We all love to download various images or image files from social media, create images for online collages or just do a simple Google search. Usually, when we download these images, we hardly pay attention to the file type. Some photos could be PNG files, while others could be in JPG or JPEG file format. There is another image format called WebP that is less common, but you have undoubtedly seen it when downloading images mainly through Google search.

best ways to open webp images on windows 11/10

Most partner websites are increasingly using Google’s relatively new alternative WebP image format. This is a superior lossy compressed image format that minimizes the size of most image files. On average, WebP files are said to be nearly half the size of other high-quality PNG or JPG images. But as easy as they are to download, opening WebP photos is more complicated. Fortunately, there are simple and easy-to-follow ways to open WebP files on your Windows PC.

Let us take a look at these options.

5 Different Ways to Open WebP Images on Windows 10/11

Open WebP Images on Microsoft Paint

All versions of Windows OS, including Windows 10 or 11, ship with Microsoft Paint, which provides native support for multiple image formats, including the WebP format. Therefore, using this program to open files in the WebP format is quite easy. For example, you can open WebP images in Paint by following these steps.

  • One of the pre-installed programs in the Windows 11 Start menu is Paint. Open the Paint app from there, and then click File.

    windows save paint

  • Then click Open and select the WebP file that you may have downloaded or that is already on your PC.
  • This will open the WebP image file in Paint. You can edit it to your liking.

Open WebP Images On Google Chrome Or Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome, two Chromium-based browsers, can also open WebP files natively. Therefore, you can open the image in your web browser to view it. You can also view any WebP image or image file by dragging and dropping it in these two browsers. Now let us look at all the steps to follow:

  • Open the folder where the WebP image file was downloaded or locate the file in Windows Explorer.
  • Then you need to open the browser, for example, Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
  • Now select the WebP image file from the folder again and drag it to a Chrome or Edge web tab with the left mouse button to move it.
  • Your WebP image will now open in a new browser tab.

webp image file in chrome

You can also make Edge or Chrome the default program for opening WebP files via Properties. To do this, right-click on the WebP image file and then change the default program. Then, when you double-click a WebP image file, the browser of your choice opens that image file.

Related Read: 10 Best Image Downloader Chrome Extensions

Open WebP Images With Windows Photo Viewer

Since Google developed the WebP format, you can get a very good working codec directly from Google. Using this method, Windows Photo Viewer can then read WebP image files. Installing the codec is a good idea if you regularly use WebP files on your PC. With the Google WebP Winaero Tweaker codec installed, users can view WebP images in the native Windows Photo Viewer using the Windows Imaging Component. Winaero Tweaker also lets you enable Photo Viewer on Microsoft’s 10 and 11 operating systems. But first, let us take a look at the steps to follow:

  • Download the Winaro Tweaker codec from here. Next, you need to unzip the downloaded ZIP file.
  • In Explorer, select Extract All from the command bar. All files will now be decompressed to a folder of your choice.
    winaro tweaker 1
  • Now select the Winaro Tweaker setup file and install the codec. Please go through the installation options in the setup wizard, or leave them as they are.
  • After selecting the Run Winaero Tweaker option, click Finish in the setup wizard.
  • Now double-click Get Classic Apps in Winaero Tweaker after scrolling down, and then select Enable Windows Photo Viewer.

    After Windows Photo Viewer is enabled, you can install the WebP codec installation on Windows 10 or 11.

  • Download the WebP Codec for Windows to your PC and install the setup file.
  • Then proceed with the installation and accept all the terms in the license agreement.
    webp codec
  • Then select Typical and complete the installation process.

Now Windows Photo Viewer can open the WebP image files natively. Simply right-click on any WebP image in File Explorer and then select Open With. Then select the Windows Photo Viewer app, and all WebP image files will be opened with the Photo Viewer app.

Open WebP Images on Windows with ImageGlass

One of the best free image viewers for the Windows 10/11 operating system is ImageGlass. ImageGlass supports over 70 image file formats, including WebP, and that’s fantastic. Moreover, the image viewer is fast and offers some options for image editing. Here we take a look at all the steps you can follow to edit Webp images with ImageGlass easily.

  • You need to download the ImageGlass app from its official download link. Alternatively, the app is also available in the Windows Store as a free trial.
  • Then install the app and open it.
  • After you open the app, click the hamburger icon in the top right corner and then click on File > Open File.
    image glass
  • Select the Webp file you want to view.

If you want to save this image file in a different format, you can open File again and click Save As. Then select your preferred image format from the available Save As Type options and download the image.

Rename WebP Images To Easily Open Them In Photos

The default image viewer in Windows 10 or 11 is the Photos app. However, it does not yet support the WebP format out of the box. However, if you give a WebP image a new file name or an extension like JPG, you can still open the WebP images in that app. After changing the title, the file will still have the same size. The following steps should be followed:

  • If the file extensions are not displayed on your Windows PC, you can first change this by clicking on the Explorer command bar and then selecting View.
  • Then click on File name extensions. This will display the file extensions of all file types in Windows Explorer.

    windows extension

  • Now open the folder where the WebP image file is stored and rename the image to JPG or PNG. Windows may issue a warning that the image may become unusable, but ignore this warning and click Yes.
    change file extension

Now the file can be opened in the Windows Photos app without any problems.

Alternatively, you can right-click on the renamed file and choose Show More Options > Open with and Photos to select the Photos app as the default app.

Conclusion

With Windows 10 or 11 operating systems, opening WebP files is now a breeze. If you follow these instructions, you’ll be able to open WebP files quickly and natively on your computer without having to use other third-party applications or complex software to complete the task. There is a possibility that Microsoft will provide an update in the future that adds a default option for reading WebP image files, but it’s impossible to predict when. So the five methods presented above give you a few quick ways to get the job done in the meantime.

FAQs about Opening WebP Images on Windows

loader image

There are a few ways to open a WebP file as a JPEG. Here are three methods:

  1. Use an online converter
  2. Use a third-party image editor like GIMP
  3. Use the Windows command line
cwebp input.webp -o output.jpg

WebP images offer a number of advantages over other image formats, such as JPEG and PNG. WebP images can be up to 30% smaller than JPEG images, saving you bandwidth and storage space. WebP images also support transparency and alpha channels, which can be used to create animated GIFs and other image types.

WebP images are not as widely supported as JPEG and PNG images. Some web browsers, such as Safari and Internet Explorer, do not support WebP images. Additionally, some image editing software does not support WebP images.

Yes, you can convert WebP images to other formats like JPEG or PNG. There are various online conversion tools available that allow you to upload a WebP image and convert it to the desired format. Additionally, you can use image editing software like Adobe Photoshop or GIMP to open a WebP image and save it in a different format.

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