How to retore association with "Picture and Fax Viewer&

Help & Support
1

I've got a weird problem. I recently reinstalled Windows (after formatting the drive) so I started with a clean install. After that, I installed some of my favorite programs, among which is Directory Opus.

Now, a few days later, I noticed something weird with the associations of JPEG and other image files:

  • When I double-click them in Directory Opus, they aren't opened with the default "Windows Picture and Fax Viewer" (WPFV). Instead, I get a "Open With" dialog window.

  • When I double-click them in Windows Explorer, everything works fine as it should, they are opened in WPFV.

  • The file's context menu shows "Preview" as the default (bold) action, which opens them in WPFV fine, in both Directory Opus and Explorer.

  • The Directory Opus "File Types" configuration for those files shows nothing strange. It shows an "Action" called "open" with the value "rundll32.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\shimgvw.dll,ImageView_Fullscreen %1" (which is as it should be), and all "Events" are "not defined"

I don't really know if it has ever worked correctly after reinstalling Windows, but I had no problems on my previous installation, and on my other computer everything works fine also. (That is, WPFV opens when double-clicking an image file in Directory Opus.)

I've tried to re-register WPFV using "regsvr32 /i shimgvw.dll" as was suggested on another site, but that changed nothing.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks, Peter

2

I'm not sure why the Open-With dialog is appearing, but in Opus check that you don't have Preferences / Double-click / Files: Use internal picture viewer for... switched on.

When you tried re-registering shimgvw.dll did you try it without the /i switch?

It might be worth a try to delete all the JPEG filetypes from the registry (using the Opus File Types dialog), then re-register shimgvw.dll so they're re-created from scratch, then restart Opus just in case it doesn't pick up the new filetypes (not sure if that is required but it doesn't hurt).

3

I've tried registering shimgvw without the "i" parameter, but that didn't change anything.
I've even installed a clean copy of Windows in a virtual machine and compared all registry keys concerning shimgvw, but there didn't seem to be any difference. Still, I am not getting WPFV as an "open with" option...

4

What happens if you go through the 'Open with' dialog, check in the 'Always use the selected program' option, and manually browse to shimgvw.dll? It's normally invoked by rundll32, but I think it should work this way too...

5

Also, what does your Settings->File Types->Directory Opus File Types->Recognized images->Events->dblclick option look like? What happens if you try toggling the setting Nudel mentioned above (Preferences->Double-click->Files->Use internal picture viewer for:)?

6

Selecting "shimgvw.dll" in the Open With dialog, does nothing. That is, I just come back into the Open With dialog, and no new entries have been created there.

The DlbClick event for Recognized Images contained the command "show". Deleting that command did not have any effect, I still get the Open With dialog when double-clicking.

The Use Internal Picture Viewer option was unchecked. I checked it and tried both available options in it, but no change at all...

7

Well damn... Try editing the Settings->File Types->System File Types entry for jpg files, and on the 'Actions' tab, highlight the open action and click on the 'Set Default' button.

Any better NOW? If not, you might also want to THEN edit the Settings->File Types->Directory Opus File Types->Recognized images->dblclk event, and 'Delete' it. Doing so should remove the show command and make it say not defined instead. This shouldn't really be necessary, but I've noticed toggling the 'Use internal picture viewer' option does not clean out or reset the 'show' command.

If that doesn't help, can you upload exported copies of your HKCR.jpg, HKCR.jpeg, and HKCR\jpegfile registry keys? Also maybe tell us what the value of your HKCU\Software\GPSoftware\Directory Opus\Config\User\DoubleclickFlags Dword is set to...

8

Okay, to get everybody excited; I do have a change in behaviour now. Just not the one wanted. Read on...

I've reset the Open action to Default. There was no change. Then, I deleted the Open action. The change then was that nothing happened anymore. Then I used the context menu to open the JPG with WPFV (either through the default Preview option or through the Open With submenu), and after that everything was back to what it was, an Open With dialog when double-clicking the file and the Open action was back to its default.

Then I went back to the DblClick event. Here, the Show command was already missing because I removed it in one of my earlier tries. When I put it back again and tried, I saw something that I had never seen before until now. A Directory Opus image viewer! Never, not even on previous installations, have I seen this viewer before. (Okay, except from in the Lister Viewer Pane, where it actually has more options than in its seperate window.)

I'd still prefer to be able to open the WPFV, though :slight_smile:

Here are the registry contents:

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.jpg]
"PerceivedType"="image"
@="jpegfile"
"Content Type"="image/jpeg"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.jpg\OpenWithProgids]
"jpegfile"=hex(0):

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.jpg\PersistentHandler]
@="{098f2470-bae0-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.jpeg]
"PerceivedType"="image"
@="jpegfile"
"Content Type"="image/jpeg"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.jpeg\OpenWithProgids]
"jpegfile"=hex(0):

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.jpeg\PersistentHandler]
@="{098f2470-bae0-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile]
@="JPEG Image"
"EditFlags"=dword:00010000
"FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,
00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,
32,00,5c,00,73,00,68,00,69,00,6d,00,67,00,76,00,77,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,
00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,33,00,00,00
"ImageOptionFlags"=dword:00000003
"BrowserFlags"=dword:00000008

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\CLSID]
@="{25336920-03F9-11cf-8FD0-00AA00686F13}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\DefaultIcon]
@="shimgvw.dll,3"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\opus]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\opus\dblclk]
@=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\opus\dblclk\command]
@=hex(7):53,00,68,00,6f,00,77,00,20,00,00,00,00,00
"OpusFlags"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\shell]
@="open"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\shell\open]
"MuiVerb"="@shimgvw.dll,-550"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\shell\open\command]
@="rundll32.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\shimgvw.dll,ImageView_Fullscreen %1"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\shell\open\DropTarget]
"Clsid"="{E84FDA7C-1D6A-45F6-B725-CB260C236066}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\shell\printto]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\shell\printto\command]
@="rundll32.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\shimgvw.dll,ImageView_PrintTo /pt "%1" "%2" "%3" "%4""

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\GPSoftware\Directory Opus\Config\User]
"DoubleclickFlags"=dword:0000044d

9

If you turn on Preferences / Double-click / Files: Use internal picture viewer for... then you'll get the internal image viewer when double-clicking files.

This is the same as running the internal Opus show command on a file.

Personally I much prefer the Opus viewer to the Windows viewer and I've struggled (successfully in the end) to eradicate the Windows viewer from handling files on my machine. Doing it in Opus is easy (just turn that option on) but doing it in Explorer/the Desktop took some registry editing. But my preference isn't important here; you should be able to get what you want but I'm still not sure why it isn't quite working.

You can make them both have the same buttons. There are separate options to configure the internal viewer when it is used in a docked viewer pane and when it is used in a separate window. Both are under Preferences / Viewer in the Viewer Pane and Viewer (Standalone) tabs, respectively. (The Slideshow tab contains settings common to both viewer modes.)

10

I just did these steps:
[ul][li]Turned off Preferences / Double-Click / Files: Use internal picture viewer...[/li]
[li]Right-clicked a JPG file in Opus (while holding shift since I've disabled Windows context menus by default).[/li]
[li]Selected Open With > Choose Program... from the context menu.[/li]
[li]Selected Windows Picture and Fax Viewer and checked Always use the selected program... in the Open With dialog, then clicked OK.[/li][/ul]
Now whenever I double-click a JPG file in Opus it opens in the Windows viewer as you're trying to achieve.

Here are my .jpg registry entries:

[code][HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.jpg]
"PerceivedType"="image"
@="jpegfile"
"Content Type"="image/jpeg"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.jpg\OpenWithList]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.jpg\OpenWithList\ois.exe]
@=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.jpg\OpenWithProgids]
"jpegfile"=hex(0):

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.jpg\PersistentHandler]
@="{098f2470-bae0-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"[/code]

Here are my jpegfile registry entries:

[code][HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile]
@="JPEG Image"
"EditFlags"=dword:00010000
"FriendlyTypeName"=hex(2):40,00,25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,52,
00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,73,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,33,00,
32,00,5c,00,73,00,68,00,69,00,6d,00,67,00,76,00,77,00,2e,00,64,00,6c,00,6c,
00,2c,00,2d,00,33,00,30,00,33,00,00,00
"ImageOptionFlags"=dword:00000003

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\CLSID]
@="{25336920-03F9-11cf-8FD0-00AA00686F13}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\DefaultIcon]
@="shimgvw.dll,3"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\shell]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\shell\open]
"MuiVerb"="@shimgvw.dll,-550"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\shell\open\command]
@="rundll32.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\shimgvw.dll,ImageView_Fullscreen %1"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\shell\open\DropTarget]
"Clsid"="{E84FDA7C-1D6A-45F6-B725-CB260C236066}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\shell\printto]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpegfile\shell\printto\command]
@="rundll32.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\shimgvw.dll,ImageView_PrintTo /pt "%1" "%2" "%3" "%4""[/code]

11

I've tried the Directory Opus viewer a bit, and it will definetly do if I can't get to WPFV, but I do miss access to the EXIF properties that WPFV offers.

[quote="nudel"]I just did these steps:
[ul][li]Turned off Preferences / Double-Click / Files: Use internal picture viewer...[/li]
[li]Right-clicked a JPG file in Opus (while holding shift since I've disabled Windows context menus by default).[/li]
[li]Selected Open With > Choose Program... from the context menu.[/li]
[li]Selected Windows Picture and Fax Viewer and checked Always use the selected program... in the Open With dialog, then clicked OK.[/li][/ul][/quote]

Yeah, I know that is the way it should work. But the weird thing is, WPFV doesn't show up in my Open With dialog! It does however show up in the Open With submenu, and the Preview option (to open the image in WPFV) is the default (bold) in the image context menu, but it doesn't execute on doubleclick. It's all too weird...

My settings for .jpg and .jpeg seem to be mostly the same as yours, don't they?

12

Actually I'm not sure what you mean by this, as I've never noticed the WPFV offering any EXIF features at all (except via the standard Properties dialog, perhaps).

But anyway, in the Opus viewer, just press F1.

13

Well, your settings seem to have changed my systems behavior a bit. If I merge your jpegfile regkey data to my registry and do NOT have 'Use internal picture viewer' enabled in Opus... double-clicking on a jpg file still opens it in the Opus viewer. Fine... this is because for some reason you set an Opus dblclk event for .JPG files to run 'Show'. If I delete that dblclk 'Show' assignment, double-clicking a .JPG now simply opens an empty mspaint session, not even using the selected FILE??? Weird.

And now even after re-merging my 'original' jpegfile regkey data back in... I can't get things to work properly even after stopping/restarting dopus - :imp:.

Anyhow, since you're Preview/Open action works fine... one way you really SHOULD be able to fix your system would be to edit the .JPG filetype, and instead of assigning 'Show' to the dblclk event, try this instead:

FileType ACTION=open

Then again, like Jon said... the Opus viewer should be good for you too - I loooove it.

Hey Jon... is that the Potter family kangaroo :slight_smile:?

14

Actually I'm not sure what you mean by this, as I've never noticed the WPFV offering any EXIF features at all (except via the standard Properties dialog, perhaps).

But anyway, in the Opus viewer, just press F1.[/quote]

Ha! I did not know this! That is actually a very handy feature. It offers all the info I want, plus it stays visible while I browse through images. Okay, I guess I will stick on using the Opus Viewer now. :slight_smile:

[quote="steje"]Anyhow, since you're Preview/Open action works fine... one way you really SHOULD be able to fix your system would be to edit the .JPG filetype, and instead of assigning 'Show' to the dblclk event, try this instead:

FileType ACTION=open[/quote]

Nopes, that event just causes the Open With dialog to pop up again :slight_smile:

15

Well bugger it all... ya got me stumped.

I guess you could try inserting the full blown command into the dblclk event:

rundll32.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\shimgvw.dll,ImageView_Fullscreen %1

Otherwise, it soudns like the Opus viewer should work for you :slight_smile:.