Windows Photo Viewer

Windows Photo Viewer

Windows Photo Viewer should be available on devices that were upgraded from previous versions of Windows to Windows 10.

Do the following to find out if that is indeed the case:

Right-click on any image on the Windows 10 machine and select Open With > Choose another app.
Select "More apps" if Windows Photo Viewer is not listed.
Scroll down to see if the program is listed. If you see it there, Windows Photo Viewer is installed and ready for use.
If you don't see the program listed there, you need to make a couple of changes to the Windows Registry to bring it back. The user Edwin over on Ten Forums published the code for the Registry that you need to add.

I have created the Registry file for your convenience but you can head over to the forum to create it yourself if you prefer it.

Download the following Registry file to your system: Windows 10 Windows Photo Viewer

I tested the Registry file on Windows 10 version 1803 and the latest Insider Build of Windows 10 version 1809 and it worked on both.

Just extract the Registry file after the download and run the Registry file to add the information to the Registry. You need to restart the PC and should have Windows Photo Viewer as an option in the Open With menu and elsewhere on the operating system.

You can make Windows Photo Viewer the default viewer for images but you cannot use the Settings application for that. Microsoft blocks desktop programs from becoming the default (programs you can browse to on the local system), and suggests only some there. Use NirSoft's FileTypesMan to associate desktop programs with different file types. Check out the linked article for detailed instructions on how to do so.