Registry file is 


Restore Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 11/10

Restore Windows Photo Viewer Using the Registry

1. Open a new Notepad file and copy-paste the following script into the Notepad file.  This script modifies the Registry Editor to enable the 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}"

Type the script in Notepad

2. Press Ctrl + Shift + S or go to File > Save As.

3. Name the file as “EnableWindowsPhotoViewer.reg.”  Then, make sure to choose “All Files (.)” from the Save as type dropdown menu.

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Application software
Operating system
Computer
computer
registry
PhotoViewer
Windows
viewer
Photo Viewer
Apps

Name the registry file and choose All Files type

4. Pick a location to save the file (like your Desktop) and click “Save”.

Click Save

5. Go to where you saved the file, and double-click “EnableWindowsPhotoViewer.reg.” to run the script.

Run the script

6. Click “Yes” to confirm when the warning prompt appears. You’ll see a success message once the script finishes running. Click “OK” to close it.

Click Yes to Restore Windows Photo Viewer

7. Right-click the taskbar and select “Task Manager” to open Task Manager.

8. In the Task Manager window, under the “Processes” tab, find “Windows Explorer” or “explorer.exe” right-click on it, and select “Restart.”

Restart Windows Explorer

9. Your changes will take effect after Windows Explorer restarts.

Open images with Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 11

Since Photo Viewer doesn’t have a standalone program file, you can’t open it directly from the search bar. Here’s how to open images with it:

1. Right-click on any image file in File Explorer.

2. Select “Open with” and then “Choose another app.”

Open with > Choose another app

3. Scroll down and find “Windows Photo Viewer” in the list.

4. Choose “Just once” to open the image with Windows Photo Viewer this time only, or “Always” to set Windows Photo Viewer as the default app for opening all image files of this type (e.g., .jpg, .png).

Choose Windows Photo Viewer

Now you can use the classic Windows Photo Viewer to view photos again!