How to Restore Missing Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 10

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Windows Photo Viewer is one of the things that gets removed, or hidden from access after upgrading to Windows 10. The new Photos app takes charge as the default handler for image files in Windows 10.

The good news is Windows Photo Viewer application still exists in the same location in Windows 10, but what is removed is only its registration. Windows Photo Viewer is a light-weight app similar to the Office Picture Manager and Windows Live Photo Gallery, both of which are discontinued by Microsoft. But, Windows Photo Viewer remains an integral part of Windows.

If you’re not a fan of the new Photos app, you can revert back to the built-in Windows Photo Viewer.

Microsoft is looking to transform most of the built-in Windows 10 tools and programs into modern or UWP apps. That’s probably the reason why Microsoft decided to keep Windows Photo Viewer hidden in Windows 10.

Photo Viewer DLL version comparison between Windows 7 & Windows 10

To activate Windows Photo Viewer, you need to add the necessary registry keys for application registration and file associations.

After applying the registry file below, the Windows Photo Viewer is displayed as an option in the Default apps window, the classic Default Programs applet and as well as in the Open with dialog.

How to Restore Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 10

To restore Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 10, follow these steps:

Download w10-wpv-restore.zip
Unzip and run the attached .reg file by double-clicking. Windows Photo Viewer will now show up in Default Programs or Default Apps, and the file association settings for BMP, DIB, JFIF, JPE, JPEG, JPG, PNG, TIF, TIFF, WDP types are added.
Click Start → Settings → Apps → Default apps.
Under “Photo viewer”, select Windows Photo Viewer from the list.

This associates the above-said image files types with Windows Photo Viewer. To set it as the default viewer for chosen image files types only, click Choose default apps by file type and configure it accordingly.

Note that you can also use the Open with dialog to set Windows Photo Viewer on a per-file type basis.

Cannot import the REG file?

If you get this error when running the REG file, no problem. Most of the settings would have been written correctly. Perhaps the file got stuck when writing to TIF/TIFF association settings, as the association for TIF/TIFF already exists even after upgrading to Windows 10. You may ignore the error message and move on.

Contents of the above .reg file

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

;Restore  Windows Photo Viewer to Default Apps in Windows 10
;Includes complete association settings for file types handled by Windows Photo Viewer
;http://www.winhelponline.com/blog

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\RegisteredApplications]
"Windows Photo Viewer"="Software\\Microsoft\\Windows Photo Viewer\\Capabilities"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Photo Viewer\Capabilities]
"ApplicationDescription"="@%ProgramFiles%\\Windows Photo Viewer\\photoviewer.dll,-3069"
"ApplicationName"="@%ProgramFiles%\\Windows Photo Viewer\\photoviewer.dll,-3009"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Photo Viewer\Capabilities\FileAssociations]
".tif"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"
".tiff"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"
".jpg"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg"
".wdp"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Wdp"
".jfif"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.JFIF"
".dib"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Bitmap"
".png"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Png"
".bmp"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Bitmap"
".jpe"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg"
".jpeg"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg"
".gif"="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Bitmap]
"ImageOptionFlags"=dword:00000001
"FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,\
  00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,\
  77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,\
  00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\
  65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,35,00,36,00,00,\
  00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Bitmap\DefaultIcon]
@="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\imageres.dll,-70"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Bitmap\shell\open\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
  00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\
  6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\
  00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\
  25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\
  00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\
  6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\
  00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\
  5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\
  00,31,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Bitmap\shell\open\DropTarget]
"Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.JFIF]
"EditFlags"=dword:00010000
"ImageOptionFlags"=dword:00000001
"FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,\
  00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,\
  77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,\
  00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\
  65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,35,00,35,00,00,\
  00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.JFIF\DefaultIcon]
@="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\imageres.dll,-72"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.JFIF\shell\open]
"MuiVerb"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,\
  69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,\
  00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,\
  72,00,5c,00,70,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,76,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,\
  00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,34,00,33,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.JFIF\shell\open\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
  00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\
  6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\
  00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\
  25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\
  00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\
  6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\
  00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\
  5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\
  00,31,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.JFIF\shell\open\DropTarget]
"Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg]
"EditFlags"=dword:00010000
"ImageOptionFlags"=dword:00000001
"FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,\
  00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,\
  77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,\
  00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\
  65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,35,00,35,00,00,\
  00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg\DefaultIcon]
@="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\imageres.dll,-72"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg\shell\open]
"MuiVerb"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,\
  69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,\
  00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,\
  72,00,5c,00,70,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,76,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,\
  00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,34,00,33,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg\shell\open\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
  00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\
  6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\
  00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\
  25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\
  00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\
  6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\
  00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\
  5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\
  00,31,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Jpeg\shell\open\DropTarget]
"Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Png]
"ImageOptionFlags"=dword:00000001
"FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,\
  00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,\
  77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,\
  00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\
  65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,35,00,37,00,00,\
  00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Png\DefaultIcon]
@="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\imageres.dll,-71"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Png\shell\open\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
  00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\
  6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\
  00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\
  25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\
  00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\
  6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\
  00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\
  5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\
  00,31,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Png\shell\open\DropTarget]
"Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Wdp]
"EditFlags"=dword:00010000
"ImageOptionFlags"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Wdp\DefaultIcon]
@="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\wmphoto.dll,-400"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Wdp\shell\open]
"MuiVerb"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,\
  69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,\
  00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,\
  72,00,5c,00,70,00,68,00,6f,00,74,00,6f,00,76,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,\
  00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,34,00,33,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Wdp\shell\open\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
  00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\
  6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\
  00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\
  25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\
  00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\
  6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\
  00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\
  5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\
  00,31,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Wdp\shell\open\DropTarget]
"Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\open]
"MuiVerb"="@photoviewer.dll,-3043"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\open\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
  00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\
  6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\
  00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\
  25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\
  00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\
  6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\
  00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\
  5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\
  00,31,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\open\DropTarget]
"Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\print\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
  00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\
  6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\
  00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\
  25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\
  00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\
  6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\
  00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\
  5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\
  00,31,00,00,00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\print\DropTarget]
"Clsid"="{60fd46de-f830-4894-a628-6fa81bc0190d}"

The above procedure works in all builds of Windows 10. It has also been tested in v1903 and verified to work.

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About the author

Ramesh Srinivasan founded Winhelponline.com back in 2005. He is passionate about Microsoft technologies and he has been a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for 10 consecutive years from 2003 to 2012.

Microsoft > Windows > Windows 10 > How to Restore Missing Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 10

49 thoughts on “How to Restore Missing Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 10”

joop

May 23, 2016 at 10:41 pm | Reply

ik mis in windows 10 de store en dat is zeer hinderlijk
zac

June 21, 2016 at 11:06 pm | Reply

Whoever you are (that wrote this article), long live! Thanks.
aggie gemm

July 3, 2016 at 11:38 am | Reply

why isnt there a one click fix it? this is giving me a headache
Ron

July 10, 2016 at 1:17 pm | Reply

Perfect. Very easy to follow. Easy fix. Thanks again!!!!!
inphoenix

July 19, 2016 at 3:01 am | Reply

Perfect… thanks so much. Saved a lot of manual reg editing….
Mike

August 1, 2016 at 8:33 am | Reply

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Live long and prosper! This was a great and instructive article!
- Ramesh Srinivasan
  
  August 1, 2016 at 12:04 pm
  
  Glad you liked the post, Mike.
Gabriel

August 20, 2016 at 6:58 pm | Reply

Amazing work! Life saver! Great job! Perfect fix!
tanoman

September 2, 2016 at 4:18 am | Reply

Thank you so much. It helps a lot.
Brad

September 7, 2016 at 2:52 am | Reply

Incredible! Worked fantastically! Thank you so much
mode

September 27, 2016 at 8:25 pm | Reply

tnx a lot. it works 🙂
Bill

September 29, 2016 at 8:53 pm | Reply

Thanks. This worked just fine.
Mikee

October 5, 2016 at 6:41 am | Reply

bloody exellent works just great Thankssssssss
niel

October 20, 2016 at 12:56 pm | Reply

it works for me.. thanks dude
Ella

October 27, 2016 at 3:17 pm | Reply

Thank you so much! this is really helpful!
- Ramesh Srinivasan
  
  October 27, 2016 at 6:14 pm
  
  @Ella: Glad to hear that. Thanks for writing.
Andrei

November 2, 2016 at 11:26 pm | Reply

Thank you! You are so damn good!
Gadhe ka Land

November 6, 2016 at 5:39 pm | Reply

Thanx a Ton!
Brian

November 26, 2016 at 12:37 pm | Reply

I got same problem…

But my friend suggest me to use KrojamSoft PhotoViewerPro and I really like that Photo viewer than default image viewer
Gerry A

December 6, 2016 at 9:00 pm | Reply

Brilliant Just Brilliant!!!!!!
Thanks dude..
Freeheart

December 9, 2016 at 11:30 pm | Reply

Ah-mazing! Thank you!
Ahmed

December 12, 2016 at 1:02 am | Reply

I’ve got a problem.
when i Click “Choose defaults for this program”, I only find TIF and TIFF formats !
MOrii

December 12, 2016 at 10:27 pm | Reply

awesome man … thx
Paul

December 16, 2016 at 4:47 pm | Reply

Genius. Nicely done my friend 🙂
Ryan

December 20, 2016 at 10:36 pm | Reply

Thank you! Why does this have to be so hard?!
- Ramesh Srinivasan
  
  December 20, 2016 at 11:14 pm
  
  @Ryan: Because MS is promoting its UWP apps, and classic apps will vanish one by one in future. Fortunately, WPV is not one among the earliest ones to go.
Jitendra Sharma

December 23, 2016 at 2:27 pm | Reply

Hi!
Sir,

When double click on this registry file. I found “Cannot import the REG file” and this press “OK” button.
After that, I go to the “Set your default Programme”, i click on Windows Photo Viewer and than “Choose defaults for this program”.
But i have not found other extensions of Images otherwise “TIF/TIFF”.
Help me about this error.
Rath

January 3, 2019 at 2:54 pm | Reply

Saved me! So much thanks!
ADG

January 23, 2019 at 10:24 am | Reply

Regarding one click fix, just download Winaero tweaker and it adds photoviewer with one click fix . Also you can tweak many things on windows withit .Sadly to say, the old tweaks used to add Control Userpasswords2 to the Control Panel, but hey, just download the registry Tweak. Remember these are tweaks, not Hacks. One doesn’t hack his registry, by tuning/tweaking/changing settings or values.
Ray Wells

January 24, 2019 at 4:50 pm | Reply

Just a quick annoyance rant. This is the third time I’ve needed to fix the Windows Photo Viewer by running the registry editing “Activate-Windows-Photo-Viewer-on-Windows-10” script. It works very well, thank you. One of the few points of control we have in the never-ending stream of software quicksand being dumped on us daily.
rosenm

February 8, 2019 at 7:10 am | Reply

Thank you!
Thomas Moila

February 14, 2019 at 2:56 pm | Reply

Perfect. Thank you
Ben

February 28, 2019 at 12:12 pm | Reply

Thanks! , I was really looking for it.
Simon

March 2, 2019 at 1:45 am | Reply

This is the only solution I’ve found that actually works. Thank you!
Sylvia

March 17, 2019 at 12:39 pm | Reply

Thank you, Ramesh !
tazmo8448

May 7, 2019 at 10:07 pm | Reply

Didn’t work for me….grrr.
John

May 18, 2019 at 1:24 am | Reply

I followed the instructions and it worked. I am very pleased.
I can’t stand the Windows 10 Photos app.
Tom Balne

June 25, 2019 at 4:50 pm | Reply

I used the procedure I found on CNET (and other places) that said to copy the code from a “post by Edwin over at TenForums”. It is similar to yours but different. It did not give me Windows Photo Viewer option for default apps for all photo viewing or under individual file types. I can go to a bmp or jpg and select it and check to use on all files of this type. Will your code give me the option under defaults? Can I use this over what I’ve already done? I did a regedit computer export before I updated the registry. Do I need to go back and import this before I use your code?
- Ramesh
  
  June 26, 2019 at 3:05 am
  
  @Tom: The registry file adds Windows Photo Viewer to the Default Apps. The previous registry file (from Edwin) can be removed, but the presence of those key won’t cause any problem.
Michelle Madworld

June 26, 2019 at 11:58 am | Reply

Read quite a few posts and yours actually worked with great directions and brilliant outcome. Cheers Super Star !!!!
- Ramesh
  
  June 26, 2019 at 12:14 pm
  
  @Michelle: Thanks for the compliment! Very glad you found the post useful!
Penny

July 3, 2019 at 12:41 am | Reply

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I cannot say it enough times!
I print A LOT of photos, and I just got a new computer with Win10.
First time I go to print and it wasn’t giving me the option of selecting size and print to frame I almost cried.
You have saved my sanity!
lou

July 18, 2019 at 4:44 am | Reply

Thank you very very much so easy and it worked in 5 seconds.
Tracy E Candish

July 19, 2019 at 10:29 pm | Reply

many thanks!!!
Raina

August 5, 2019 at 3:48 am | Reply

Thanks a ton!!!! it worked beautifully… Finally, I’m able to toggle between pics…
mukut

August 11, 2019 at 12:08 am | Reply

truly….THANKS 🙂
Wen

August 13, 2019 at 2:19 pm | Reply

Thanks soo much, been trying to get this sorted for months!! Bless ya!
norman

September 9, 2019 at 7:08 am | Reply

many thankss…i finally fix the problem
Jesse Ortega

September 14, 2019 at 9:43 am | Reply

Worked like a charm. Now I don’t have to wait and waste a lot of time waiting for the photo editing app to start. Like yea,,,, we have to edit every photo we view. Whose bright idea was that? I guess windows is getting too good and we need some app to slow us down. Okay I’m getting tired of been sarcastic. What a relief. Thank you, thank you very much.