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A very common question most folks have shortly after installing Windows XP is How do I make something other than "Picture and FAX Viewer" the default for viewing pictures?. The other day I got a couple of variations on the reverse: 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:
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:
If for some reason it's not already in the list, you can force the association by following these steps, still in Windows Explorer:
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.) Related:
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I like the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer in XP. I like the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer in XP. I had windows picture and fax viewer, I downloaded How do I set "Windows Picture and Fax Viewer" as default on an entire network? Is there a policy for this or any other solution to do this on many pc's without having to do it manualy on every pc. Posted by: Aenar at February 25, 2008 02:29 AMHelped a lot!!! The easiest for me was putting the commands in the start, run section. I had a problem with NERO wanting to open it and I was happy with the window fax viewer. When I took Nero off as the default, it kept wanting to save the file instead of opening it. After doing the command, it reverted back to the windows picture and fax viewer. this was very helpful. thanks Posted by: chad at February 26, 2008 05:24 AM1.click start-control panel. Thanks for the info. I use the Viewer and love its simplicity. Open a picture and then use the arrow keys to scroll through the images in that file. Easy to find stuff. It was removed from my partner's computer. He was jealous (had to open-close, open-close!). I might use this as leverage before I tell him how to fix! Thanks again Posted by: Deuce at March 13, 2008 09:58 AMIt's actually part of Microsoft Office under the "extras" programs U add when installing Posted by: Rocker at March 13, 2008 02:11 PMI have changed it back to "windows Picture Viewer" but Omnipage says its the default in the "restore button". Any ideas? Also after I reboot pc Omnipage takes over again. Posted by: Terry at March 17, 2008 02:40 PMThanks. regsvr32 /i shimgvw.dll worked for me! Posted by: Raman at April 6, 2008 11:04 PMPost a comment on "What if I *want* Windows Picture and Fax Viewer?":
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