Have you downloaded an animated GIF on your Windows 10 PC but not sure how to open and view it? In this guide, we will see how to open and view GIF images in Windows 10 for free.
Fortunately, in Windows 10, you don’t need a third-party software to open and view animated GIF images. You can use native apps and programs to open and view animated GIF images.
Following classic desktop programs and modern apps support viewing animated GIF images in Windows 10.
It’s worth mentioning that none of these native apps allow you create or edit animated GIF images. You can use these apps to open and view animated GIFs only.
Photos
Photos, the replacement for the classic Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 10, supports GIFs. In short, you can open an animated GIF image with the Photos app to view the animated GIF. That said, you cannot use Photos app to pause and edit GIFs.
Internet Explorer
While Edge is the default browser in Windows 10, Internet Explorer is still part of Windows 10. Internet Explorer in Windows 10 allows you to open and view animated GIF images. To open a GIF image, click the File menu in Internet Explorer (press Alt key to see the menu), click Open, click Browse, change the file type to All Files, select the GIF, click Open, and then click OK button to view the GIF.
Microsoft Edge
Like Photos and Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge also supports opening and viewing animated images in Windows 10. You can open all type of GIF images in Edge browser.
Microsoft recently updated the default Mail app to support animated GIF images. The newest version of Mail app supports adding GIF images in an email and shows GIFs with animations within the app when you receive an email with animated GIF image.
In addition to all these native apps and programs, there are tens of free apps available in Windows Store to view GIF images. However, as of writing this article, almost all GIF creators in the Store are commercial apps.
Following are the two free GIF apps in Windows Store.
123 Photo Viewer (free)
To start with, the developer of 123 Photo Viewer could have used a better name for this app. In addition to other image formats, 123 Photo Viewer also supports animated GIFs. While viewing a GIF, you can pause a GIF and magnify the frame.
Get 123 Photo Viewer (Windows Store link)
GIF Maker Photo Video (free)
As the name suggests, GIF Maker Photo Video app allows you create animated GIFs for free. With this app, you can create GIFs from pictures as well as videos. The app allows you add effects to each image in a GIF picture.
In addition to these apps, you can also use free online services to create GIFs without having to install any apps on your PC.
Get GIF Maker Photo Video (Windows Store link)
Did you know that you can set animated GIF as desktop background in Windows 10?