How To Make Photo Viewer Default Windows 10

Windows 10 uses the new Photos app as your default image viewer, but many people still prefer the quondam Windows Photo Viewer. You can get Photo Viewer dorsum in Windows ten, though. It's just subconscious.

RELATED: How to exercise a Clean Install of Windows 10 the Like shooting fish in a barrel Way

If y'all upgrade a PC running Windows 7 or 8.1 to Windows 10, Windows Photo Viewer will exist available and you can set information technology every bit your default photo viewer if yous want. However, if y'all perform a clean installation of Windows x—or purchase a PC with Windows ten already on information technology—you can't access Photograph Viewer at all. The interesting affair is that Photo Viewer is notwithstanding there. Information technology's only hidden and you'll have to make a couple of Registry edits to have information technology show up. After you lot do that, you can then ready information technology as your default photo viewer.

The Problem

For whatever reason, Microsoft opted non to include the Registry keys that enable access to Windows Photo Viewer on Windows 10. Those keys are kept in place if you lot upgrade from a previous version of Windows, but they aren't created during the installation of Windows 10. Microsoft really wants yous to open all those image files in its new Photos app, instead.

RELATED: How to Set up Your Default Apps in Windows 10

If you navigate to the Default apps pane in Settings, you won't even encounter Photograph Viewer as an option. The onetime "Default Programs" Command Panel app isn't much help, either. Open it up and you lot can but make Photo Viewer the default clan for .tif and .tiff files—not other types of images.

RELATED: What Are DLL Files, and Why Is Ane Missing From My PC?

You lot besides can't but point epitome files at a specific .exe file to associate them with Photo Viewer, either. Photograph Viewer is actually function of a DLL file named "PhotoViewer.dll" and doesn't have a separate executable file associated with it.

And so, how do you get Photo Viewer dorsum? By firing up our former friend Registry Editor, of course. And after you lot practise that, you can fix it equally your default photo app.

Step One: Enable Photo Viewer in the Registry

We'll need to add the same registry entries that were present on Windows 7 and eight.1, and are still present on systems that upgraded from those one-time versions of Windows. To make things like shooting fish in a barrel, we've put together a Registry hack you lot can employ to make these edits quickly because they're a footling cumbersome to make manually. Download and unzip the post-obit file:

Actuate-Windows-Photo-Viewer-on-Windows-10

Inside, you'll find two hacks. Run the "Activate Windows Photo Viewer on Windows 10" hack to create the keys and values in the Registry and activate Photo Viewer. And if you ever desire to deactivate information technology, just run the "Deactivate Windows Photo Viewer on Windows ten (Default)" hack. Of course, at that place's no real demand to conciliate it in the Registry. You can always leave it available and simply acquaintance your image files with a different app.

Note: A big thanks to nexus over at TenForums for locating the required registry settings.

And remember—this step is only necessary if you're using a fresh Windows 10 system. If you upgraded from Windows vii or 8.1, yous should be able to go ahead and fix Windows Photograph Viewer every bit your default image-viewing application in all the usual means.

Step Two: Set up Windows Photo Viewer equally Your Default Prototype Viewer

To associate an epitome file with Photo Viewer, right-click whatever type of image file—for example, a .png, .jpg, .gif, or .bmp file—and select Open up With > Choose Some other App.

In the "How practise you desire to open up this file?" window, select Windows Photograph Viewer. If you don't see it at first, whorl to the lesser of what'south listed and click the "More than apps" choice—it'll show up. Select the "Always use this app to open .___ files" option, and then click "OK."

Update: If the "Choose Another App" option doesn't work for some reason, here'south another manner you can practise it: First, right-click the type of image file y'all want to change (for case, a PNG, JPEG, GIF, or BMP file) and select "Backdrop" to open the Properties window. On the General pane, click the "Change" button to the right of "Opens With" and select Windows Photograph Viewer.

Windows Photograph Viewer will now exist the default image viewer for that type of image file. You'll need to repeat this process for each type of image file you want to use it with. In other words, whenever y'all open an image that opens in the Photos app, just close the Photos app and use the "Open with" menu to acquaintance that file type with Windows Photograph Viewer. You lot'll only have to do this the get-go time you open each new blazon of image file.

---

Patently, we can't guarantee that Microsoft volition keep access to Photo Viewer around forever. But for at present, at least, information technology's withal in that location—even if you accept to put in a lilliputian work to observe information technology.

Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/225844/how-to-make-windows-photo-viewer-your-default-image-viewer-on-windows-10/

Posted by: tranwhempos60.blogspot.com

Share this post