Many Windows users have complained they can’t use the keyboard arrow keys to scroll through the Photos App. As a result, they need to use their mouse to scroll through images. If you’re experiencing similar issues, follow the troubleshooting steps below.
What to Do If You Can’t Use Arrow Keys with Photos App
Select All the Photos
Press CTRL and A to select all the images. Then, right-click on the selection and click on Open. Or you can simply press Enter to open the first image. Use the arrow keys to go to the next photo. Alternatively, you can also use the Slideshow option.
Repair or Reset Microsoft Photos
Try repairing the Photos app. If the issue persists, reset it.
- Navigate to Settings.
- Click on Apps.
- Go to Apps & Features.
- Locate Microsoft Photos.
- Click on the three dots and select Advanced options.
- First, repair the app.
- If you still can’t use your arrow keys, reset Photos.
Disable the Index Option
- Launch File Explorer and click on File.
- Then, go to Change folder and search options.
- Click on the Search tab.
- Enable the option that reads Don’t use the index when searching in file folders for system files.
Reinstall Photos Using PowerShell
- Launch PowerShell with admin rights.
- Run the following command to uninstall the app
get-appxpackage Microsoft.Windows.Photos | remove-appxpackage
- Restart your computer.
- Relaunch PowerShell and run this command to reinstall Photos:
Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.Windows.Photos | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”
Use a Different Photo Viewer
If nothing works, switch to a different photo viewer. For example, you can use Faststone Image Viewer, IrfanView, Honeyview, or any other app of your choice. When downloading third-party apps, always make sure to download them from a trusted source such as the Microsoft Store.
Conclusion
If you can’t use the arrow keys on Microsoft Photos, select all the photos and hit Enter to open the first image. Alternatively, repair or reset the app. You can also disable the Index option in File Explorer settings. If the issue persists, reinstall Photos using PowerShell or use a different photo viewer app.
Which of these solutions restored the functionality of the arrow keys? Let us know in the comments below.
tennesha says
This did resolve my issue, thank you. It is still super annoying that windows computers have this issue, when apple computers don’t. It seems like windows could easily improve their software or copy the software macs uses to overcome this issue so it doesn’t persist for their users. To always have to press multiple keys just to click an image side to side is very irritating, granted it’s not an actual problem. Thank you for the fix again.
Rickie says
Thank you. Did the select all and enter trick!
Ron R says
This article solved my problem with the arrows!
In particular it was the re installation using PowerShell that did the trick.
You might want to correct an error in the PowerShell script. There is a missing } bracket at the end of of the script:
It currently reads ….\AppXManifest.xml”
It should read ….\AppXManifest.xml”}