With a little registry hack you can, if you want, bring back the classic Windows Photo Viewer app in Windows 10 and 11.
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Microsoft replaced the classic Windows Photo Viewer with Photos in Windows 10 and 11. Photos may have additional features but there are users who prefer the simplicity of the old photo viewer.
If you're one of them, see how you can restore Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 10 and 11 without losing the newer Photos.
Restore Windows Photo Viewer
Step 1 : Create a txt file with Notepad and copy-paste the following script. This script modifies the Registry Editor to enable Windows Photo Viewer.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\open]
"MuiVerb"="@photoviewer.dll,-3043"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\open\command]
@="\"%SystemRoot%\\System32\\rundll32.exe\" \"%ProgramFiles%\\Windows Photo Viewer\\PhotoViewer.dll\", ImageView_Fullscreen %1"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\open\DropTarget]
"Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\print\command]
@="\"%SystemRoot%\\System32\\rundll32.exe\" \"%ProgramFiles%\\Windows Photo Viewer\\PhotoViewer.dll\", ImageView_PrintTo %1"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\Windowsphotoviewer.dll\shell\print\DropTarget]
"Clsid"="{60fd46de-f830-4894-a628-6fa81bc0190d}"Step 2 : Save your file with whatever name you want and give it the .reg extension so that Windows recognizes it as a registry entry file.
To save it as a reg make sure you select "All files" from the "Save as" dropdown menu.
Step 3 : Go to where you saved the file and double-click on it to run the script. It will ask for two confirmations. Say Yes to both.
Confirmation 1
Confirmation 2
The script will run and a confirmation of successful execution will be displayed
Step 4 : Right-click on the taskbar and select “Task Manager” to open Task Manager.
Step 5 : In the first window of Task Manager, namely the “Processes” tab, find “Windows Explorer” or “explorer.exe”, right-click on it and select “Restart”.
Your screen will turn off and come back on immediately. Just wait a while until it goes back to how it was. Your changes will take effect after you restart Windows Explorer.
Step 6 : Since Photo Viewer does not have a standalone program file, you cannot open it directly from the search bar. You will have to use the following method:
6.1 Right-click on any image file in File Explorer.
6.2 Select “Open with” and then “Choose another app”.
6.3. Scroll down and find “Windows Photo Viewer” in the list.
6.4 Select “Only once” to open the image with Windows Photo Viewer only this time or “Always use this app to open files ….” to set Windows Photo Viewer as the default application for opening all image files of this type (e.g., .jpg, .png).
Now you can use the classic Windows Photo Viewer to view photos again!
Disable Windows Photo Viewer
If you no longer want to use Windows Photo Viewer, you can undo previous registry changes by following these steps:
Step 1 : Open a new file with Notepad and copy-paste the following script into the file:
Windows Registry Editor Έκδοση 5.00
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\Windowsphotoviewer.dll]Step 2 : Save it as name.reg and run it. Say "Yes" to everything you're asked for confirmation.
After the script runs successfully, restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager to disable Photo Viewer.
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