What happened to Windows picture and Fax Viewer?

What is the file name and extension for Windows picture and fax
viewer? I want to use it for an OLE object to view pictures.

and

How do I change my default image viewer back to the Windows
Picture and Fax Viewer?

Turns out it’s easier to get rid of than it is to restore. But not
impossible.

It took a little spelunking using Process Explorer to determine the command line that is used when
Windows Picture and Fax Viewer is invoked. Turns out that it’s not a
stand-alone exe at all.

The command to run Windows Picture and Fax viewer is:

rundll32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\shimgvw.dll,ImageView_Fullscreen
path-to-picture

So, to answer the first question: shimgvw.dll probably exposes the objects
needed to use Windows Picture and Fax Viewer as an OLE object.

As for the second, restoring Windows Picture and Fax Viewer as the viewer
for images:

  • Note what file extension you want to change the default for. That’s the
    “.jpg”, “.gif”, and so on at the end of the filename. It indicates the type of
    picture, and more importantly, it’s what Windows uses to decide what program to
    use to display it.
  • Open up Windows Explorer. (The Windows Key + E, on many keyboards.)
  • Find any file with that same extension.
  • Right-click on the filename, and select Open With
    .
  • Select Choose Program at the bottom of the list that’s
    displayed.
  • In the resulting dialog box, “Windows Picture and Fax Viewer” should
    already be listed. Click on it.
  • Check the box labeled “Always use the selected program to
    open this kind of file”.
  • Press OK

If for some reason it’s not already in the list, you can force the
association by following these steps, still in Windows Explorer:

  • On the Tools menu, click Folder
    Options…
  • Click on the File Types tab.
  • Scroll down to the extension you care about, for example “JPG”.
  • Press the Restore button, if it exists.
  • Press the Advanced button.
  • Click on the Open action.
  • Click on Edit…
  • In the Application used to perform action: enter
    C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe
    C:\WINDOWS\System32\shimgvw.dll,ImageView_Fullscreen %1
    . Where
    “C:\WINDOWS” is the directory containing your Windows installation.
  • Press OK

You’ll want to repeat that for every extension (GIF, JPG, JPEG, etc.) for
which you want to change the behavior.

Update: Another approach to re-installing
Windows Picture and Fax Viewer
is to click on Start, Run… and type in:

regsvr32 /i shimgvw.dll

and press OK. Then press OK again on the resulting success message.
(Thanks to comment poster Leon for this suggestion.)

Windows Picture and Fax Viewer is the native image viewer application included with the Microsoft Windows XP operating system. For Windows 7 it has been replaced by Windows Photo Viewer, which offers the same functions. The viewer allows you to open, rotate, print, email or burn images to DVDs directly from the folder containing the files. Installing a third-party image editing program can, however, cause the file associations to change, which results in images opening in the new program when double-clicked. To reset the Windows Picture and Fax viewer as the default application for opening image files, the file association has to be changed back.

Windows XP

Step 1

Right-click the picture that you want to open with Windows Picture and Fax viewer by default.

Step 2

Click "Open with" and select "Choose default program" from the list of options.

Step 3

Click "Windows Picture & Fax Viewer" from the list of recommended programs.

Step 4

Click the check box next to "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file." Click the "OK" button to save the changes.

Step 5

Repeat the process for every image file type that you want to open with Windows Picture and Fax Viewer by default.

Windows 7

Step 1

Click the Windows "Start" button and click "Default Programs."

Step 2

Click "Set your default programs."

Step 3

Click "Windows Photo Viewer"

Step 4

Click "Choose defaults for this program."

Step 5

Click the check box next to the image file types listed on the page. Click the "Save" button once you are done.

References

Resources

Writer Bio

Virtually growing up in a computer repair shop, Naomi Bolton has held a passion for as long as she can remember. After earning a diploma through a four year course in graphic design from Cibap College, Bolton launched her own photography business. Her work has been featured on Blinklist, Gameramble and many others.

What happened to Microsoft Picture Viewer?

Though Windows Photo Viewer was the default photo app on Windows 7 and 8, Microsoft replaced it with its Universal Windows Platform app simply called Microsoft Photos, which is what you're likely using if you're currently running Windows 10.

What replaced Windows Photo Viewer?

Someday you may need more functions to work on your photos, that's why we made this list of Windows Photo Viewer Alternatives..
Luminar 4. Luminar 4 is image editing and photo management software. ... .
IrfanView. IrfanView is more than just an image viewer. ... .
XnView. ... .
FastStone Image Viewer. ... .
PhotoStudioUltimate..

What happened to the old Windows photo editor?

It was replaced in Microsoft Office 2003 by Microsoft Office Picture Manager, although many Photo Editor features were not available in Picture Manager.

Why Windows Photo Viewer is not working in Windows 10?

The Windows 10 Photo Viewer not working issue can be due to corrupted app files or a stuck process. Consider using an alternative photo viewer if you want the quickest workaround. Alternatively, repair and reset the Photo Viewer application from your Settings.