Designer App for Photos

Question

Designer App for Photos

JOANN FANELLI 20

When does Microsoft plan on fixing the photo editor that they call Designer? I have tried both paint and photo app and neither works. I need this to crop and save. I am using Windows 11. Please fix it!

John Jefferson Doyon 86,980 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-21T19:27:17.2566667+00:00
Hi, @JOANN FANELLI

To help narrow down the issue:

What happens when you try to crop and save the photo in the Photos app? Does nothing happen, or do you get an error message?

What happens when you try the same thing in Paint?

Are you able to open and view the photo normally in both apps?

Also, press Windows + R, type winver and press Enter. Please share the Windows version and OS build shown.

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Thanks!
JOANN FANELLI 20 Reputation points

2026-08-22T12:31:16.3933333+00:00

Thank you for replying to this frustrating problem of mine.

Microsoft Windows Version 25H2 (OS Build 26200.9168

The Designer app did work for me until recently and I have tried the repair and reset options to no avail. It is the default app for photos on this laptop.

When I use Photos the image that I bring up to edit is so small and I cannot make it larger to view it, If I open the image with Paint, the image is not viewable due to its large size, therefore I cannot edit.

Answer accepted by question author

John Jefferson Doyon 86,980 Independent Advisor

Thank you for replying to this frustrating problem of mine. Microsoft Windows Version 25H2 (OS Build 26200.9168 The Designer app did work for me until recently and I have tried the repair and reset options to no avail. It is the default app for photos on this laptop. When I use Photos the image that I bring up to edit is so small and I cannot make it larger to view it, If I open the image with Paint, the image is not viewable due to its large size, therefore I cannot edit.

Thanks, that helps.

Since Photos shows the image too small and Paint shows it too large, first try adjusting the zoom rather than repairing the apps again.

In Photos:

Open the picture.
Hold Ctrl and scroll the mouse wheel up to enlarge it.
You can also use the zoom controls at the bottom of the Photos window.

In Paint:

Open the picture.
Hold Ctrl and scroll the mouse wheel down to reduce the image size.
You can also use the zoom slider at the bottom-right.

Please also open the Microsoft Store > Library and install any available updates for Photos, Paint, and Microsoft Designer.

What happens when you use the zoom controls in Photos? Does the picture enlarge, or does it remain stuck at the same small size?

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Thanks!

JOANN FANELLI 20 Reputation points

2026-08-23T10:13:52.7866667+00:00

I opened a picture, right clicked it, chose "open with Photos", hit the edit button, made a change, saved and it worked. I tried again with the Designer icon, but it still does not save the work so I will continue to use this method and ignore Designer.

Thanks to all who answered.
John Jefferson Doyon 86,980 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-23T18:01:03.73+00:00

Glad to assist!

1 additional answer

Your answer

John Jefferson Doyon 86,980 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-21T19:27:17.2566667+00:00

Hi, @JOANN FANELLI

To help narrow down the issue:

What happens when you try to crop and save the photo in the Photos app? Does nothing happen, or do you get an error message?

What happens when you try the same thing in Paint?

Are you able to open and view the photo normally in both apps?

Also, press Windows + R, type winver and press Enter. Please share the Windows version and OS build shown.

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Thanks!
JOANN FANELLI 20 Reputation points

2026-08-22T12:31:16.3933333+00:00

Thank you for replying to this frustrating problem of mine.

Microsoft Windows Version 25H2 (OS Build 26200.9168

The Designer app did work for me until recently and I have tried the repair and reset options to no avail. It is the default app for photos on this laptop.

When I use Photos the image that I bring up to edit is so small and I cannot make it larger to view it, If I open the image with Paint, the image is not viewable due to its large size, therefore I cannot edit.
JOANN FANELLI 20 Reputation points

2026-08-23T10:13:52.7866667+00:00

I opened a picture, right clicked it, chose "open with Photos", hit the edit button, made a change, saved and it worked. I tried again with the Designer icon, but it still does not save the work so I will continue to use this method and ignore Designer.

Thanks to all who answered.
John Jefferson Doyon 86,980 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-23T18:01:03.73+00:00

Glad to assist!

Answer 1

There is no published fix date in the available information.

For the current crop-and-save problem in Designer, the supported workaround is to use the Photos app to crop the image and save it as a copy. If Photos also fails, use Paint as the fallback.

In Photos on Windows 11:

Open Photos.
Select the photo.
Select Edit image or press Ctrl + E.
Open Crop.
Adjust the crop.
Save the result as a copy.

If Designer is being opened from Photos and does not work correctly, Designer in Photos depends on Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime. The recommended repair path is:

Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
Find Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime.
Select Modify > Repair.
Restart the PC.

If that does not help:

Uninstall Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime.
Reinstall it using the official standalone installer.
Restart the PC.

If the issue is specifically that Designer saves the original image instead of the cropped one, report it in Microsoft Designer > Send feedback and include the Designer version and a short screen recording if possible.