The default Windows 10 image viewer. Windows Photo Viewer cannot open this image. Adding Registry Settings

You won’t surprise anyone with photographs and pictures on your computer for a long time. However, such a seemingly ordinary thing as a photo cannot be opened without a viewer. But the problem will disappear by itself if you know what to look for.

Windows Photo Viewer

This is a standard Windows 7 program that is installed along with the operating system. Besides, this is the simplest one you can find. Its functionality is minimal:

viewing images of all formats;
automatic display of photos as a slide show;
increase and decrease;
Rotate the photo 360 degrees.

He is not capable of anything else. Although why do you need more if its only function is viewing pictures. And he copes with it perfectly. It is also worth noting that this Windows 7 image viewer, due to its simplicity, consumes a minimal amount of RAM, so it starts quickly and works like a clock.

Paint

The well-known standard drawing program for PC. Most often, this is where children begin their acquaintance with computers. However, it is also a good Windows image viewer for almost all common formats.

In addition to multiple drawing features, it has a very useful function of rotating and reflecting the image horizontally and diagonally. In addition, it can be used to save a graphic element in a different format.

Free

- FastStone Image Viewer. A very common image viewer, it has an intuitive interface and is easy to use. Everything is visible, almost all tool buttons are clear at first glance, the folder tree will help you find photos without leaving the program, thumbnails of pictures are shown.

In addition, the utility is notable for its great functionality for editing and minor processing of photos, as well as the ability to view them in full screen mode. In the same mode, you can edit using the pop-up toolbar.

A distinctive feature of the program is the function of collective file renaming, it is called “Batch conversion\renaming”. For more convenient viewing, you can create a slide show with quite interesting settings (display in random order, use of effects and music, compress photos, etc.).

- Picasa. Also a very famous image viewer. It has a design that is both simple and sophisticated. When you open a picture, the editing panel immediately opens using filters (auto-light correction, retouching, removing red eyes, etc.). You can also experiment with colors, brightness, and contrast.

As in the previous program, there is a function for creating slide shows with the addition of various effects, transitions and music. However, this is not the main feature of Picasa. It is famous for its ability to find a specific person in a photo or group photos with a certain personality.

An excellent utility for viewing graphic files. Has a stylish modern design. Supports many well-known and not so well-known image formats. It can be controlled using hot keys, and it is also possible to write a caption for a photo. In addition, with its help, any picture can easily become wallpaper on your desktop.

This utility does not contain any serious editing functions. However, it is somewhat different from its relatives in that it does not need to be installed and is not case sensitive. Therefore, you can safely carry it on a flash drive and use it to view various kinds of images.

Microsoft Office program

The world-famous Microsoft Office software package is installed on almost every computer. It includes a large number of office utilities, including an image viewer. It's called Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

Its functionality is small, but it is enough for viewing photos and editing them a little. With it you can:

flip or rotate the image;
crop or change resolution;
adjust color, brightness and contrast;
remove red eye, etc.

This utility is capable of opening graphic elements in many formats. The only caveat is that the license for the software package from Microsoft is paid, and does not cost that little. But you can find a hacked office on torrents (however, this is highly undesirable, since using pirated programs can result in a hefty fine).

Which one is better to choose?

Of course, it is impossible to definitely say which is the best image viewer. It all depends on the user’s preferences, what functions he wants to see and what to do with the photo. But we can definitely say that it is useful to have a couple of different programs on your computer. For example, you can use a standard utility for simple viewing and Paint for minimal editing and resaving, and additionally install FastStone Image Viewer for advanced actions with graphic files.

Now let's see what to use to view images on a computer, and choose the best photo viewers for Windows. The best photo viewer is a subjective concept, so in this article I will offer several applications that can be used to open popular graphic formats for viewing and processing images.

Any user, when working on a computer, inevitably encounters pictures, images, photographs. In any case, graphic format files will end up on your computer, so you will need a program to open and view them. Therefore, you need a photo viewer on your computer to easily view digital images.

Windows 10 has a built-in Photos application, with which you can open a graphic file, create an album, make the necessary changes to photos, etc. In previous versions of Windows, the Windows Image Viewer application was used. The user can install Windows Picture Viewer in Windows 10, in addition to the Photos program.

There is a free Photo Gallery application included with the core components of Windows Live. The photo album supports opening and editing photos. The program must be installed on your computer (it is not included in the OS).

In addition to Microsoft applications, a large number of third-party programs have been created for viewing and editing images. In this article we will look at the best free image viewer programs that have many additional built-in tools for working with graphic file formats.

Third-party photo viewers (viewers) can be used on your computer as an alternative to standard Windows tools. As the best free image viewer programs, I recommend paying attention to the following programs: FastStone Image Viewer, XnView, IrfanView, Ashampoo Photo Commander Free, Honeyview. These programs run in Russian on the Windows operating system.

These applications, in addition to basic functions, have tools for image editing. For more serious picture editing, you will need another program - an image editor (photo).

The best photo viewers, in addition to the viewing function, have additional features necessary for working with images on a computer. The programs have built-in tools to perform various operations with digital photographs or any other images: rotate, resize, remove red-eye, swatch, color correction, convert to other formats, send for printing, etc.

The free Picasa program (which would have been included in this review) was left out of the scope of this review due to the fact that Google stopped developing and supporting the application in 2016.

FastStone Image Viewer

FastStone Image Viewer is a powerful free program for viewing and processing images with a simple, intuitive interface. Built-in tools will help the user solve certain problems with photography: remove red-eye, change image size, apply color correction, convert files, etc.

A regular version of FastStone Image Viewer or a portable version of the program that does not require installation on a computer is available for download.

Key features of FastStone Image Viewer:

Opening graphic files of major formats
Editing digital photos and graphics files
A large number of built-in tools for working with images
Batch file processing
Batch conversion to another format
Creating a slide show with transitions and effects
Preview function

XnView

XnView is a free program (for non-commercial use) for viewing images, multimedia files, and converting files to other formats. This is a high-quality program for managing photos on your computer. Thanks to the support of a large number of formats, in XnView, in addition to working with graphic files, for example, you can watch movies or listen to music.

The program has a simple interface, a large number of built-in tools, XnView will do an excellent job of processing and editing photos on a computer.

The user can download the regular or portable version of the application to the computer from the official XnView website.

Features of the XnView program:

Supports more than 500 formats
Photo editing
Applying filters and effects
Screen capture
Batch conversion
Editing metadata
Convert files to 70 file formats
Supports viewing video and audio files, archives, documents
Creating a Slideshow
Plugins are supported to expand the program's capabilities

IrfanView

IrfanView is a fast, free image viewer that consumes minimal computer resources. The program is one of the leaders in the number of downloads in the world for programs of this class. This indirect information tells us about the quality of the application, which is rated by users.

Honeyview is a free image viewer with a simple and intuitive interface. The program quickly opens graphic files, the application has tools for photo editing.

You can download it from the official website of the developer, as an installation file or as a portable version.

Honeyview program features:

Supports a large number of graphic formats
RAW format support
Viewing images in archives
View photos in slideshow mode
Bookmark for favorite photos
Support GPS data on photos

Conclusion

The user can choose the best photo viewer running on Windows for their computer. Free programs: FastStone Image Viewer, XnView, IrfanView, Ashampoo Photo Commander Free, Honeyview are among the best image viewers in this class of programs.

With the release of the Windows 10 operating system, users were faced with not only a new interface. The developers have made sure that all images are opened through the Photos utility. Although it is more functional, many people want to return the old photo viewing in Windows 10. To solve this issue, you do not have to download and install anything, since the program we need has not been removed. It simply cannot open popular image formats, working exclusively with .tif and .tiff.

Now let's figure out how to enable photo viewing in Windows 10, add the corresponding item to "To open with" and allow the program to open images in common formats.

Adding Registry Settings

Right-click on the “Start” button and click in the context menu. Or you can use the combination Win + R on the keyboard.

The window we need will open "Registry Editor". Here you need to open:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Photo Viewer\

Capabilities\FileAssociation

In the main window, you will only see the 2 formats mentioned above, which can be opened using the photo viewer. Let's expand this list.

To do this, right-click on an empty space in the window and select “Create” - "String parameter".

In the field that appears, erase its name and indicate the desired format as the name. For example, I’ll write .jpeg. Then press "Enter".

Then open the created parameter by double-clicking on its name. A window for changes will appear. In the “Value” field, write PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff and click “OK”.

Similarly, make the required number of parameters, the names of which will correspond to the extensions of the images you want to view. For example, .gif, .jpg, .bmp. Don't forget to fill out the "Value" field for each.

When you're done, just close this window.

Now let's make the Photo Viewer by default open the formats specified in the registry.

Right-click on “Start” again and go to .

At the top right, make sure that “View” is selected – "Large Icons". Continue clicking "Default Programs".

In the next window you need to click on the line “Setting programs...”.

Check the box “Select all”, or check the boxes only next to the required formats, and click on “Save” at the bottom right.

In the updated "ten" everything is done through the Settings window. You can read about this in the article:.

Now find the photo you want, right-click on it and select "To open with". In the next menu I immediately have "View photos", so I click on it. If this is not the case for you, then click "Select another application".

I have the required item at the top of the window. If you don't see it, expand "More applications" and find it in the list that opens. Place the bird opposite "Always use this app to open... files" and click "OK".

All – the selected picture is open in the desired application.

Using Winaero Tweaker

The first method is quite simple and fast, but if you yourself do not want to touch anything in the registry, then you can use the Winaero Tweaker program, which can also solve the problem.

You can download it from the official website at the link: https://winaero.com/download.php?view.1796. It's absolutely free. Take a look at the screenshot below. To download, you need to click not on the green button with the inscription “FOR FREE”, but on the line with the word “Download” and the name of the utility itself.

Go to the Downloads folder, unpack the archive and run the only executable file (in fact, there is only one there).

The Application Installation Wizard will open. Everything is quite simple here. Click "Next".

Then mark the item “Portable mode” with a marker so as not to install Winaero Tweaker, but simply extract the necessary files, and click “Next” again.

We agree with the license terms - “I accept...” and continue.

The top field will indicate the folder where all files will be extracted: C:\WinaeroTweaker. If you want to choose a different path, click "Browse". After that, select “Extract files”.

When all the files are extracted, open in Explorer the folder that you selected at the last installation step (I left it this way: C:\WinaeroTweaker). Here you need to run the file opposite which in the “Type” column is written “Application”.

Again we agree to the license: “I AGREE”.

The main program window will open. In the list on the left we need the group “Get Classic Apps”, item "Activate Windows Photo Viewer". Further on the right, click on the line with the same name.

In the already familiar window on the left, select "Photo Viewer", further "Select default values".

While testing the new features of Windows 10, many users discovered a small but annoying problem. It turns out that viewing popular image formats was only possible in the Photos app, whereas in Windows 8.1 users could choose between Photos and Photo Viewer. It was this second application that seemed much more convenient to many. Windows 10 has it, but it only allows you to open images in TIF and TIFF formats.

Unfortunately, you cannot install this program as your main tool for viewing images, since it is simply not available in the “Default Applications” subsection. The same applies to the “Open with” context menu dialog. If you open it, you will find only “Photos” and “Paint” there. The standard Program Comparison tool will not help you either, since the Windows Photo Viewer will again only have two formats available: TIF and TIFF.

But no problem. The situation with the missing function can be fixed quite easily by making small changes to the system registry. To do this, open the registry editor and expand the following branch:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows Photo Viewer/Capabilities/FileAssociations

In the last subsection, you will see two parameters with names of exactly the same two formats that were discussed in the previous paragraphs. Immediately create a new parameter of type REG_SZ (regular string) with the name.jpg and the value PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff. Create exactly the same parameters for bmp, dib, jpe, gif, jfif, jpeg, jxr and png formats.

After that, open the Settings app and then go to System -> Default apps -> Set defaults by app.

In the left column of the window that opens, select the “Windows Photo Viewer” application, click “Select defaults for this program”...

...and check the boxes next to the formats you added through the registry.

Save your changes and check the contents of the Open With menu. If you did everything correctly, the “View Windows Photos” option will appear there for files of added formats. This is all. Now you can easily make the program that appears your default image viewing tool.

And further. For those who don't want to mess around with the registry, I can recommend the free WinAero Tweaker utility, but you'll need the latest version. Launch it, scroll through the list of available tweaks to the very end. At the end of the list, you will find an option “Activate Windows Photo Viewer”. Use it, and you will get the same result as manually editing the registry.

The developers of Windows 10, for some reason known to them, decided to abandon the image viewer that has been familiar since the days of Windows 7 - Windows Photo Viewer, in favor of the Modern application Photos. The old photo viewing application is associated only with *.tif and *.tiff file extensions and there is no way to assign it to open other types of image files.

Despite the fact that the modern Photos application has much more functionality (filters, image processing, visual effects are available), the old Windows Photo Viewer works much faster and is simply more convenient. In this article we will figure out How to restore the old photo viewer app in Windows 10.

So, as we have already said, in Windows 10 you cannot assign Windows Photo Viewer as a program for opening graphic files, in particular:

Windows 10 developers have cleared out as much as possible all registry keys associated with the functionality of Windows Photo Viewer, although the utility itself remains in place in the system and is located in the directory C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Photo Viewer\.

Note. If you upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, Windows Photo Viewer will be available for selection in the Open With context menu and file associations in Control Panel because the necessary registry keys will not be deleted during the upgrade. Thus, everything discussed below applies to systems on which Windows 10 was installed “from scratch”

You can force the Photo Viewer in Windows 10 to launch in a specific folder using the command:

rundll32 "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll", ImageView_Fullscreen C:\FOTO

To restore the ability to set Windows Photo Viewer as the default application in Control Panel for the current user, import the following registry file:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

@="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"

The following reg file with registry data is more universal and applies to all users of the system by creating file associations at the application level. File associations with Windows Photo Viewer are created in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Photo Viewer\Capabilities\FileAssociations
Additionally, this registry tweak returns the ability to select Windows Photo Viewer to the Open With image context menu.

Ready reg file for making the necessary changes:

Thus, Windows Photo Viewer can again be used to open most types of images.

Note. If you are using Windows 10 inside a virtual machine (VirtualBox, VMWare) without hardware acceleration, then Windows Photo Viewer, which depends on Direct3D acceleration, will not work.