Windows 11 comes packaged with the Photos app as the default app for almost every image format. If you want to change it to Windows Photo Viewer, there are a few convenient ways to do it.

• Right-Click an Image File to Change The Default Program
• You don’t really need to go rifling through the Settings app to change what applications are used to open any given file type. The options are built into the right-click context menu.
• Right-click a PNG file, go to “Open with,” and then click “Choose Another App.”

Scroll through the list of applications until you see Windows Photo Viewer on the list. You’ll probably need to click “More Apps” to get it to appear. Click Windows Photo Viewer once to select it, tick the box at the bottom that says “Always Use This App To Open .png Files,” then click “OK.”

Any PNG you open after that will be opened in Windows Photo Viewer unless you specify otherwise. You’ll need to repeat these steps for every image format (like JPGs or BMPs) you want to open in Windows Photo Viewer. Luckily, there aren’t too many common ones, so it isn’t too much work.

Use the Default Apps Window

Windows 11 has a centralized way of managing the file formats that are associated with applications. It is a really convenient way to set your default apps. Open up the Settings app, go to “Apps,” then click on “Default apps.”

Tip: You can also just search “Default Apps” in the Start Menu search bar.

Type in whatever image format you want into the search bar at the top of the window, like “.jpg,” then hit the square icon on the right side.

• The usual “Open With” window will appear. Scroll down, click “More Apps,” and then keep scrolling until you reach Windows Photo Viewer. Click it once to select it, then hit “OK.”
• You’ll need to do this for every image format you want to associate with Windows Photo Viewer, but unlike the other ways of changing application-format association, you don’t actually need an image to right-click.

Remember, just because Windows Photo Viewer is included in Windows 11 doesn’t mean it is fully supported. It is older software, and you may encounter problems with it in the future. It is possible it will be entirely removed in future updates.