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I'm not asking how to change the default program for a certain file extension, but how do I change the behavior of this particular context menu item? I've gone through various answers and search results that recommended context menu editors and various registry edits, but none of them address this particular item. I want to be able to preview certain gifs that I upload, but Windows Photo Viewer doesn't animate gifs.

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  • I am sure it is possible, though another thought - maybe add a 'sendto' item - it would kind of do a similar thing, though not directly the one you asked about.
    – Jeff Clayton
    Jul 18, 2014 at 2:40
  • maybe one of these tools might help: thewindowsclub.com/remove-click-context-menu-items-editors
    – Jeff Clayton
    Jul 18, 2014 at 2:45
  • Yeah that's what I referred to before, I've been to that same page and none of those editors or instructions deal with this particularly annoying Preview entry unfortunately.
    – user347519
    Jul 18, 2014 at 2:49
  • I figured so, just haven't seen this specific one, maybe SendTo might be the fastest workaround for a time.
    – Jeff Clayton
    Jul 18, 2014 at 2:54
  • @user347519 You mean you want to preview in Internet Explorer or any third party GIF viewer (with animation) while you click the context menu Preview??
    – Ĭsααc tիε βöss
    Jul 18, 2014 at 7:17

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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Solution

The Preview context menu item can be overridden. Here's how:

  1. Press Win+R, type or paste regedit.exe in the text box, and press Enter.

  2. Navigate to the following registry key:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts

  3. Check if there's a subkey that matches the extension you're interested in, e.g. .gif. Expand the extension subkey, and see if there's a UserChoice key.

    • Double-click the ProgId value, and copy its content.

    • In case either keys are missing, expand the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT key, and locate the extension-related subkey. Double-click the (Default) value, and copy its content.

  4. Select the following registry key:

    HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT

    Click the Edit > Find menu, and paste the value you copied earlier in the text box. After unchecking the Values and Data options, enable the Match whole string only option. Then click the Find Next button.

  5. Once the target key is located, expand it. Right-click the shell subkey, and choose New > Key from the context menu. Name the key preview.

    Note In case you're getting an error stating you don't have enough permissions, log on with an administrator account to perform the required changes.

  6. Right-click an empty spot in the right pane, and choose New > Expandable String Value from the context menu. Name the new registry value MUIVerb, double-click it, and set it like this:

    @%ProgramFiles%\Windows Photo Viewer\photoviewer.dll,-3043

    Note In Windows Vista the path is slightly different, and the value needs to be adjusted accordingly:

    @%ProgramFiles%\Windows Photo Gallery\photoviewer.dll,-3043

  7. Right-click the preview key, and choose New > Key from the context menu. Name it command.

  8. Double-click the (Default) value in the right pane, and set it something like this:

    "X:\Path\to\program.exe" "%1"

  9. Repeat steps 2-8 for any other file extensions you want to tweak.

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