{"id":1627,"date":"2016-02-13T15:32:21","date_gmt":"2016-02-13T10:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=1627"},"modified":"2022-07-21T22:39:09","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T17:09:09","slug":"stop-photos-app-taking-over-image-file-associations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/stop-photos-app-taking-over-image-file-associations\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Stop Photos App from Resetting Image File Associations?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This post explains how to prevent the modern Photos app from taking over the defaults for all image files types. We saw how to prevent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/edge-hijack-pdf-htm-associations\/\">Edge from taking over the PDF and HTM<\/a> association settings. The same method can be used for the Photos app, or for any other app for that matter.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>When no file association (user choice) is set or if an application corrupts the UserChoice registry key while setting association, file association is automatically reset to Windows 10 defaults. For instance, Photos may takeover your image file associations after an update, or due to the above mentioned reasons and the Action Center notifies you that an app default was reset.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/w10\/w10-photos-takeover-3.png\" width=\"385\" height=\"231\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><i>&#8220;An app caused a problem with the default app setting for .png, so it was reset to Photos&#8221;<\/i><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>2019 Update:<\/strong> The following registry edits no longer work in Windows v1809 (and higher). See article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-10-resetting-file-associations\/\">Fix \u201cAn App Default Was Reset\u201d<\/a> for a proper fix.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>PLEASE DO NOT TRY THE FOLLOWING REGISTRY EDIT ON WINDOWS 11, as it will cause <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/cant-associate-jpg-png-files-default-apps\/\">file association issues<\/a> with Default Apps (on Windows 11).<\/h4>\n<p>To stop Photos from hijacking the image file associations use these steps.<\/p>\n<p>Start the Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) and go to:<\/p>\n<pre>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\SOFTWARE\\Classes\\Local Settings\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\AppModel\\Repository\\Packages\\Microsoft.Windows.Photos_16.201.11370.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\\App\\Capabilities\\FileAssociations<\/pre>\n<p><i><b>Note:<\/b> The above key only applies if you have version Photos v16.201.11370.0_x64 installed, which is the current version as of this post. If you have any other version or build number, choose the appropriate key. It will be usually in this format:<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>Microsoft.Windows.Photos_nn.nnn.nnnnn.n_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe, Where the <\/i><b><i>nnn&#8230;<\/i><\/b><i> is a placeholder for the actual version\/build no. Also watch out for the &#8220;bit&#8221;ness.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>In the right-pane, note down the Prog IDs assigned for an image file type, say .jpg. In this case, the Prog ID for .jpg is <b>AppX43hnxtbyyps62jhe9sqpdzxn1790zetc<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i>(The Prog Id in this case, is the same for other image file types as well, like .PNG, .JPE, .JPEG, .JPG, .ICO, .GIF, .JFIF etc.)<\/i><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/w10\/w10-photos-takeover-2.png\" width=\"603\" height=\"238\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Go to the following location:<\/p>\n<pre>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\SOFTWARE\\Classes\\AppX43hnxtbyyps62jhe9sqpdzxn1790zetc<\/pre>\n<p>In the right-pane, create a string value (REG_SZ) named <b>NoOpenWith<\/b><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/w10\/w10-photos-takeover-1.png\" width=\"572\" height=\"263\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This prevents the Photos app from taking over the image files type associations.<\/p>\n<p>Exit the Registry Editor.<\/p>\n<p>Now use Default Programs or the Open With dialog to re-associate the file type with your preferred program. Note that this also hides Photos in the Open With dialog boxes for the corresponding file types. If an update removes the NoOpenWith value, or if the ProgID name changes, you&#8217;ll need to set the value again under the appropriate ProgID key.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Important: <\/strong>On Windows 11, the NoOpenWith registry value behaves differently and causes issues. For more information, check out the article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/cant-associate-jpg-png-files-default-apps\/\">Can\u2019t Associate JPG\/PNG Files via Default Apps in Windows 11<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This post explains how to prevent the modern Photos app from taking over the defaults for all image files types. We saw how to prevent Edge from taking over the PDF and HTM association settings. The same method can be used for the Photos app, or for any other app for that matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[384,441],"class_list":["post-1627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows-10","tag-photos","tag-registry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1630,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-10-resetting-file-associations\/","url_meta":{"origin":1627,"position":0},"title":"Fix for &#8220;An App Default was Reset&#8221; Windows 10 Resets File Associations","author":"Ramesh","date":"February 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This post explains why Windows 10 resets your file associations for file types supported by modern apps like 3d Builder, Zune music, Zune video (Movies & TV), Microsoft Edge, and Microsoft Edge Chromium. RELATED: Set Default Browser and File Associations via Command-line in Windows 10 Cause The app defaults are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"app default was reset - event log","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/app-default-reset-event-log.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/app-default-reset-event-log.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/app-default-reset-event-log.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25987,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/cant-associate-jpg-png-files-default-apps\/","url_meta":{"origin":1627,"position":1},"title":"[Fix] Can&#8217;t Change File Association via Default Apps in Windows 11","author":"Ramesh","date":"January 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"After installing third-party software on your Windows 11 computer, the ability to associate file types such as JPG, JPE, JPEG, PNG, MPG, MPEG, and other file types may be hampered. Here are the issues you may encounter when attempting to change the file association for the said file types. When\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 11&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 11","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-11\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"windows 11 default apps can't associate file","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/w11-default-apps-asso-fix-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/w11-default-apps-asso-fix-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/w11-default-apps-asso-fix-3.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9248,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/set-default-browser-file-associations-command-line-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":1627,"position":2},"title":"Change Default Apps and File Association via Command-line","author":"Ramesh","date":"May 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: This post explains how to change the default apps or file associations using the command-line in Windows 10 and 11. This can be accomplished by a command-line tool named SetUserFTA. In Windows 10 and 11, setting per-user file associations for a logged-on user account has to be done manually\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Utilities&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Utilities","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/utilities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/setuserfta.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/setuserfta.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/setuserfta.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/setuserfta.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":79839,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/configuration-registry-database-corrupt-image-files\/","url_meta":{"origin":1627,"position":3},"title":"Error &#8220;The configuration registry database is corrupt&#8221; when opening image files","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"When you double-click an image file such as JPG or PNG, the following error message may occur: The configuration registry database is corrupt. Resolution This error occurs if the registry hive used by the Photos app, the default image file handler in Windows 10 and 11, is corrupt. Resetting and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3220,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/reset-wordpad-notepad-settings-defaults\/","url_meta":{"origin":1627,"position":4},"title":"How to Reset Notepad and WordPad to Default","author":"Ramesh","date":"June 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"If you've changed the default font settings and other options in WordPad or Notepad and want to revert back to Windows default values, this post tells you how to do that. Reset Notepad settings If you've altered the default Notepad font or encoding (using the iDefaultEncoding registry value), the margin,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"reset notepad store app","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/notepad-uwp-app-reset.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2186,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/default-apps-not-working-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":1627,"position":5},"title":"Cannot Change Default Apps or Programs in Windows 10 [Fix]","author":"Ramesh","date":"March 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When you open Default apps and select a default program for Web browser, Email or any other item, the Choose an app dialog pops up but nothing happens when you select an item from the list. Here is a small video clip that explains the problem. I've been working on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Utilities&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Utilities","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/utilities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/w1-10-change-file-asso-properties.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/w1-10-change-file-asso-properties.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/w1-10-change-file-asso-properties.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1627\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}