How to Make Windows Photo Viewer Your Default Image Viewer on Windows 10

Windows 10 works by using the new Images application as your default image viewer, but numerous persons even now desire the old Windows Picture Viewer. You can get Image Viewer back again in Home windows 10, even though. It is just hidden.

Connected: How to do a Clean up Set up of Windows 10 the Effortless Way

If you improve a Computer operating Windows 7 or 8.1 to Home windows 10, Home windows Photo Viewer will be readily available, and you can established it as your default photograph viewer if you want. However, if you accomplish a cleanse set up of Home windows 10 — or get a Computer with Home windows 10 currently on it — you can not obtain Picture Viewer at all. The exciting issue is that Image Viewer is still there. It is just hidden, and you’ll have to make a couple of Registry edits to have it clearly show up. Right after you do that, you can then set it as your default photo viewer.

Update: Windows Photo Viewer was not slash from Home windows 11, and you can make Home windows Photo Viewer your default picture viewer on Home windows 11.

The Dilemma

For no matter what explanation, Microsoft opted not to include things like the Registry keys that allow entry to Home windows Photograph Viewer on Home windows 10. These keys are kept in spot if you update from a earlier version of Home windows, but they are not designed throughout the set up of Windows 10. Microsoft really needs you to open all people impression information in its new Pictures app alternatively.

Relevant: How to Established Your Default Apps in Home windows 10

If you navigate to the Default applications pane in Configurations, you won’t even see Picture Viewer as an possibility. The aged “Default Programs” Handle Panel app is not a great deal support, both. Open up it up, and you can only make Photograph Viewer the default association for .tif and .tiff documents — not other forms of images.

Linked: What Are DLL Documents, and Why Is One particular Lacking From My Pc?

You also just can’t just stage picture files at a precise .exe file to affiliate them with Photo Viewer, either. Picture Viewer is essentially portion of a DLL file named “PhotoViewer.dll” and doesn’t have a independent executable file connected with it.

So, how do you get Picture Viewer back? By firing up our outdated close friend Registry Editor, of system. And following you do that, you can set it as your default picture app.

Step Just one: Permit Photograph Viewer in the Registry

We’ll need to insert the very same registry entries that have been existing on Windows 7 and 8.1 and are nevertheless present on methods that upgraded from those people old variations of Home windows. To make matters simple, we have place together a Registry hack you can use to make these edits quickly because they are a small cumbersome to make manually. Down load and unzip the subsequent file:

Activate-Home windows-Picture-Viewer-on-Home windows-10

Within, you are going to obtain two hacks. Run the “Activate Home windows Picture Viewer on Home windows 10” hack to generate the keys and values in the Registry and activate Picture Viewer. And if you ever want to deactivate it, just operate the “Deactivate Windows Photograph Viewer on Windows 10 (Default)” hack. Of program, there’s no authentic need to deactivate it in the Registry. You can generally leave it out there and just affiliate your picture data files with a distinctive app.

Notice: A major many thanks to nexus in excess of at TenForums for finding the needed registry settings.

And recall — this move is only vital if you are applying a fresh new Home windows 10 procedure. If you upgraded from Windows 7 or 8.1, you need to be in a position to go in advance and established Windows Picture Viewer as your default impression-viewing application in all the typical methods.

Action Two: Set Home windows Picture Viewer as Your Default Image Viewer

To associate an picture file with Photo Viewer, appropriate-click on any style of image file — for instance, a .png, .jpg, .gif, or .bmp file — and find Open up With > Select Another Application.

In the “How do you want to open this file?” window, decide on Windows Picture Viewer. If you really do not see it at first, scroll to the base of what’s detailed and simply click the “More apps” choice — it’ll present up. Find the “Always use this application to open up .___ files” selection, and then click on “OK.”

Update: If the “Choose A different App” possibility does not get the job done for some reason, here’s an additional way you can do it: First, right-click on the type of impression file you want to improve (for example, a PNG, JPEG, GIF, or BMP file) and choose “Properties” to open the Homes window. On the Normal pane, click the “Change” button to the ideal of “Opens With” and pick out Windows Photo Viewer.

Windows Picture Viewer will now be the default picture viewer for that sort of impression file. You will have to have to repeat this course of action for each and every type of impression file you want to use it with. In other words and phrases, each time you open up an image that opens in the Pics application, just shut the Images application and use the “Open with” menu to affiliate that file type with Home windows Photograph Viewer. You will only have to do this the initially time you open every new form of graphic file.

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Of course, we just can’t guarantee that Microsoft will retain access to Photograph Viewer about eternally. But for now, at least, it’s nonetheless there — even if you have to set in a minimal function to find it.