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How to open WebP files with Photo Viewer and Photoshop

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Open WebP with photoviewer

In this tutorial we are looking how to open WebP files with Windows Photo Viewer and Photoshop. WebP initial release was 2010 but now you can see it to be used more often. WebP is developed by Google, and Google says that it is 26% smaller in size compared to PNG:s, and lossy images are 25-34% smaller than JPEG images, and it supports transparency just like PNG. WebP files doesn't affect your life at all until you save image from web to your computer and see that it is .webp file. Because WebP isn't supported by all browsers yet, websites has to have JPEG/PNG fallback and offer those images to user, if it sees that your browser doesn't support WebP.

Installing WebP codec for Windows Photo Viewer

1. Download WebP codec for windows from this link https://storage.googleapis.com/downloads.webmproject.org/releases/webp/WebpCodecSetup.exe . After downloading, start setup. Setup is really straight forward. Just hit next next next.

WebP codec for windows installer

2. By default WebP files are assigned to Chrome. So you want to right click .webp file and go to Open With -> Windows Photo viewer

Windows Open with dialog open

3. If you want to always open .webp files with Windows Photo Viewer. From right click go to Open With -> Choose another app. Select Windows Photo Viewer and check Always use this app to open .webp files.

How do you want to open this file -dialog

Installing WebP codec for Photoshop

Because Photoshop doesn't yet support natively .webp it will say "Could not complete your request because it is not the right kind of document.". So we need to install plugin.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 error dialog

1. Download plugin for Photoshop.

32bit - http://telegraphics.com.au/sw/files/WebPFormat-1.2b4-win32.zip
64bit - http://telegraphics.com.au/sw/files/WebPFormat-1.2b4-win64.zip

If download links doesn't work. Go to here to find working ones: http://telegraphics.com.au/sw/product/WebPFormat#webpformat

2. Extract zip file and copy or cut WebPFormat64.8bi file.

WebP plugin zip content

3. And move WebPFormat64.8bi file to your Photoshop installation folder and inside there to Plug-ins folder. Mine installation in this example is located at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC 2017\Plug-ins\

Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 plugin folder

And now you can open WebP files with Photoshop!

12 Comments

Stargate Max - February 8, 2020
The same error "Could not complete your request blablabla..."It does not work with PS CC 2018 x64.
Wiretuts - February 9, 2020
I had to test if this is the case and it wasn't:
Stargate Max - February 10, 2020
Alright, it does work with PS CC 2020 (v. 21)
Thank you for the information! Much appreciated!
Stargate Max - March 15, 2020
I don't know why, but it does not work anymore. None of the webp images can be opened. The same error every time. Photoshop CC 2020 (v21).
Yılmaz Saraç - October 15, 2019
Image opening with black background, flattened
Yeah, I'm having problems with this. Whenever I click on a WebP file (especially a GIF) I get the error message saying
"Windows Photo Viewer can't open this picture because either Photo
Viewer doesn't support this file format, or you don't have the latest
updates to Photo Viewer." I chose "Windows Photo Viewer" from the "Open With" menu but I still get this error message. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
Wiretuts - September 1, 2019
Did you try to install the Webp codec with right click and "as administrator"? If Windows photo viewer still doesn't open those files, then it sounds like that the codec isn't succesfully installed.
How do you install it "with right click and 'as administrator'?" The WebP files I am having trouble viewing are animated ones, so I don't know if that makes a difference at all? Is this codec supposed to work with animated WebP files as well?
Geek Hut - May 27, 2019
Awesome, thnks for this. Those .web images are everywhere
Ishq Singh - April 5, 2019
helloAny idea how to make it work on mac?
Ramiz Khan - March 7, 2019
Thanks man.
Thanks! Took me a long time to find out how to do this. Works great. :)