Would you prefer the Edit option to open pictures in a different image editor? If so, you can change that Windows 10 context menu option to open images in whatever app you like with the methods in this guide.
How to Change the Edit Option by Tweaking the Registry
Windows 10’s registry includes an edit key that’s set to open MS Paint. However, you can reconfigure that key for the Edit option to open software of your choosing with a little manual registry tweaking. This is how you can change what software the Edit context menu option opens by editing the registry:
Click the Windows 10 Start icon to view its menu. Expand the Windows Administrative Tools folder on the Start menu. Click the Registry Editor Start menu shortcut. Delete the current path (location) from the address bar at the top of Registry Editor. Input this path for the edit key in the registry address bar and press Return: Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\image\Shell\edit\command Click the edit key’s command subkey if it’s not already selected. Then double-click the (Default) string for the command subkey. Erase the current path value for opening Microsoft Paint. Input the full path (including the executable file) for the software you want the Edit option to open, which must also include “%1” at the end of it. For example, a default path value for opening the third-party Paint. NET software would look like this: C:\Program Files\paint. net\paintdotnet. exe “%1” Select OK to save the new data value.
Now try opening an image with Windows 10’s Edit option. Launch the Explorer file management utility (Win + E is its hotkey), and right-click an image to select Edit. The picture will open in the software you’ve set the Edit option to launch.
You can restore the Edit option to its default value. To do so, reopen the registry path referenced in step five above. Bring up the Edit String window for the command key’s (Default) string again. Then clear the Data value box to input this MS Paint location:
How to Change the Edit Option With Winaero Tweaker
Instead of modifying the registry yourself, you can change Windows 10’s Edit menu option with Winaero Tweaker. The Winaero Tweaker Windows software has a multitude of handy customization options for the context menu, desktop, taskbar, File Explorer, and more besides. It includes a setting that enables you to change what app the Edit context menu entry opens. You can change the Edit option with that setting as follows:
First, open up Winaero Tweaker’s download page within your browser software. Click Download Winaero Tweaker from there to save a compressed ZIP file. Then extract the archive and install the downloaded software as covered in the first section within our Winaero Tweaker guide for customizing Windows. Run the Winaero Tweaker software. Double-click the Context Menu category within Winaero Tweaker’s navigation sidebar. Then select App for ‘Edit’ Image Context Menu to view that setting. Press that option’s Browse button. Choose the software you want the Edit option to launch within the Open window. Click Open to confirm your selected app. Select the Save changes button.
Now the Edit context menu option will open the app you selected for it in Winaero Tweaker. However, you can easily revert that option to the default MS Paint with Winaero Tweaker. To do so, press the Set to Microsoft Paint button in the App for ‘Edit’ Image Context Menu option.
How to Add an Edit Option to Windows 11’s Context Menu
Windows 11’s right-click menu doesn’t have an Edit option. Nor does its secondary classic context menu retain that option. The edit registry key referenced in method one doesn’t exist in Windows 11.
However, you can restore an Edit option on Windows 11’s classic context menu by recreating the keys required for it. That involves adding a new key and subkey to the same registry location in Windows 11. Then you set an app for that key by modifying its (Default) string path. These are the full steps for adding a new Edit option to Windows 11’s context menu:
To open the Registry Editor in Windows 11, select All apps > Windows Tools on the Start menu. Then double-click the Registry Editor app within the Windows Tools folder. Clear the address bar in Registry Editor, and then input this key path: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\image\Shell Right-click shell and move the cursor over the New submenu. Click Key to add a new one. Type Edit in the text box for the new key and press Return. Right-click the Edit key and select the New > Key options for it. Input command to be the subkey’s title. Right-click the (Default) string in the new command subkey and select Modify. Now enter the full folder location of an image editor (or perhaps viewer) app on your PC within inverted commas along with the “%1” bit at the end like this: “C:\Program Files\paint. net\paintdotnet. exe” “%1” Select OK inside the Edit String window.
You’ll now see an Edit option on Windows 11’s classic context menu. Bring up a folder that contains some PNG or JPG files your editing software will open. Right-click an image to select Show more options. Then click Edit to bring up the image in the software you set that option to open.
You can also add multiple options to Windows 11’s context menu that open files in different image editors much the same. Repeat the steps above, but give the Edit key a different name. For example, you could name a key that opens Photoshop: Open with Photoshop. The visible context menu option that the key adds will have the same title.
Open Images Within Your Favorite Editing Software in Windows 10 and 11
Microsoft Paint isn’t exactly the gold-standard software for editing picture files. The Edit context menu option in Windows 10 will be much more useful when configured to open files in a superior third-party image editor. As image viewers are preferable default apps for viewing PNG and JPG files, you can set the Edit context option to be a shortcut for opening images in a third-party editor like GIMP, Photoshop, or Paint.NET.
