{"id":19898,"date":"2020-11-15T15:05:11","date_gmt":"2020-11-15T15:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=19898"},"modified":"2020-11-16T02:23:34","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T02:23:34","slug":"webp-appear-dark-windows-photo-viewer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/webp-appear-dark-windows-photo-viewer\/","title":{"rendered":"[Fix] WebP Images Appear Very Dark in Windows Photo Viewer"},"content":{"rendered":"

WebP is a modern image format that provides lossless and lossy compression for smaller, richer images on the web. When you preview a WebP (.webp) image using Windows Photo Viewer, the image may appear very dark.<\/p>\n

\"webp
Fig 1: Windows Photo Viewer dark rendering of WebP images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, the File Explorer preview pane and the thumbnail view show the .webp image correctly. Also, the same WebP image would render correctly in Firefox, Chrome, and Microsoft Edge (Chromium) web browsers.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Cause<\/h2>\n

This may be due to a bug in the Microsoft Webp Image Extensions package. The WebP Image Extensions Store app enables you to view WebP images in the Windows 10 Microsoft Edge (old) browser. The new Microsoft Edge Chromium doesn’t need this extension, as it has built-in WebP support.<\/p>\n

Though Microsoft Webp Image Extension’s description refers to Microsoft Edge, this extension may be used by other modern apps. This package extends Windows 10 to decode the WebP format. Also, the classic Windows Photo Viewer<\/a> uses WebP Image Extension (MSWebp_store.dll<\/code>) to render .webp images.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Windows Photo Viewer Shows Yellow Tint Background When Previewing Images<\/a><\/div>\n

Resolution<\/h2>\n

To prevent Windows Photo Viewer from rendering .webp images dark, uninstall Microsoft’s WebP Image Extension using PowerShell. Then, install the official Google WebP Codec for Windows.<\/p>\n

Step 1: Uninstall Microsoft Webp Image Extensions<\/h3>\n

Start PowerShell and run the following command:<\/p>\n

Get-AppxPackage *Microsoft.WebpImageExtension* | Remove-AppxPackage<\/pre>\n
This uninstalls the WebP image extension package for your user account.<\/p>\n
Note:<\/strong> Windows Photo Viewer won’t be able to preview .webp images now. When you attempt to preview .webp files, you’ll see the error:<\/p>\n
Windows Photo Viewer can't open this picture because the file appears to be damaged, corrupted, or is too large.<\/pre>\n
Installing the Google WebP Codec for Windows fixes the error. Follow the instructions in “Step 2” below.<\/p>\n
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Reinstall instructions<\/h4>\n
In case you want to reinstall the Microsoft WebP extension later, run this command:<\/p>\n
Add-AppxPackage -register \"C:\\Program Files\\WindowsApps\\Microsoft.WebpImageExtension_1.0.32731.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\\AppxManifest.xml\" -DisableDevelopmentMode<\/pre>\n
Alternately, you can get it from the Microsoft Store via:<\/p>\n
Webp Image Extensions - Microsoft Store:\r\nhttps:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/p\/webp-image-extensions\/9pg2dk419drg<\/pre>\n<\/div>\n
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Step 2: Install Google WebP Codec for Windows<\/h3>\n
Download and install WebpCodecSetup.exe<\/code> from Google via the following link:<\/p>\n
https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/downloads.webmproject.org\/releases\/webp\/WebpCodecSetup.exe\r\n\r\n<\/strong>[WebpCodecSetup.exe - file info]\r\nVerified: Signed\r\nSigning date: 5:55 AM 1\/13\/2016\r\nPublisher: Google Inc\r\nCompany: Google Inc\r\nDescription: Setup program for WebP Codec for Windows\r\nProduct: WebP Codec for Windows\r\nProd version: 0.19.9.0\r\nFile version: 0.19.9.0\r\n\r\n[SHA256 Hash]\r\nc7d57b93f93269e78ae0a0be660293822282edc5eefa7b304f17d621af334bdf<\/pre>\n
This setup package adds the following codec files on your Program Files folder and registers it:<\/p>\n