Standard Windows 10 viewer.
On Windows 10, you use a store app called Photos. This application has much greater capabilities for viewing and managing images compared to classic app View Windows photos , which was used by default in previous versions Windows.
However, if you want to set Classic Viewer as your default program for viewing images, you may find that the application is missing from the Open With menu, Default Programs settings, and assigning file associations to programs in classic control panel. As a result, you cannot set Windows Photo Viewer as your default image viewer.
You upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1
There are no problems here. The ability to use the Windows Photo Viewer application remains in graphical interface. You can choose it as your default app in Settings (the new Control Panel) or the Open With menu. Step by step instructions you will find in our article.
You have done a clean installation of Windows 10
As you can see, the supported file types options have special meanings, which correspond to subkeys in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT registry key. By default, these subkeys are also not in the registry and need to be added.
After applying the registry file, Windows Photo Viewer will be available in the Open With image context menu
In the list of applications for opening images
In choosing default applications in system settings
In the File Type Association settings in Classic Control Panel
The recently released Windows 10 has many bugs and shortcomings that Microsoft is trying to fix. One of these problems is a bug with the built-in Photos application, which should perform the function of opening pictures. This article will help you choose third party program, which will completely replace the built-in one.
List of third party applications
Usage third party applications is often the best option when solving some problems. For example, using third-party video players allows you to expand the range of functions when watching videos that are not available in the built-in player, for example, formatting subtitles.
The situation is the same with photo viewing programs. The standard Photos application has a limited set of functions, but uses a lot of computer resources.
On this moment there is a huge variety free programs, which in terms of functionality and capabilities are not much inferior to paid ones, so there is little point in buying this or that program when there is a free analogue.
Most popular apps to open images, view photos Windows 10:
- STDU Viewer.
Features of free applications
- One main common feature of all similar programs is the image viewing function different formats. The above applications can open applications of all formats, which allows you to install one of them and not worry about having to download additional application to open a file of a different format.
It is worth noting that the IrfanView program may require installing an additional codec to view a particular format, which will not take much time, but will require an Internet connection. - Second useful function, which is available in all these applications is the editing function. Each program has its own set of editing tools, but each of them can perform simple editing tasks: cropping, enlarging, changing a filter, etc. Apart from these features, some of them have red-eye removal and other tools.
Printing photos is the next function that almost all such programs have.
Besides common features Each program has its own individual capabilities and advantages.
IrfanView features and benefits
The features of the IrfanView program are that in addition to images, it can reproduce various videos. This feature is suitable for those who do not want to use one application for one thing and get used to a new interface every time.
It can be noted that you can create web pages through this program. This feature will not be useful to all users, but its presence will not hurt anyone.
The main advantages of the program are that it automatically adjusts gamma, color, contrast and saturation and highlights shadow areas of the photo without affecting other areas. The benefits also include image previews.
Picasa is an application that automatically finds all your photos and images on your computer, and then you can easily find them through its interface. Also interesting feature It can be noted that it allows you to post images to the blog, and also uses geodata and marks where the photo was taken.
Together with the built-in editor, Picasa becomes an indispensable assistant any photographer.
STDU Viewer
You need an application that has in its arsenal tools for comfortable viewing of photos and text documents? Then STDU Viewer is your choice. Very user-friendly interface, the opportunity to open great amount image and text formats, as well as small size make this application one of the best among its competitors.
An app from the “has everything you need, but no more” list. Perfect for working with photographs, having a large number of filters, the ability to preview images, sort pictures by catalogs, etc.
Having good app to view images on Windows, you don’t have to worry about right moment Can't edit or view the desired photo or a picture. Therefore, you should always have a suitable program on your computer, tailored to your needs.
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 graphic files.
Although modern application Photos has much more functionality (filters, image processing, visual effects), 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 cleaned out as much as possible all registry keys associated with Windows functionality 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 keys registries will not be deleted during the upgrade. Thus, everything discussed below applies to systems on which Windows 10 was installed “from scratch”
Force Photo Viewer to Launch in Windows 10 specific folder, you can use the command:
rundll32 "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Photo Viewer\PhotoViewer.dll", ImageView_Fullscreen C:\FOTO
To return the ability to set Windows Photo Viewer as the default application in the Control Panel for current user, import the following registry file:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
@="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"
@="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"
@="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"
@="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"
@="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"
@="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 brings back the ability to select Windows Photo Viewer in context menu"Open with" images
Ready reg file to make the necessary changes:
Thus, Windows Photo Viewer can again be used to open most types of images.
Note. In case you are using Windows 10 internally virtual machine(VirtualBox, VMWare) without hardware acceleration, then Windows Photo Viewer, which depends on Direct3D acceleration, will not work.
If the standard capabilities of your OS are enough for you, then you do not need to download a program to view photos on Windows 10. If you are not very happy with what you have, then you can always expand it. There are solutions for this from other software developers and manufacturers. On this page we post a universal tool for working with pictures. It will allow you not only to view, but also to do some minor editing. Of course, it cannot be compared with, but at the same time it is also free.
How to view photos on your computer
Microsoft Company I obviously conducted a survey of users, because after XP I finally realized that the viewer function is important to all users. And with the advent tablet computers, as well as laptops, this issue has become even more acute, because now the popularity of such software has increased significantly. We have collected all the options for how you can open JPG, PNG and other graphics:
- Use standard PC capabilities;
- Install additional software;
- Take advantage of online tools;
All three options have the right to exist, but only the second - additional software - is optimal. The fact is that standard features in 99% of cases it is simply not enough. Do you think otherwise? Then let's do a simple test. Try opening 5 photos at once and at the same time conveniently navigate and switch between them. What if these are files from different folders? You probably won’t succeed, or we have different ideas about the term “convenient.” Therefore, we suggest you choose the second option.
Option No. 3 – with online means, is good for everyone, except for your dependence on Internet access. Imagine that yours is broken Google Chrome or, the Internet is turned off, what will you do next? But such situations occur almost every day. Therefore, we recommend downloading the viewer for Windows 10. It is suitable for both regular photos, and for various pictures and complex graphics. It must be raster. Vector is not supported, but it is supported basic functions edits:
- Change of size;
- Watermarking;
- And others;
Thanks to this, the product received the nickname editor, although at its core it is a viewer. We recommend using only the Russian distribution, because due to additional functions, English version turned out to be somewhat overloaded, which is unlikely to be convenient for you, even despite the fact that the software is distributed free of charge.