Windows Photo Gallery

Windows Photo Gallery
	Component of Microsoft Windows
	Windows Photo Gallery in Windows Vista
Introduced in	Windows Vista build 5212
Last included in	Windows 7 build 6519
Replaces
	Windows Picture and Fax Viewer
Replaced by
	Windows Photo Viewer

Windows Photo Gallery (also known as Windows Photo Library, Windows Digital Gallery and Windows Live Photo Gallery) is an image album and organizer application included with Windows Vista, which is based on the photo library tool from the Microsoft Digital Image Suite. It replaced the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer previously introduced in Windows XP.

It was reduced into a simple image viewer and renamed to Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 7, while the full version continued to be offered with the Windows Live Essentials suite until 2017.

Feature overview[edit | edit source]

Features from Windows Picture and Fax Viewer[edit | edit source]

Support for BMP, JPEG, PNG, ICO and TIFF image files.
Viewing individual photos.
Displaying pictures in a folder as a slide show.
Reorienting photos in 90° increments.
Zooming in on photos.
Printing photos.
Opening photos with different programs (ex: Paint).
File management (copying to, deleting, renaming, etc) of photos.

New features and changes[edit | edit source]

Redesigned UI with Aero elements.
Support for JFIF and WDP image files.
Support for WMV, MPEG, AVI, and ASF video files.
The gallery for managing photos and videos.
- By default, it shows content within the user's pictures and videos folders.
  - More folders can be added by selecting "File -> Add Folder to Gallery..."
  - Additionally, individual files can be added by dragging it into the application.
- Similar to Windows Explorer, items can be:
  - Displayed in different view modes (thumbnails, thumbnails with text, and tiles).
  - Sorted and grouped based on their file properties.
- The table of contents can be used to easily find files based on sorting preferences.
- Search functionality, which uses file names and tags to bring up results.
An option to import files from a camera or scanner.
Image editing tools for adjusting exposure and color, cropping, and fixing red eye.
The Info pane, which makes it easy to view and edit file properties.
A toolbar option for emailing files.
A zoom slider.
A new print dialog, which adds more print layouts and options.
An option to order physical prints of photos from local printing companies.
- This feature is no longer functional.
Integration with Windows Movie Maker and Windows DVD Maker.
Media Sharing support with Windows Media Player 11.
OTA updates.