Restore Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 11

Microsoft introduced the feature-rich Photos app, replacing the classic Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 10 and Windows 11. But there are those who prefer the simplicity of the old viewer. If you’re one of them, this guide will show you how to restore Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 10/11.

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}"

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.

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

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

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.”

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

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.”

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).

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

Disable Windows Photo Viewer

If you don’t want to use Windows Photo Viewer anymore, you can undo the previous changes made to the registry by following these steps:

1. Open a new Notepad file and copy-paste the following script into the file:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\Windowsphotoviewer.dll]

2. Press Ctrl + Shift + S or click File > Save as.

3. Type “DisableWindowsPhotoViewer.reg” in the File name and choose “All files (*.*)” from Save as type, then click “Save“.

4. Double-click the DisableWindowsPhotoViewer.reg from where you saved it. Then, click “Yes” to confirm.

5. After successfully executing the script, restart the Windows Explorer from Task Manager to disable the Photo Viewer.

That’s it.