Have you switched to the new Windows 10 OS, but didn’t like viewing photos through the new program? Then let's bring back the good old standard “viewer” like in Windows 7 or 8.1.

You won’t be able to download the standard photo viewer in Windows 10 from previous versions, and why should it, because it’s already in the system. You just need to activate it.

The standard photo viewer on Windows 10 is already installed on the system, you just need to use it!

Where is it located - the Windows 10 photo viewer? And how can I set it as the main one for viewing photos? Go!

How to open pictures in Windows 10 through browsing

We make changes to the registry.

1) Start - Windows System Tools - Run (or by holding down the Win + R keys). We write regedit - we call the Windows registry.

Attention! The registry is an important element of Windows. Don't change anything unnecessary here. Just to be on the safe side, we recommend making a Windows restore point (backup).

2) Once in the registry window, go to the folder:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows Photo Viewer/Capabilities/FileAssociations

Only 2 image formats have been added for the photo viewer: tiff and tif.

3) Right-click on an empty space and select New - String Parameter. Sign the name.jpeg

4) Left-click twice on the created name and enter in the Value field: PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff
Next OK.

5) Create names as in point 3 for other file types, namely: .jpg, .png, .gif and any others, for example .ico and .bmp. The value is the same for everyone: PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff
As a result, you will get this picture:

Setting up Photo Viewer in Windows 10

6) Start - Settings (or Win+i) - System - Default applications - Set default values ​​for the application (link below).

If there is no Default Applications item in the list, then write Applications in the search box at the top left (Find parameter) and the desired item will appear in the drop-down list.

7) On the left in the list of programs, select Windows Photo Viewer and click Select default values ​​for this program.

If you have a slightly different window (the usual list of programs), then find Photo Viewer in it, click once and select Manage. Then select the desired program for all file formats.

9) Now right-click on any image in .jpg, .png, .gif or .jpeg format - Open with - Select another application (or select an application).
Select Windows Photo Viewer from the list and check the box Always use this application.

Bottom line. In this simple way, in 5-10 minutes you can permanently install the standard Photo Viewer for Windows 10, which was in Windows 7 and 8.1.

When installing the Windows 10 operating system, the user encounters a problem. Microsoft has deprived users of a popular program that provided high-quality, fast and convenient image viewing. Users were offered an alternative. The program is called "Photos". Despite the fact that this tool is not inferior to the photo viewer in terms of functionality, and even slightly superior, many users did not like it. The point here is the convenience and design of the program. Many conservative users want to return to their previous photo viewing, as in the old and familiar Windows 7. Below are several quick and easy ways to install the familiar, old gallery for your computer with the newest operating system.

Returning the program for viewing pictures after updating the OS to the latest

When updating the system, the photo viewer does not disappear and is not hidden in the system in any way. You can easily find it in the list with programs and use your usual gallery application. To do this, you need to perform a number of simple steps:

1. Right-click on absolutely any image that has been downloaded to your computer’s hard drive, and in the window that appears, select “Open with.”

   

2. A list will appear in which you can find a gallery from old systems. To open a photo once using this program, just click on it.

   

3. To always open all photos of this type using the “Photo Viewer”, you must click on the “Select another application” line. The line is below all other applications.

   

4. In the window, select the program we need. Next, you need to make sure that the program always opens images, and not just once. Click on the line “Always use this program to open such files” (also any other graphic ones, you need to install them separately).

   

After this simple procedure, everything will open normally and correctly, just like in Windows 7.

Installing the usual photo viewing for everyone when installing Windows 10 completely

If you have installed Windows 10 on your computer and want to return to the usual method of viewing photos, then this is not so easy. In Windows 10, Microsoft programmers hid the beloved Photo Viewer program. If you try to set this as your default photo viewer, you simply won't be able to find the app you need. However, it is quite easy to return it.

Bringing Back the Photo Viewer with Winaero Tweaker

Interesting! Winaero Tweaker is usually used to configure the functional component, including the program allows you to use various hidden functions for the needs of users. In addition, there is no need to install the program; it will be able to launch and work normally directly from the folder.

To return the usual photo viewing using the Winaero Tweaker utility, we need:

After that, in your Windows 10, all supported files will be opened in the familiar and beloved gallery from Windows 7.

Installing an alternative program for viewing graphic files

If you don't like the new Photo program because it's slow and unstable, has a bad and unusual design, or for various other reasons, then you can return to the old gallery you're used to with a few simple steps, or go a different route.

The easiest way to solve this problem is to simply download any other user-recommended program for viewing photos from third-party developers.

On the Internet you can find hundreds of different programs for viewing photos of all known formats and working with them. Perhaps you will find a program that you like even more than its Windows 7 counterpart.

Interesting! Modern applications are able to offer the consumer truly enormous functionality, a beautiful and intuitive interface, as well as fast and safe operation. Some galleries even have their own small cloud storage where you can upload your photos, and they are not afraid for the safety of your computer’s hard drive.

Enabling Photo Viewer via Powershell

Let's figure out what Powershell is and for what purposes it is used. In essence, this is a much more functional and advanced “Command Line” from older versions of the operating system. Experienced users and programmers can work through this application with services and any processes in the operating system. But, unfortunately, it will not be so easy for ordinary users to figure this out. Using the command line analogue, you can do what we need - install a familiar image viewer.

To enable Photo Viewer from older systems via Powershell we need:

You can find teams on the Internet, but we do not recommend using this method if you are not confident that you can do everything efficiently. To be on the safe side, be sure to make a restore point or system backup.

After inserting all the required lines, accept the changes and the desired result will be achieved. This is a fairly simple but dangerous method that requires virtually no action from you.

What to do if you can’t open a graphic file

In any gallery, whether it is simple, understandable and proven from “Seven” or this new “Photos” application, which recently appeared on computers and most users found it inconvenient, unexpected problems may arise with viewing photos. They simply won't start, and you won't be able to fully use your computer.

Let's think about what can be done in such a situation and look at a detailed solution to problems using the example of different operating systems

Problems with Photo Viewer in the "seven"

A fairly common problem is when Photo Viewer cannot open the file you need. Users are looking for solutions to this problem. Here is a solution to this problem:

Video - How to recover damaged files

If your operating system was working fine just a few weeks ago, then all you need is . This can only be done if you have ever created a special point on your PC to which you can roll back the system, or if this was done automatically by your system. If it doesn't exist yet, we recommend creating it. After all, the useful System Restore program can correct any violation related to the operation of the operating system itself.

Another way to restore normal photo viewing is to touch the registry

Many useful settings and options are found in the registry. Parts of some applications may remain here due to a failed system uninstall. Therefore, we will try to solve the problem through the registry. For this:

Resetting the application

The first thing that is recommended to do if any errors occur with the Photos application is to reset its settings. The essence of the method is that all its data will be erased, and you will start using the running application again. The method is very simple and often turns out to be effective.

So, we looked at some very simple ways that will allow you to use photo viewing in the new Windows 10, which is familiar to everyone. We also learned how to solve problems related to viewing photos in Windows.

Video - Photo Viewer in Windows 10

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 files in graphic 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.

Digital photos have long replaced conventional photographs, and this is understandable - after all, digital photos do not need to be developed or paid for printing in order to view them. If previously happy owners of digital cameras still printed out photographs, now there is no particular need for this - after all, now everyone has a computer and it is not difficult to view photographs. There are even digital photo frames on the market that allow you to display slideshows: you connect the digital photo frame to your computer, upload photos to it, and enjoy the slideshow on the wall. The main thing is not to forget to change the batteries.

Working with a digital camera is very simple: after taking pictures, connect it to your computer, and the system will recognize it as a regular flash drive. In some cases, you need to press a special button on the camera. For example, on Olympus cameras, using the menu displayed when connecting the camera via USB, you can select the device to which you connect the camera - a computer or a printer (for printing photos).

Once your computer displays a folder of photos, you can copy them to the Pictures library, which you can access by clicking Start => Pictures.

Now we will figure out how to view photos, how to resize them and how to convert their format. Previously, I would have used a third-party program for this, but now that the standard Paint image editor has become more convenient, we will use only standard Windows 7 tools. So, open the Images library.

To view the image you like, simply double-click on it. At the bottom of the photo viewer are buttons (from left to right) for zoom, set actual size, go to previous image, slide show, go to next image, rotate counterclockwise, rotate clockwise, and delete photo button.

In fact, we have everything you need to view the photo. If you need to change the zoom, for example, to better see the details of a photograph, use the zoom button.

If the photo is large, the viewer automatically fits it to the window size. Clicking the Real Size button will set the zoom to 100% - then you will need to use the scroll bars to view the photo. Clicking this button again will make the image fit into the viewer window.

The Previous Image button allows you to go to the previous image. Instead of clicking this button, you can use the (right) button.

Between the Previous Image and Next Image buttons there is a Slide Show button (use the key to quickly call the slide show function). During the slide show, you can right-click on the slide and select the slide speed (from the options Low, Medium, High).

Next to the Next image button there are buttons for rotating the image (counterclockwise and clockwise), as well as a button for deleting the photo file (deleting is done in the Trash).

The File menu has a useful command called Make a copy - it is very useful to make a copy before changing the file and work with it, and not with the original image. The Print menu has a command to print an image, and the Burn menu allows you to burn images to a disc (data or Video-DVD).

We seem to have already sorted out the viewing of photographs. Now let's look at the operation of resizing, cropping and saving under a different format. In the preview window, select Open => Paint.

First, let's deal with resizing. Click the Resize button and enter a new image size. In this case, you can either set the new size as a percentage of the original image, or specify the exact size of the new image.

Cropping is highlighting the most important part of the image. Everything else is cut off. First you need to select this most important part using the Select tool, and then click on the Crop button. The result of cropping is shown in the figure.

To save the image in a different format (if you are not satisfied with the JPEG format for some reason), select the File => Save As command and select a different format. For example, the TIFF format is often used in printing. Please note that we did all the manipulations with photographs using standard Windows tools - the photo viewer and the Paint graphic editor.

Our selection presents the best applications for viewing photos, which, despite their free distribution, have high-quality functionality and capabilities on par with commercial software. Graphic image viewers have options for converting and renaming images, creating photo albums for recording on disks, uploading to the Internet, etc.

The utilities we are considering are also editors with a set of tools for processing photographs, removing unnecessary elements and applying interesting filters. Our review will help you choose a digital image viewing program that meets your needs.

The application allows you to view photos in various modes, convert them to the desired format and edit images using a set of useful tools. The utility is one of the fastest among similar viewers; it easily opens objects of less common formats, recognizes audio and video, and can also expand the boundaries of its capabilities by adding plug-ins. The user can extract sections of the image of the selected area and image icons, view images as a thumbnail of the image, create screenshots and use convenient auto-correction.

The program combines the main functions for editing and processing images of various graphic formats and digital RAW. The user can apply watermarks to the image, work with the size, color and unnecessary fragments of images, auto-enhancement, batch processing and red-eye removal. In addition, you can create histograms, business cards and slideshows with music, turn on a magnifying glass and add comments. The application is compatible with the scanner.

One of the best programs for viewing and editing graphic images. Can convert files, change images, create photo albums, set passwords on photos, burn the resulting material to disk or print. You can also resave from one format to another, work with multiple formats, remove red eyes from a photo, and view photos in slide show mode. In addition, the user can take advantage of interesting filters and effects.

Free Google product for quick search, viewing on PC and image editing. Finds images available on the computer and, using a large set of tools and interesting effects, retouches them, creates collages and slide shows. The user can crop, remove red-eye, improve the quality of pictures, adjust color and shadow, as well as adjust height and width. Transferring photos and clips to Google+ will help you quickly display the material in your feed, and the comparison option will allow you to evaluate the initial and final results of the processed image. Pikasa also systematizes pictures and finds them in a common database by tags, faces, geolocation or other parameters of a given sorting.

The utility allows you to view and edit images using a large set of high-quality tools. The viewer opens more than 400 formats, converts files, works with different operating systems and installs new modules. For processing, the user has access to interesting effects and tools, capturing images, creating slide shows and web pages, going to search and selecting skins. Using plugins, integration into the Total Commander shell is possible, and having Nero on your PC will help you burn pictures to discs directly from the software. Creation of photo galleries and web pages is available.

A free Nero product for searching media files, playing and burning DVDs, Blu-Rays and CDs. The utility helps you quickly find the necessary files in the media directory, open them, create images and burn them to media. In addition, you can “upload” material to the Internet, record images in several formats, edit photos and create a slide show or video presentation. Nero Quick works with most formats, recognizes faces and has a large set of powerful tools.

This utility allows you to quickly view and edit photos in a high-quality manner, sort your home collections according to different criteria, and “upload” pictures to resources. The editor is almost as functional as its paid counterparts; it intelligently organizes collections of photographs, removes red eyes, and has options for adjusting color depth, palette, and adding text. You can create 3D buttons, layouts, collages, apply effects and fine-tune parameters. Processed images can be synchronized with the mobile version of the software. The free version works for 30 days.

The application will help you properly organize your photos, create albums, collections, automatically sort and apply various effects to your photos. With the help of Karambis, you can create a convenient photo library not only for viewing on a PC, but also for use in software for viewing pictures or in social networks. There is a smart search, sorting by dates and locations. You can download GPS tracks and overlay them on an image, apply filters, share material by email, and adjust various quality enhancement settings. You can evaluate the trial version for 30 days.