How to Remove Paint 3D App from Windows 10

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Classic Microsoft Paint has been “re-imagined”, introducing Microsoft Paint 3D. Another time wasting app for children with an updated look and feel as well as many new features such as new brushes and tools capable of creating 2D or 3D models.

In my opinion, this virtually reality introductory application is virtually completely useless. Don’t get me wrong, the application works just fine, but I personally have no need for it.

In this article I show you how to completely remove Microsoft Paint 3D as well as all the junk it leaves behind.

 

Remove Microsoft Paint 3D #

To remove the Microsoft Paint 3D application, click on the “Start” button at the bottom left of your screen and type “Paint“.

Right click on “Paint 3D” and select “Uninstall“. Confirm the Uninstall and in a moment the application will be removed. Note that Windows 10 still ships with both versions of the Paint app, which means that after removing Paint 3D, you’ll still have access to the classic Paint app to edit or create images.

In typical Microsoft fashion, the uninstalled application left behind some unwanted links, particularly within the context menu when clicking on any image file.

If you want to re-install the Microsoft Paint 3D application, simply click on “Edit with Paint 3D“. However, this can be unwanted and very annoying so read on if you want to learn how to remove the Edit with Paint 3D from the Windows 10 context menu.

 

Microsoft Paint 3D Edit with Paint 3D Context Menu

 

Remove “Edit with Paint 3D” Context Menu #

After uninstalling Paint 3D, the “Edit with Paint 3D” context menu option will continue to appear when right clicking on any image files. Selecting the “Edit with Paint 3D” option will reinstall Microsoft Paint 3D. If you want to avoid this operation, you’ll need to remove those entries from the context menu using the Registry Editor.

Important: Editing the Windows registry is risky, and may cause irreversible damage to your operating system. It’s recommended to make a full backup of your PC before proceeding. Also, reinstalling the Paint 3D app won’t restore these “Edit with Paint 3D” context menu entries. If you want to restore them in the future, it’s recommended to right-click the 3D Edit and Export the key first. Then you can simply double-click the .reg file to add the entry back to the context menu.

 

Click on “Start” then type in “Registry” and select “Registry Editor” from the menu. Then simply copy and paste the following paths into your address bar, right-click on the “3D Edit” (sub-folder) key and select “Delete“:

  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\SystemFileAssociations\.jpg\Shell\3D Edit
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\SystemFileAssociations\.jpeg\Shell\3D Edit
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\SystemFileAssociations\.png\Shell\3D Edit
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\SystemFileAssociations\.bmp\Shell\3D Edit
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\SystemFileAssociations\.gif\Shell\3D Edit
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\SystemFileAssociations\.tif\Shell\3D Edit
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\SystemFileAssociations\.tiff\Shell\3D Edit

Upon completion, the Windows 10 context menu links will no longer appear for any images and you won’t have to worry about accidentally reinstalling Microsoft Paint 3D.

 

Reinstalling Microsoft Paint 3D #

If it’s needed, you can always reinstall the Microsoft Paint 3D application from the Microsoft Store app or by clicking any “Edit with Paint 3D” contextual links available by right clicking on any image file, assuming you did not complete the removal process via the registry editor above.

 

Create a “Edit with Paint 3D” Context Menu #

Should you have gone through the registry removal process for the “Edit with Paint 3D” contextual links, don’t worry as we’ll go through the steps to manually add these links back now.

Once again, access the Windows registry by clicking “Start” then typing “Registry” and selecting “Registry Editor” from the menu. Revisit each link listed in the the “Remove “Edit with Paint 3D” Context Menu” section but remove the “\3D Edit” from the end of the text since it no longer exists. Otherwise the link will take you no where.

Then right click on the “Shell” folder and select “New” then “Key“, type “3D Edit“. Click on the new 3D Edit folder and double click on the “(Default)” item in the window to the right. Set the “Value data” to: @%SystemRoot%\system32\mspaint.exe,-59500

Next, right click on the “3D Edit” folder and select “New” then “Key” and name it “command“. Right click on the new “command” folder and select “New” then “Expandable String Value“, name it “(Default)” (should be okay to leave the default REG_SZ in place) and set the “Value data” to: %SystemRoot%\system32\mspaint.exe “%1” /ForceBootstrapPaint3D

That should restore the Edit with Paint 3D contextual menu link for all your desired image files.

 

End of File #

I welcome your thoughts, questions or suggestions on my article covering how to remove Microsoft Paint 3D from your Windows PC.

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