How to bring back Photo Viewer in Windows 10?

In Windows 10, when opening images, it gives me the option to open in the Photos metro app, Paint, or GIMP.

I'd like it to open in Photo Viewer, but when I directed "Open with" to PhotoViewer.dll in "C:/Program Files/Windows Photo Viewer", or "C:/Program Files (x86)/Windows Photo Viewer", I get a "This app can not run on your PC" error.

I know I could use Irfanview or the sort, but I'd prefer to be able to use Photo Viewer. Is there any way I can bring it back?

Irastris

Posted 2015-07-30T16:04:38.317

Reputation: 993

22@Ramhound The question makes perfect sense. – Louis – 2015-07-30T16:32:52.243

@MC10 But I had Photo Viewer in Windows 8.1? The PhotoViewer.dll trick worked there. – Irastris – 2015-07-30T16:49:25.777

@Ramhound That's how it worked in Windows 8.1, I could set it to open with PhotoViewer.dll. – Irastris – 2015-07-30T16:50:03.817

@Irastris did you see my answer? You can definitely use the dll and photo viewer still works in win 10. Give me that answer credit :D – TechnoCore – 2015-07-30T16:52:31.830

Interesting, I hadn't tried that or heard of it. Well if it works, that's great. – MC10 – 2015-07-30T17:15:11.597

The following reg file places Photo Viewer in the list of other programs: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes.jpg] @="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes.jpeg] @="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes.gif] @="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes.png] @="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes.bmp] @="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes.tiff] @="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes.ico] @="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff" – limits – 2015-08-20T17:11:14.820

You can get most of the functionality you remember using both Windows Explorer (to print, see http://superuser.com/questions/989145/ ) and the metro photos app.

– Ruskin – 2016-12-14T14:13:15.240

Answers

I think because of your first attempt to run the .dll directly, the entry "Windows Photo Viewer" still points to the .dll instead of rundll32, which of course you can't run directly.

Try adding the following to the registry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell]

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

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

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\print]

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

(Source)

If that doesn't work, try searching the registry for Windows Photo Viewer and photoviewer.dll to see if there are any references to photoviewer.dll being called directly (without rundll32).

Flitskikker

Posted 2015-07-30T16:04:38.317

Reputation: 886

3great, it worked. – Rajkishor Sahu – 2015-08-22T13:34:17.600

3It also worked for me, Windows 10 Pro 64 bits, and fr-ch localization. Great ! – Michaël Polla – 2015-10-09T21:48:39.760

4The hex string is utf-16 for %SystemRoot%\System32\rundll32.exe "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll", ImageView_Fullscreen %1". I just did a xxd -r -p | tr -d '\0' on it. – isanae – 2016-03-27T00:25:50.420

This answer nails the problem - it is a 32-bit DLL and so needs to be run with rundll32. Another option to avoid regedit is to pin something (anything) to the start menu and then edit it so that the shortcut is to %SystemRoot%\System32\rundll32.exe "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll", ImageView_Fullscreen <folder>. – SomeoneElse – 2019-04-11T14:58:37.260

Windows 10 LTSC worked – JustWe – 2019-09-13T11:15:25.973

I got mine to work, I think you have to successfully open an image with the old photo viewer once, then you can set it as default.

Open an image with this in command prompt %SystemRoot%\System32\rundll32.exe "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll", ImageView_Fullscreen pathToImageNoQuotes
Then I have this option

Now my PNGs open with the old photo viewer by default, works great.

TechnoCore

Posted 2015-07-30T16:04:38.317

Reputation: 1 189

1This only half worked. :/ Launching PhotoViewer from the Command Prompt worked perfectly, but when I tried to set the PNG to open with Photo Viewer afterward, I still got the "This app can not run on your PC" error. – Irastris – 2015-07-30T17:02:15.690

awww, I'm sorry. That error is usually x86 x64 issues, running an x64 app on x86 install. Wonder what gives... – TechnoCore – 2015-07-30T17:08:13.163

@Irastris which bit version of Windows 10 are you on? There is an x86 path, perhaps that would work for you. %SystemRoot%\System32\rundll32.exe "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll", ImageView_Fullscreen pathToImage – MC10 – 2015-07-30T17:20:58.027

@MC10 Windows 10 Pro 64Bit, from the GWX upgrade. :D – Irastris – 2015-07-30T18:10:02.800

It's working for me with both x86 and x64 DLLs. Try running sfc /scannow and see if it finds/fixes anything. Did you try both DLL's? – MC10 – 2015-07-30T18:17:16.083

@MC10 Yes, I tried both DLLs in CMD, went to a PNG, tried to open with Photo Viewer, and still got the error. – Irastris – 2015-07-30T22:22:25.270

Strange...and sfc didn't fix anything? – MC10 – 2015-07-30T22:55:08.887

for me above is working, but I'm not getting step 2. Therefore how do I force it to get step2 – FR STAR – 2015-11-14T17:12:17.343

1for me, this opens the photo viewer: %SystemRoot%\System32\rundll32.exe "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll", ImageView_Fullscreen, yet when I add an image path at the end, nothing happens, and no applications opens up. – Saeed Neamati – 2016-05-23T10:05:36.807

Put this in a .reg file and run it:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\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_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\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

This will make all JPEG files viewable in Photo Viewer. If you want to make other types work as well just replace "jpegfile" in the code with "pngfile", "giffile", "Paint.Picture" (Paint.Picture is the .bmp type)

Find any picture, right-click, choose Open With, then find Windows Photo Viewer and select it as default program.

adrift21

Posted 2015-07-30T16:04:38.317

Reputation: 181

Didn't work. Still getting the "This app can not run on your PC." error. – Irastris – 2015-07-30T22:21:40.847

2This worked for me, thanks. Windows 10 64. – Martin Hansen – 2015-08-08T19:53:10.787

worked fine (y) thx – NSGaga – 2015-11-13T20:08:51.763

You can also use Winaero Tweaker to activate Windows Photo Viewer, as shown in the following screenshot. Just follow the description (within the green box), and you're all set.

PS: Winaero Tweaker is a free tool, which can be used to tweak many aspects of Windows 10.

M.S. Dousti

Posted 2015-07-30T16:04:38.317

Reputation: 459

2It's nice to see that WinAero got an update for this. – Irastris – 2015-09-18T13:25:24.213

2This turned out to actually be the easiest solution for me, due to avoiding the Windows Registry Editor. – grunwald2.0 – 2015-12-13T19:29:37.423

This should be the accepted answer. – cheesus says stop firing mods – 2019-04-15T19:42:52.153

Unfortunately, none of the above answers worked for me, but they pointed me in the right direction.

Right-click on an image in Windows Explorer, choose Open With, then Choose another app.
In the dialog, scroll down and click on More apps, then `Look for another app on this PC.
Then, at the bottom right, choose All Files (*.*) instead of Programs (*.exe ...), then navigate to C:\Program Files\Windows Photo Viewer and choose PhotoViewer.dll.
Photo Viewer opens. Close it.
Repeat Step 1: Right-click again on the image, choose Open With, then Choose another app.
Again scroll down to click on More apps.
Now Windows Photo Viewer appears in the apps list. Choose it and click on Always use this app to open .png files.

Once you did steps 1-4, you don't have to repeat them for other file types. Steps 5-7 should suffice.

cheesus says stop firing mods

Posted 2015-07-30T16:04:38.317

Reputation: 1 106

2DOESN'T WORK on Windows 10 Enterprise 2016 x64 (clean install) :(. Steps 1-3 atually works no problem, and the .dll file is there. In fact, now Photo Viewer shows up as an available app as in steps 5-7. However, when I select to use it I get the warning: This app can't run on your PC, To find a version for your PC, check with the software publisher. tried – theforestecologist – 2019-01-07T02:30:53.120

@theforestecologist Yes, it didn't work for me either when I tried it the last time. Two years ago it did, however. The best solution at the moment is Winaero Tweaker. – cheesus says stop firing mods – 2019-04-15T19:42:32.917

I have found a solution without having to alter the registry. I have followed TechnoCore's answer, but as the comments indicated, the second part wasn't working for me either. So this is what to do:

Open a command line as administrator
Type in the following:

>ftype MyFileType=%SystemRoot%\System32\rundll32.exe "C:\Program Files\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll" ImageView_Fullscreen %1
>assoc .jpg=MyFileType

Then go to the image file and choose open with... and then choose the command you just typed:

Make sure you have the "Always use this app..." option checked.
Repeat it for all file types you want to associate with Windows Photo Viewer.

ylka

Posted 2015-07-30T16:04:38.317

Reputation: 165