# Microsoft Photo Editor - Can it be run on current versions of Windows 10?



## britechguy (Dec 6, 2019)

Hello All,

I have been faithfully dragging along MS Photo Editor along with me for a very long time now, and I could swear that I had it working on early versions of Windows 10 as a portable program.

Last night I decided to copy the EXE file as a portable and give it a whirl. It didn't work. Then I found an installer, which installs it just fine, but I get exactly the same error dialog when I attempt to fire it up:

"No file format information can be found in the Registry."

After that, the program does open up, looking like normal, but if you go to open any image file, even if you browse to it and can see its thumbnail when in the Open dialog, you get the error message, "Photo Editor cannot find or open . . .," where the full file name, with path, is the ". . .".

It's not as though this is a crisis of any sort, but MS Photo Editor is one of my favorite tools for creating images with large swaths of transparency using the "if color matches within X%" feature.

From what I've been able to find via research, is that there used to be a registry key (or keys) that are missing, see the very last entry (from all the way back in 2002) on this page: https://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=302220

I'm just curious if anyone has successfully gotten this ancient, but handy, photo editor to work under Windows 10, Version 1909?


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

Since the program has worked since Office 97', any chance compatibility mode would work?
If not, there's a bunch of free programs that some like better that the MS one. In the old days I got the paid ones free. Wish I hadn't left them when I retired. Viva Corel!


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## britechguy (Dec 6, 2019)

Just tried compatibility mode for Windows 7 and then Windows XP SP3.

Even though the "look and feel" of the UI does change, the error messages do not.

I suspect that if I could snag the missing registry keys, and add them, it would work. A friend has the one and only XP era machine I had, though I do have a Windows 7 laptop upstairs. I need to fire that up to see if I find the missing registry keys on it and what the values are.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

You could use a Windows 7 VM and process monitor to see which registry entries they are.


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## britechguy (Dec 6, 2019)

Well, I actually have a real Windows 7 machine to hand, but I have no idea how to use process monitor to determine what registry keys are being accessed by a given program. It's not something I've ever had call to do before.

If you have a set of instructions, they'd be much appreciated.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

https://www.google.com/search?q=process+monitor+registry+changes


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

I believe I just ran the office 10 installer and deselected everything but Photo Editor.
I still use it as my go to photo editor.


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## britechguy (Dec 6, 2019)

Stancestans said:


> https://www.google.com/search?q=process+monitor+registry+changes


Thanks. Will play with this when time allows.


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

When you say Photo Editor, do you mean the Photo Viewer ? That was retired, if that is what you need, create a .reg file with this and merge it in the registry, it worked for me.


```
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
 
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll]
 
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell]
 
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\open]
"MuiVerb"="@photoviewer.dll,-3043"
 
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\open\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\
6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\
00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\
25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\
00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\
6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\
00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\
5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\
00,31,00,00,00
 
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\open\DropTarget]
"Clsid"="{FFE2A43C-56B9-4bf5-9A79-CC6D4285608A}"
 
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\print]
 
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\print\command]
@=hex(2):25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,\
00,5c,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,32,00,5c,00,72,00,75,00,\
6e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,00,33,00,32,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,22,00,25,\
00,50,00,72,00,6f,00,67,00,72,00,61,00,6d,00,46,00,69,00,6c,00,65,00,73,00,\
25,00,5c,00,57,00,69,00,6e,00,64,00,6f,00,77,00,73,00,20,00,50,00,68,00,6f,\
00,74,00,6f,00,20,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,5c,00,50,00,68,00,\
6f,00,74,00,6f,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,65,00,72,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,\
00,22,00,2c,00,20,00,49,00,6d,00,61,00,67,00,65,00,56,00,69,00,65,00,77,00,\
5f,00,46,00,75,00,6c,00,6c,00,73,00,63,00,72,00,65,00,65,00,6e,00,20,00,25,\
00,31,00,00,00
 
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\photoviewer.dll\shell\print\DropTarget]
"Clsid"="{60fd46de-f830-4894-a628-6fa81bc0190d}"
```


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