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How to Get the Windows 7 Photo Viewer on Windows 10
4 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
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Key notes
ThePhotos apphas replaced theWindows 7Photo Viewer as the defaultimageviewer in Win 10.Windows 10doesn’t even include the registry keys for Photo Viewer.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t open the WPV in Win 10. There are, in fact, a few ways you can restore the WPV in Windows 10. This is how you can open Photo Viewer in Windows 10.
How can I run Windows 7 Photo Viewer on Windows 10?
1. Select Windows Photo Viewer as your default image viewer
If you’ve upgraded to Windows 10 on a desktop or laptop that originally came with Win 8.1 or 7, you’ll find that the Windows Photo Viewer is still there.
The Photo Viewer registry keys are still in place on PCs that originally came with earlierWindowsplatforms. Thus, all you really need to do to openpictureswith Windows Photo Viewer is to configure the default app settings so that it’s the defaultimageviewer software by following the steps above.
If you’re still running Windows 7 and you need some great software to organize your photos, we havea great list of tools.
2. Make Photo Viewer work by using Command Prompt
2.1 Open Photo Viewer by using Command Prompt
Photo Viewer will not be listed on the Choose an app list if Windows 10 is the original platform on a desktop or laptop. Nevertheless, you can still launch WPV with the Command Prompt.
2.2 Open photos in Photo Viewer using Command Prompt
To open the Photo Viewer with someimages, you’ll need to enter a full path to a folder that includesimagesat the end of the command.
For example, the command could be something like this:rundll32 “%ProgramFiles%Windows Photo ViewerPhotoViewer.dll”, ImageView_Fullscreen C:\Users\My Photos
Just make sure that you include the full folder image path, and then press the Enter key.
That will open Photo Viewer with all the images included in the folder path, and you can flick through them by pressing the Windows Photo Viewer’sPrevious(Left arrow) andNext(Right arrow)buttons.
3. Add a Windows Photo Viewer Shortcut to the Desktop
You don’t need to open the Command Prompt to launch WPV with an image folder. Instead, you can add shortcuts to the desktop that open WPV with a specified picture folder like instructed above.
So that’s how you can get the Windows 7 image viewer back in Windows 10. However, there are also plenty of alternative freeware third-party image viewers you can install.
Thissoftware guideprovides further details for the top seven Windows 10 photo viewers.
Important note:Microsoft officially ended Windows 7 support. If you’re planning to upgrade to Windows 10, make sure to check outour wide collection of guideson how to make the transition as smooth as possible.
More about the topics:photo viewer,windows 10,windows 7
Matthew Adams
Windows Hardware Expert
Matthew is a freelancer who has produced a variety of articles on various topics related to technology. His main focus is the Windows OS and all the things surrounding it.
He is passionate about the tech world, always staying up-to-date with the latest and greatest. With an analytical view, he likes problem-solving, focusing on errors and their causes.
In his free time, he likes to read and write about history and tries to always develop new skills.
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Matthew Adams
Windows Hardware Expert
He is passionate about everything surrounding Microsoft’s OS, focusing on troubleshooting guides & tips for everyday problems.
