello Vishal,

    Thank you very much for your contribution. Method 4 registry script probably is the best solution out there regarding this issue on Windows 10. However, I have a question, do you happen to have a registry script that undoes this move? Meaning that it would drive the registry back to its windows 10’s defaults?

    Thank you very much,
    Esteban

  13. My Windows 10 computer recently installed an upgrade (currently at 10.0.18362 Build 18362) and Windows Photo Viewer stopped working. I can tell it’s still there because I can get the DLL to run using the method above to create the shortcut, but I can’t get it to open any photos, nor can I get it to show up in the “Open With” list. I double-checked the registry edits, and they’re still there. Don’t know enough about it to figure out what MS did to break this.

  14. I NEVER ENTER MY INFO SOMEPLACE That I am unfamiliar with…but this article was too thorough, to helpful, and too good to just use and click out…I HAD to say thank you …
    Beautiful explanation, very informative, and finally I have my Windows photo viewer back with my preview button /option..Microsoft HAS TO go in and screw everything up for NO REASON at all .
    Why did they remove the keys and preview option in the first place??? are they so incompetent that they thought nobody used that awesome feature? and why keep windows photo viewer if you replace it? and if you keep it, why remove the awesome option? and if the new photos c**p was better, at least add a preview option to that new app! they just fail, after fail..after fail… so we have to find articles written by awesome people like yourself to help us out! Microsoft is just very very hard to like…people like you are easy to like.. god bless you .Thanks again.

  15. Brilliant! Like ‘g’s comment, I couldn’t this use and click out without thanking you. Thank you, it’s due to your awesome efforts pulling this information together into a handy zip file that has allowed me and others to get good ole Microsoft Photo Viewer back. I’m not a great fan of MS Edge. Thank you.

  16. Hey Vishal,
    Thank you for your detailed guide! I was looking through many forums, most either discribing on how to activate it in the first place or simply saying “You have to set it manually to each and every image type”. Surely, that can’t be, I thought and went on further looking and thus found this post. You, sir, went all out on it and even explained 4 different methods on how to set it as standard! I was very surprised by the amount of detail you gave everyone and your explanations were easy to understand too! I needed to go all the way to method 4 before Windows finally conceded, but it finally worked. Your ready-to-use registry scripts are awesome too! Thank you so much and (late) Happy Easter!

  17. hi,
    none of this method works for me. I recently had my laptop formatted. and windows 10 was directly installed. windows photo viewer is available in open with but not as default app. please help me.

  18. Thank you very much, I honestly thought I was good at editing myself. But did something wrong. The script you provided solved this long lasting problem of having to scroll to choose the photo viewer – while keeping the main editing program as direct click choice. So thank you again for your excellent help getting win 10 to work as I wish. =)

  19. This photo viewer problem started by installing trial software. Every attempt to switch back to Microsoft Photo Viewer failed. Seemed like it was removed. it didn’t appear anywhere. Tried everything, nothing worked. These registry scripts worked great! Back to the way it was. You Rule.

  20. I have Windows11-pro and the key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photo viewer.dll\shell does not exist. I tried searching both manually and use search feature in the registry editor.

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